“I shouldn’t be nervous at all. I’ve done this half a dozen times”, I say to myself as I enter Two Chatham Center, home to the Pittsburgh based AccessData, a Broadridge company. I made my way into the office, where I greeted my fellow interns and my supervisor with a bright smile on my face but a knot in my stomach. This was to be my next internship for around four months (or longer) and even after having several internships and part-time jobs before now, I was still uneasy. For some reason, the foray into an unfamiliar office environment, with little knowledge of the company, the culture, and the people, still unsettles me. What is even more bizarre is that I knew I had nothing to be worried about: I had obviously interviewed well, beat out the best of the best candidates to get to this point, and demonstrated that I match the “type” any company looks for in a qualified, outstanding employee. Maybe I’m concerned other employees won’t like me. Perhaps I’m concerned I won’t perform to the level expected of me in my new role. With all these reasons to doubt myself, it can be difficult to enter a new job with a positive attitude, and although I masked my nervousness well, these thoughts still plagued my mind like a swarm of pesky flies.
It’s now one week later and I can definitively say (as I knew was the case all along) that I had nothing to worry about. Not only were all of my colleagues welcoming and supportive of me and the other new interns but our supervisor did everything possible to settle us into our new roles with the least amount of friction. I felt like a valuable part of the team right from the beginning, and by the end of the week I had the confidence to know that I can take on this job with the can-do spirit that I’ve come to hone through my past experiences.
So why was I at all nervous? If you’re anything like me, you subconsciously ask yourself questions at an almost breathtaking speed, where as soon as you’ve settled one thought, another one pops up to take its place. And while I can’t necessarily stop the questions from coming to a head, I can take some managed steps to mitigate the impending tension (or, in other words, calm down). First, I always have positive attitude when I enter a new company. Even if you’re masking some insecurity, a friendly demeanor will undoubtedly make everyone around you more comfortable and receptive to a new presence in the office, and may even initiate fast friendships. Second. I learn as many names as I can. One of the topics in Dale Carnegie’s book How to Win Friends and Influence People (my review can be found here) is that learning people’s names goes a long way to showing you respect and care enough about your colleagues to remember a vital piece of information about them, and it may make conversation or asking for help go more smoothly (instead of saying “hey you!”) Finally, I believe that the most important trait to have is a can-do spirit. Having the mindset to always try your best at a new task or perform to the best of your ability in your new role will always garner more respect than saying “I can’t do it.” We show appreciation and respect for our new colleagues, who were often times in the same positions as us, when we roll up our sleeves and say “Yes we can”, even when the opportunity for failure exists.
As I continue down my career path, I know that I’ll have to enter many new offices with the same thoughts and uneasy feelings as I had experienced a week ago. But following my plan and staying true to what I do best, I’m sure I can meet that challenge and succeed.
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