My daughter started her first full-time post-graduation job this week. And my niece starts at a new sixth form college later this month. So I’ve sent them both a link to our WATCH & GO® video, ‘What To Say When You Are New On The Job’ and decided to make this our featured video for September. This is not just in their honour but also because this is a time of year when lots of people start new jobs, or begin a new school year. It’s a time filled with new opportunities, with exciting challenges ahead.
The first few weeks of a new job (or a new school year for that matter) are a time for learning fast. It’s tempting to pretend you know what to do – but you don’t! You’re faced with new situations, new people and new tasks. So you need a strategy to optimise your learning and that strategy involves asking the right questions.
Our video ‘What To Say When You Are New On The Job’ illustrates why questions are so powerful as a learning aid and shows which questions to ask and how to ask them. In any new situation you need to ask:
What is to be done?
How is it to be done?
When is it to be done by?
What resources can I use?
When you know how to answer those questions you’ll know what to do and how to set about doing it. The key thing is never to be afraid to ask. Don’t fall into the trap of appearing to know what you’re doing, when you don’t! Everyone makes mistakes and you need to learn from things that go wrong. But you can minimise any mistakes and make a great first impression by using questions to guide you through those first few weeks of a new job or school year.
Helping the new starter take responsibility for learning
To help new recruits take responsibility for making the best possible start, why not encourage them to think about the questions they need to ask? Take a look at our featured video ‘What To Say When You Are New On The Job’. The running time is just 4½ minutes.
Getting off to a good start
We also have a video called ‘What To Say When There’s a New Team Member’ which explores the kind of welcome your organisation gives when people join. This video focuses on how established employees welcome a new colleague, so that you all get off to a good start.
Find out more
You can see a full list of our available videos at https://www.watchandgovideos.co.uk/videos/topics-and-titles/
If you’d like a free demonstration and access to our entire library of WATCH & GO® videos for evaluation purposes, please call 01638 723590 or visit www.watchandgovideos.co.uk