Congratulations!  They liked you.  They really liked you. You accepted their job offer, and you know your start date. Now, you are ready to take the first step in the next phase of your life, and I know you want to make that first step count.

Some of the ideas for preparing for your first day are the same as preparing for an interview.  I will repeat a few here because what is going on in your head is just as important as how you look and act on your first day. 

If you have not already done so, celebrate your accomplishment.  From a talent pool of many job candidates, you are the one who landed the job.  Take that in.  Let it roll around inside for a while. 

You have done well.  Knowing that is the first step you must take in preparation for your first day of work.

Be sure to thank those who supported you during your transition.  Let them know that you will be there for them if they ever need you, (but only if you mean it.)  Showing appreciation and gratitude is an important step.

Try to take a break between your old job and the new one, ideally two weeks or more, if you can afford it.  This will give you a chance to clear your head and get ready to redirect your energy.

During this in-between time, take extra good care of yourself so that you can show up for your new job totally relaxed, totally at ease.  You want to look and feel great.

Get extra rest.  Do what relaxes you.  Engage in more physical activity.  Whatever.  Just be physically relaxed so that you can be emotionally and psychologically relaxed.

An important next step to prepare for your first day is mentally relaxing.  Don't let your imagination create doomsday scenarios of what might go wrong.  Use your powerful creative imagination to envision everything going right-even better than you could have possibly anticipated.

This next is not a small step.  Decide what you are going to wear when you make your first impression.  Pick clothes that makes you feel really good, clothes that will distinguish you without making you inappropriately stand out in the crowd.  Knowing you look great will give you a nice extra dose of confidence.

Once you have made your clothing decision, practice the guided visualization again and again.  Remember that your mind does not distinguish between what it experiences on your mental screen and what happens "out there" in your external environment. 

Practice your first day until you are totally comfortable and relaxed, until there is no constricting "emotional charge" of fear or stress.  You will find yourself going through the "out there" first day with great ease and confidence when you have practiced it mentally ahead of time.

Now practice what I call the "postures of success." Research has demonstrated that it's possible to change your emotional state by changing your body position.  If you're tired and your shoulders are drooping, you can improve your energy simply by putting your shoulders back and keeping your spine straight. 

Walking briskly with your head up can generate more confidence than shuffling along with your eyes on the ground.  You get the idea.  Watch how your changing emotional content impacts your body postures. 

Then, before your first day, practice in great detail the body postures you equate with success and well-being. Consciously hold these postures throughout your day as much as you can.  Create a body memory of what it feels like both emotionally and physically to be successful.  By the time you begin your first day, hopefully, those now imprinted postures have become innate and automatic.

Next, think of people who make you feel comfortable.  If you observe them closely, you notice that they focus more on you than they do on themselves.  They aren't concerned about the impact they might be making or about what other people might be thinking about them.  To them, you are the most important person in that moment, and their focus is on you.  As a result of their genuine interest and lack of self consciousness, you both have a good time with the exchange.

Translate this understanding to your first day of work. Relax!  People are going to be glad that there is someone to share the work load.  Don't worry about what they think of you or how you're coming across.  You have years to worry about that.  For now, just focus on them.  Be fully present to them in the moment.  Be sincerely interested.  By doing this generously and genuinely, you automatically become more interesting.

Be yourself.  Don't try too hard.  People will know if you are being who you truly are or trying to play a part.  If who you are and the skills you bring were good enough to get you hired by the company in the first place, have confidence that they are good enough to see you through to success.  Stay centered and relaxed.

People will naturally want to get to know you and hear your story.  Don't feel like you need to tell them everything the first day.  Remember that you have lots of time.  A little mystery is always intriguing, so let things unfold naturally.

You also have time to prove yourself and your competence, usually about three to six months.  Therefore, don't try to show all your cards the first day.  There is plenty of time to dazzle everyone with how you play your hand.  Just relax, and be yourself-your best self.

Keep your focus and attention in the present moment.  Don't worry about what you will doing in two hours, two days, two months.  Just be fully present to what is at hand.  You can only access your personal power by remaining in the moment.  Others will know when your attention drifts.

In the last Coaching Brief, I mentioned the child part that still is operative within each person, the part that is stuck at a certain age.  The concepts are worth repeating because they are important.

Too often, you can feel stress and pressure coming from the subconscious little girl or little boy part of you that keeps saying, "Oh, I hope they like me.  I hope they won't reject me." An adult however, would ask, "Do I like what I'm hearing and seeing?"  Notice that you can stay in your adult mode, you can be in your power, only if you stay present in the moment.

Remember that you should be enjoying yourself.  You did it.  You are here.  You have something unique and irreplaceable to offer.  You are grateful to have a forum that allows the expression of your talents and skills. 
Believe that you will do well, and you will.  Believe that everything will be well, and it will.  Believe that all is well, and it will be.

At the end of your day, take time to celebrate that you made a good start to the next chapter of your life.  Let this in.

Call those or be with those who love and support you, and let them be part of your success.  Talking about your first day will release any stored energy and allow you to decompress and go into your evening relaxed.
Eat well.  Sleep well.  Be well.
Congratulations.

Questions for Consideration

1. How did you celebrate being offered the job?  How did you thank those who supported you during your transition?  If you didn't celebrate, why not?  What will you do about it now?
2. What can you do before you begin your new job to ensure that you have disconnected from the old and are ready to redirect your attention to the new?
3. What relaxes you?  What routine will you create for yourself that can ensure that you are both physically and emotionally relaxed on your first day of work?
4. What fears or concerns do you have about your first day?  Are they real or fabricated?  Where do they come from?  Were they learned from something or someone outside yourself or from your own experience?  What can you do to diffuse your fears or concerns?
5. What are you going to wear your first day?  What jewelry will you add?  What will you be carrying?  Purse?  Briefcase? Lunch? What will the clothing you will be wearing say about you?  Is this what you want to convey?
6. In what postures do you hold your body when you are feeling confident?  Successful?  Relaxed?  Interested and engaged? What kind of self-monitoring can you do to ensure that these postures begin to come naturally and you don't "drift" into other less powerful postures?
7. Who taught you what being successful at work looks like?  Whose values are you living-your own or someone else's? What values will you consciously bring to your new job?
8. What are your expectations of your first day?  How do you want to come across?  How will you know if you have been successful at conveying who you are?
9. Do you have a pattern of trying to please people at work?  Typically, who are these people?  Where did this pattern come from?  How can you change it?
10. How will you know that your first day has been a successful one?  How do you want to feel at the end of the day?
11. How will you celebrate the success of our first day?

If you would like coaching to help you assimilate well into your new work environment, please call me.  Your first ninety days are critical.

You have now completed the Job Loss/ Job Gain series.  Please look at other Moontide Productions offerings that might be helpful to you.