It’s May, and graduation is right around the corner. Before you know it, you’ll be leaving the beautiful brick archways and towering oak trees of Elon University, and pounding the pavement en route to your first job in the real world. It’s a daunting thought, but we’ve all done it, and walking through the front doors on the first day of your brand new job is a pretty exhilarating feeling. Below are some tips and tricks that helped me along the way as I navigated my way through my first week on the job.

Meet and Mingle

If you’re lucky, on your first day in the office, your new coworkers will flock to your desk to meet you and introduce themselves. If you’re not as fortunate, then it will be up to you to put in the legwork, and believe me, these first meet and greets are important. These people are your new colleagues; they will rely on you just as much as you will rely on them and establishing a friendly rapport with them from the start will create a very healthy work environment.

Get to Know Your Role

From the first day on, it’s your responsibility to become an expert in your new role and it’s important to be astute when completing all of your “onboarding” activities. Little things like setting up your desk phone and voicemail, or getting up to speed with Microsoft Outlook may seem small at first, but you’ll soon realize that you’ll rely on those basic skills on a daily basis. It’s also important to start understanding what expectations your new manager has for you, so be sure to get a meeting on your calendar to meet with them within the first week. The first week can be a bit overwhelming with a long list of to-do’s and perhaps a steep learning curve to begin climbing, but I promise it will get easier.

Continue Researching Your Company

Just as you want to become an expert in your own role, it’s important to also become an expert in the company for which you’re working. If you want to get ahead, you’ll soon realize that the basic knowledge that got you past those first, second and third round interviews simply won’t be enough to put you on peoples’ radars for promotion down the road. This may be more of a long-term goal, but take the time to do some research. Learn about where the company feels it stands currently and where its goals are set for 5, 10 or 20 years down the road. Learn about your CEO and the path that brought them to either establish or join your company. [quote]If you want to get ahead, you’ll soon realize that the basic knowledge that got you past those first, second and third round interviews simply won’t be enough to put you on peoples’ radars for promotion down the road. - Karen Clark Holmes[/quote]If they’ve published books, read them. You never know when this knowledge could become valuable in a future conversation.

There is a lot to learn during the first week in your new job, but don’t let it intimidate you and remember to have confidence. Your employer saw something special in you and they chose you for a reason!

[box]Name: Karen Clark Holmes, Class of 2008 Major: Corporate Communications Hometown: Durham, NC Current City: New York, NY Employer: Teach For America Position: Assistant, National Talent Recruitment[/box]