The first day of work is important. You are excited to start this new phase of your career and at the same time anxious to leave a good first impression. A little preparation can help you fight the anxiety and start your first day  with confidence. Here are some tips for the days before your first day at work:

1. Documents:

   Have all the documents the HR might ask for verification in place. Your birth certificate, bona-fide certificates of past experience, id proof, et al. What would be even more efficient is to send the HR an email beforehand asking them what documents you would be required to produce on your first day. This way you will have a written record and will also be able to organize them well before time.

2. Prepare well:

   You know what your profile is, which means you know what kind of work you would be expected to do. Research and read up about your role thoroughly.  Go through any material that the company might have sent you. Read up about the organization and its ethics as well, to familiarize yourself with them. This will ensure you settle down sooner than later!

3. Prepare some Conversation Starters for yourself:

   It being your very first day at your new work place, having some conversation starters handy might prove useful. If you don’t really have the gift of the gab, you would be at the mercy of making awkward small talk. Think about questions you can ask to hold a conversation and answers you would have, to the usual questions of “what was your previous work like?”, “what are your hobbies”, etc.

4. Get to know the dress code:

   Over-dressing, or being under-dressed can be disastrous for your confidence. You don’t want to be out-of-place on your first day. Talk to someone from your new workplace about the dress code. Get in touch with someone you might know in the organization or you can talk to the HR asking them about any guidelines or rules about what to wear or what do people usually wear. People will  be willing to help you on this. If talking to someone is not possible, just remember what people were wearing during your interview. If all else fails, formals are your safest bet. Prepare your clothes beforehand and be ready for the big day.

5. Remember why you took the job in the first place:

   Here is something very nice we read on The Muse : “Before you go to bed the night before your first day, take a few minutes to remember why you accepted this new job. Maybe it’s your dream job, and you couldn’t be more excited to get going. Maybe it’s your first job, and you’re doing it for the experience. Whatever the motivation, write it down somewhere you’ll remember. Then, when things get overwhelming, everything isn’t what you expected it to be, or you feel like you’ll never make it up the steep learning curve ahead of you, you can return to that reason and remind yourself why you’re doing this.”

So remember that you are awesome and remember that you have to make most of the opportunity that has come your way. Shine on (you crazy diamond)! 🙂