Accepting and Preparing for a New Job

After all your hard work in college and slaving away at meaningless jobs you have finally gotten your very first professional position. What should you do now? How do you go about transitioning from your "after school job" to a professional environment? The first thing you need to do when offered a new position is to accept that position. You should graciously agree to work for the company and thank them for the offer; they chose you over other candidates so gratitude is nice. This is the time when you can talk about salaries, benefits, and negotiate for anything you may want but have not discussed in previous interviews or meetings.

After you have been offered and accepted a new position at another job you must first let your current employer know that you are leaving. It is customary to give your boss two weeks notice before your last day of work. This allows your current employer time to find a replacement and lets you leave the company on good terms. If you do not give your current employer two weeks notice, they usually will not rehire you. There is absolutely no reason to burn a bridge that you do not have to.

After you have given notice to your current employer and established a start date at your future employer then you need to concentrate on getting ready to be a good employee at the next job. You should already have a general idea of who the company is and what it does from the interview but it may be beneficial to delve further into the company. Ask some of your new coworkers about the company and your future job. They may be able to you give some insider tips that will help you to succeed early on at your new position. Be sure you understand their pay scale, evaluations, and promotion eligibility. You want to be able to successfully negotiate these things when the time comes; and it may come sooner than expected. Many companies are offering raises after the probationary period these days.