You’ve worked hard to land the job, but it’s not time to relax just yet. You still need to pass your probation period. While this might sound daunting, it’s not actually as scary you might think. There are just a few pointers to keep in mind to impress your new employer. Below, we provide some helpful advice on this, so you can prove that you’re cut out for the demands of your new role.

1.Show enthusiasm

You showed enthusiasm and excitement at the interview and successfully displayed your passion for the role to your new employer. So why stop now? You need to demonstrate that you’re enthusiastic to learn new information and are keen to excel in your new job. If you fail to do this your employer might think that you’re not that interested in the role after all.

To do this, make sure that you’re always keen to take on new tasks and ask questions to show that you’re interested in other people and the company. Make sure you look engaged and ready. Don’t sit at your desk yawning or looking out of the window.

2.Conform to the company culture

Every company has its own unique culture. It’s understandable if this is daunting at first, but rest assured that it will soon become familiar. So, if everyone seems to work in silence, don’t disturb this by playing music or loudly asking people about their weekend plans. Likewise, if they all go for drinks on a Thursday after work or eat lunch in a certain place, it’s good to join in and show that you’re part of the team.

There may also be certain unsaid rules or rituals that might come across to you as bizarre or frustrating. Avoid challenging these when you’re so new to the company as it might cause tension with your colleagues.

3.Be proactive

It’s important to learn from others through listening and asking for guidance. Make sure you go out of your way to be helpful, think of solutions to problems and contribute in meetings. Basically, use your initiative and judge whether there is more you can do to develop your work skills and abilities.

Acting in this way will leave a good impression with your manager and show that you can be trusted to work hard and think on your feet. After all, this is the type of behaviour companies need from their employees and if you can show that you’re a proactive individual, they should be impressed.

4.Demonstrate punctuality

It’s clear that being late on your first day is a big no-no, but this applies to your entire probation period as well. And it’s not only the beginning of the day that you need to be punctual for, make sure you’re on time for meetings and back promptly after lunch has finished.

Being late suggests that you don’t care and have poor time management and it will start to frustrate others. So don’t give off this impression. If you do come across a situation where you’re unavoidably late, make sure you apologise sincerely and promise it won’t happen again. Remember that you also need to show that you’re reliable so avoid taking any days off sick during your probation.

5.Organisation is key

Those who are organised are more likely to stay on top of their workload and should generally be more productive. Good organisation is a key skill that all workers should have so you need to show that you can do this. Showing that you’re highly productive and organised will impress your new manager and will prove that you have the ability to handle your new role.

Write a to-do list and keep it up to date, planning out what tasks you will complete and when. A bonus of being organised also means that you’re less likely to make careless mistakes through double booking a meeting, forgetting to include a key piece of information on a report or neglecting to do a task.

In summary

Your probation period is your time to shine and prove to your new employer that you have the skills and abilities you promised. Therefore, it’s essential that you work hard and show off your enthusiasm for working at their company.

This Blog has been written on behalf of Vitae Financial Recruitment by CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job board, advertising a range of roles, from teaching positions, to software development. It also owns an array of other career sites, including Engineering Jobs.