Personal Coaching: Beginning A New Job
When you begin a new job, finding a person trained in your chosen field that will help you in your career path is vital. When you are not accustomed to corporate Bureaucracy, personal coaching will be imperative in assisting you while you work your way through the beginning stages and let you really understand and utilize your experiences.
Most companies have comprehensive training for new employees, but this would not assist you in building an informal network. Experts agree that informal networks are the key to excelling in the business world. A young manager may find themselves shut out when it comes to promotion times if they do not connect to others and simply do their assigned tasks. The reason is because any of their achivements would not be noticed. As a new employee you may find it hard to toot your own horn, so to speak, but the network you build can get your noticed for your hard work.
The question arises then how to build a network? The first step is to find a mentor. Next, you should make sure that your mentor is working with the company for quite some time now. Company’s have different organizational structures, therefore, you may choose to talk or not to talk to your upper management. It helps if you are able to find someone at that level. However, if there is proper hierarchical structure in place in your company, then your comfort level will be high with your peers. The tip here is if you choose your mentor carefully and who is at least a level above you, they will act as a bridge for you to the upper management.
Some people have more difficulty finding and maintaining a mentor. The best way to accomplish this is to make yourself available to others in your company so that they can get acquainted with you. Attend company social functions. Make a point of taking a walk through the company break room occasionally and stop and visit with people who are there. You don’t have to be the world’s best conversationalist, but you do need to try to talk with people you might not meet otherwise. Social networking can be the most effective means of making business connections.
You’ll begin to get a sense of whose personality would mesh well with yours and who could provide personal coaching after you meet others in your company. Try determining if there is an informal network within the company also. Finding someone who is a “connector” (meaning they know other people and put them in contact with others of similar interests) would make the best kind of mentor to assist you in advancing your career.
Once you have chosen a mentor you should maintain contact with that person regularly; at least once a month if not more. Keep them apprised of the projects you are working on and any other major things in your life. Grow a friendship with them. The closer you become and the better each of you understands the other, the better that your mentor can provide personal coaching to you. Good luck!
Most companies have comprehensive training for new employees, but this would not assist you in building an informal network. When it comes to promotion time’s young managers may find themselves shut out if they do not connect to others and simply do their assigned tasks. After getting to know the others in your company you should have a firm idea of the types of personalities with whom you will mesh well and those you won’t. The question arises then how to build a network? The first step is to find a mentor. You should also be able to figure out who will give you the best personal coaching.
Filed under: Business