Congratulations! You’ve been reading our blog and have carefully followed all of our strategies on job hunting, interviewing, and following up… and you’ve landed the job. The first few weeks of any new career can be intimidating as you acclimate to your new environment. Each workplace has a unique culture with its own quirks, which gives a new employee a lot to learn about (in addition to their regular duties!). Read on for tips on putting your best foot forward and quickly becoming a favorite in your workplace:

Open Your Ears

You’re going to meet a lot of new people and learn a lot of new things right off the bat. It’s not realistic that you’re going to be able to memorize every little thing right away, but take the time to focus on the conversations that you are having. Be courteous and save any questions or comments you have for others until they are done speaking. And take a moment to learn everyone’s name!

Put On a Happy Face

We never recommend masking your emotions too much in the workplace, but now is the time to try and keep a smile on your face, even if you have to fake it a little! This will be your first impression with most of your coworkers, so being approachable and friendly is important. You want people to correlate you with positivity, and you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Take It All in Stride

As with any workplace, you’re likely to hear a fair amount of complaining during the course of the day. Typically, that’s just people’s way of dealing with the monotony of the workweek. It can be perfectly healthy to air out small grievances, but since you are just starting out, try to keep that to a minimum for now.

Give Yourself a Little Leeway

It’s rare that a career transition goes completely smoothly. You are likely to make a fair amount of mistakes as you grow accustomed to your new role, but the important thing is that you continue to learn from them. Don’t be afraid to use your coworkers as a source for information—they will be glad to help out! Asking questions shows that you understand what you need to do, even if you are unsure of the exact process. This will help show that you are getting a handle on things.