For healthcare workers, it can certainly seem like the hiring process is a long and arduous one. It seems that way because it is that way. First you trawl the health jobs boards, then comes the application, then there is the interview itself, then the site visit, then there’s the contract negotiation and signing, then there’s the whole logistics headache of uprooting and moving to wherever your new job happens to be. It takes a while, but nobody said being employed in healthcare was a walk in the park.
However, when you finally come to the end of the process and are installed in your new position, the “hiring” process might officially be over – but becoming truly integrated into your new position is not. There is a steep learning curve for new healthcare workers. Health Jobs, a healthcare recruitment service, says that continued job success not only relies on the successful negotiation of the whole application process but also in the right conduct in the first couple of weeks in your new job.
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A First Impression
You do not get a second chance to make a first impression. While there is ample opportunity to meet the staff of your new workplace and to make a good impression during the whole application process, it’s during your first few weeks on the actual job that is your real chance to show your new employers what type of healthcare professional you really are. This is for no other reason than that this is the first time they will actually see you working.
Things to Do in the First Few Weeks
So how can you make a good impression during your first few weeks on the job. Here follows some top tips:
Research and Learn
It might well seem like the application process was the time to learn all about the new position and impress with your knowledge of the job. In reality though, it is when you are actually doing that job that people will be paying the most attention. Especially, if you are fresh out of education and training.
Accordingly, you should continue to learn as much as you can about the new role, and this involves both learning by doing and researching all the essential information specific to both your new role and the institution in which you will be working.
Learn the New Norms
Hopefully, you will have already learned quite a bit about what is known as “workplace culture” during stages such as the interview and the site visit, but it is a mistake to think that this is the end of this particular education. Every healthcare institution has a certain way of doing things, some of which might not be officially stated. The trick is to observe and learn to fit in.
Contact Your Manager
You should aim to do this right away. Making early contact with your manager both shows that you are eager to fulfill your role to the best of your ability and allow you to gain some useful advice about what is expected of you in your new role.
Introduce Yourself to Everybody
You should aim to get on first name terms with every new person that you meet – and to do this as quickly as possible. Getting known about the place is the best way to successfully fit in.
If you follow all these tips and make sure that you do so in your first few weeks, then it will not be long before you are fully considered part of the team – and not the suspicious newcomer.