What to Expect in the First 60 Days of Your New Finance Job

If you just transferred in, you will find the first weeks of your new finance job a challenge. Adjustment is needed, and your ability to conform to the new environment will keep you from committing a lot of blunders. Things can be tougher if you’re expecting something else entirely. One challenge is dealing with interaction inside the workplace. For instance, you expect people to be friendlier to you.

You may find it unsettling to find out that not everyone is as friendly as you think. Another challenge is adjusting to unfamiliar technology, especially those used in finance jobs. There are new employees that get right down to business and simply ignore the awkwardness. Some others like to spend their first days talking, networking and finding out everything there is to know about the workload and the work flow.

No matter which approach you take, the point is that you need to adapt to a new office environment. Remaining stoic may work at first, but sooner or later you will have to interact with others. Being silent during the first few weeks may close you off to information that would be useful later on. Over time the things you didn’t bother to learn during the first few days may come back to haunt you in the future.

Here are some tips to help you adjust to your new work environment:

 

1. Ask about communications and email policies.

A workplace may have a different way of handling communication. The email policy in your previous company may have been more liberal, with coworkers mailing each other at any time of the day. But this does not mean the new environment uses the same liberal approach to communication. Some companies would rather keep all finance-related and business correspondence online, while other companies would follow up an email with a phone call.

Communication policies should be clear before you go and organize a sales promotion event as a part of your finance job. Organizing a meeting would mean you need to correspond with everyone who’s supposed to be involved, as is the case in finance manager jobs and controller jobs.

 

2. Maximize Your Learning Period

You must keep your on-the-job goals in mind, especially during your learning period. Speak with your superior about your tasks, and which ones you need to prioritize. Talk about what’s doable in a certain timeframe, and which goals should be pushed back until all the other financial jobs have been completed. It’s best to prioritize the small things during the first few months, so that you can integrate yourself fully in the organization before you start on big projects.

 

3. Talk About Your Needs

Compromise is one of the main things you need to do when you’re new in the office. Of course, you don’t want to act selfish, but you may have some things you just cannot give up. For example, if your desk is too near the smoking area and you don’t smoke, you can request a solution from your superior before this becomes an issue. Any special requirements should be mentioned during your early days so that your colleagues can adjust to your needs, just as you’re adjusting to theirs.

Don’t forget to ask questions regarding your new responsibilities. Remember, the only questions that can be called ‘stupid’ are the important ones that you didn’t ask when you had the chance.