Congratulations! Landing a new job in hospitality industry can be the best feeling out there.
Sure, your job comes with remunerations and opportunities that’ll put a big grin on your face. Even if it does not, it helps you put the right foot forward towards your hospitality career growth. To excel in your new place, here are a few great tips for the first day at your new hospitality job.
The first day at a new job can be daunting as well as an overwhelming experience.
Don’t worry. We have got you covered here to help to step into the new journey with confidence and a smile.
We have included some useful tips along with first-day jobs checklist to help you walk into your new hospitality organisation in style and with confidence.
Let’s get started with the tips!
Well, nailing your first day at a new job isn’t exactly rocket science, but here is a must-follow checklist that is poised to make your day a little easier, if not downright smooth.
Let’s get started, shall we?
1. Try Understanding Organisational Culture on your first day at the new job
This is where you begin. You must understand the culture of the organization. Is it formal, friendly, casual, open, closed etc?
Culture of the hotel industry for example is very open and collaborative. The Hospitality industry has a great gender ration at work.
Thus, understanding and respecting the organisation culture is key to a good start at work.
Understanding the culture helps in understanding the politics and then using it to one’s own advantage.
2. Prepare Your Wardrobe Accordingly the night before
You must get into the act the night before you join the new organisation.
This is one of the simplest yet extremely useful tips for managing your nerves on the first day at a new job.
If the hospitality profession, you are normally expected to don a particular dress code, it would typically be spelt out to you before you start your new job.
In case they don’t explain the dress code to you, do a little homework on the culture of your workplace for your perfect day 1 dress. You can also enquire from other employees or acquaintances.
3. Bring Relevant Documents and things
The HR department of your hospitality organisation might require some of your documents to officialise your recruitment.
Think in the line of passport, driving license and other vital documents.
These are some of the key checklists on your first day at work. Even if you have submitted copies of these, it’s always good to carry the originals along on the first day you walk into your new office.
The last thing you want is to have two “first days.”
Bring Some Mints
It’s somewhat laughable that some people start their jobs with a breath smelling like a landfill. Mints thus become a part of your first day at a new job checklist.
So, bring mints – they will come handy, giving you a chance to start your new career on the right foot.
Bring a Watch
Some Hotels / Hospitality organisations have a strict no mobile phone rule, but you also need to keep time to succeed on your first day.
If that is the case, bring a decent watch that doesn’t clash with your outfit.
Bring Makeup Kit if you are a lady (some fresh wipes and perfume for Men!)
If you are a lady, smudged mascara or bleeding lipstick would be a big no-no on your first day (and a bigger no if you are a man – pun intended).
So before you leave for work, pack a reasonable makeup bag with your beauty vitals to make sure that you feel and look fresh throughout your first day.
4. Confidence helps to get rid of the First-day Jitters at work
Confidence can mask all those first-day anxiety on the job.
Remember they hired you as an expert of your art. You are expected to be an expert hospitality professional.
They didn’t hire an incompetent or fly-by-night, so, get your act together. Confidence is the key to success on your first day at work.
5. Understand your role in the organisation on your first day
Even this step would start before you present yourself to your peers and manager on the first day at a new job.
You will need a clear understanding of the role requirements and how this may differ from what you have done before.
It is good to have gone through your job description which the hospitality recruiter might have already provided.
Learning your way around an organisation is a key requirement for success.
6. Map role with objectives during the first few days at work
This goes beyond the first day and should be a part of your strategy for the first few weeks at work.
The job role is a set on the expectation of the Organization. The first 15 days at a new job gives you an opportunity to consider what resources you will need at your disposal to perform your role.
Map these with your abilities and think from multiple angles on where to focus your initial energy at.
7. Reflect on Organisational strengths and weaknesses
Do some background research on the organization by studying its recent history and what has gone well and what has not. Speaking to the team members works well in this regards.
A SWOT analysis may look like a ‘geek’ thing but it’s worth to invest some time on the same.
As an example, we also have a detailed post specifically addressing SWOT Analysis of the Hotel Industry. Just Google your industry’s SWOT analysis before you begin your first day.
You would sound a lot prepared and smarter in front of your trainer.
A SWOT analysis can be used to understand the Organisation and after a few months, a developed version may help to impress the bosses during the first appraisal.
This will help focus in the right areas and get a couple of ‘quick wins’ to establish yourself in the organisation during the first few days at your new hospitality job.
8. Stay calm, breathe deep and listen more
Immaculate self-management is the key to succeed on your first day at work
‘Listen, listen and listen’ should be your mantra on the first day at the new job.
Stay calm and composed and please don’t take thing personally. It’s a good idea to breathe deep and slowly. It’s a must for your first day at a new job.
If you get stuck somewhere try this trick to control your nerves:
Breathe in deep and take thrice the time to exhale slowly. Repeat this 5 times and the anxiety is all gone.
This would help you stay happy and positive throughout the day on the first day at work.
Stressed out regarding the first day of your new job. Have you tried meditating 15 minutes daily? Well, it’s never too late to start!!
9. Build a rapport with your Team
The hospitality industry is all about team work and customer centric approach.
Team Work would help you sail through in style at your new work. This again is one of the most useful tips to succeed in the new hospitality job.
Relationships are key to success at any job and in any industry.
Befriending a veteran is a nice idea or nothing works better than a few coffee friends at work.
The coffee partners of first few days have a great chance of becoming beer partners of the future. One of our other articles covers tips on becoming an excellent team player in greater details.
The team-building exercise has its realms stretched outside work peripheries and thus it is important to gel well with colleagues during training and during breaks on your first day.
Conclusion
Here we go. Some of the most useful and rocking tips for managing the first day at your new hospitality job. These tips and checklist should help you start tasting success from the first day at work.
A new job can take up a lot of your time even after you have finished your work. Work-life balance will be in turmoil for the first 15 days and in most case the first 90 days. Hotel industry can be a roller coaster ride due to long work hours and weekend work.
So, it is important to make sure you have an immaculate work-life balance especially during early days at a new job.
Later when you get used to it, things would automatically get smoother.
Seems a lot but once the first day of anxiety is over on a positive note, the remaining course at a new job gets a lot easier.
