Preparing for Your First Day on the Job

Your first day on the job, whether at a new internship, work-study job, or even a new volunteering position can be a nerve-wracking experience. Here is how to calm your nerves so you have a great experience.

Research the company as much as possible.

In learning more about the company before your first day, you are putting yourself at an advantage with your supervisor. It shows that you truly care about the company and that you are excited to start working there. It also helps you in terms of the amount of information that you will be expected to learn.

Learning a bit about the company’s history and background lessens the amount of new information that your supervisor will want you to know.

Prepare physically.

Make sure that you know the company culture and environment before your first day. This will help you to determine the right outfit to wear, and how you will present yourself.

If you aren’t sure, always lean towards the more formal side of things. It is better to turn up dressed more formally for an office that turns out to be casual, than more casually for an office that turns out to be very formal.

Don’t wait until the last minute.

Even if you start your job very soon after accepting an offer, you will be less stressed if you plan everything out several days or weeks before starting. Make sure you know where the office is located and how to get there, along with important information like your supervisor’s name.

In following these tips, you can have a less stressful first day of work and enjoy doing more fun activities like meeting coworkers more thoroughly. Good luck on your first day!

Kaitlyn Lannan is a sophomore at Northwestern University. She is majoring in economics and communication and plans on attending business school. Her dream job is becoming Chief Marketing Officer at a Fortune 500 company. You can find Kaitlyn on Twitter at @KaitlynLannan.