When you first walk onto the job site and soak in your surroundings there may not be a familiar face in the crowd. Once you go through the doors your first week has officially begun. Starting a new job is a tense experience but it doesn’t have to be one that ends badly.
Whether it’s your first construction job or your tenth, it’s in those first few days that you can make your mark. Getting comfortable in the new surroundings is going to help you to feel confident in your abilities to work well. Job sites move quickly and finding success in your first week will happen with the right support.
In this blog, we offer some tips for how to make a good first impression at your new job.
Be Punctual and Work Hard
With any construction or labourer job, the best thing you can do to guarantee success in your first week is to be punctual and work hard. Job sites start early and Supervisors or Project Managers expect everyone to be ready to work as soon as they arrive. This is not the week to sleep through your alarm, leave your boots at home or forget to put petrol in your car!
Being punctual helps you to become familiarised with the project and who you’re working with. You also have a chance to go over any first day questions with your boss. The success of a job site is dependent on everyone doing their part, so expect support from those around you so that you can all work as a team.
If you get stuck in, you’ll soon find a rhythm. Project managers want to know that the person they’ve hired has the right attitude, and doing your bit gets you off on the right foot – the finer details will follow.
Soak Up All the Information You Can
Nobody will expect you to know how everything works in your first week, but you can give yourself a great head start by taking on every opportunity to gain experience. Even if you know how to do a job, there are always more efficient approaches that are faster or less wasteful that you may not be aware of yet.
In a construction job, the best sources of information are the people who have been doing it the longest. Observe how senior tradespeople go about their tasks and don’t be afraid to ask why they do something a certain way.
You’ll find that other tradespeople will be willing to teach you so long as you are willing to learn, especially if it is something that will make their job easier or prevent work from having to be redone. You are going to be a more effective employee when you ask for opportunities to do better!
Take Initiative
As we said before, attitude is everything on a job site, especially in your first week in a construction or labourer job. However, a good attitude is about more than just powering through the work that is given to you and waiting for the next task.
Look for opportunities to help and ways you can make yourself useful, even if it is outside the scope of your usual responsibilities. Taking the initiative is always looked upon as positive and you’ll gain some excellent feedback as a result. Work sites rely on people being able to get on with their roles without constant supervision and support.
The more that you can prove your ability to take initiative, tackle tasks without being told and help your new workmates, the more you will make a good impression and find success at your new job.
Summary
Although it will take some time to adjust and truly settle in, following these three tips will give you the best chance early on. Success in a construction or labourer job starts with punctuality and attitude, so show up on time, prepare yourself, and work hard. While they won’t expect you to know everything, demonstrating a willingness to learn and help others without being instructed to will go a long way to helping you make a good impression.
If you’re looking to enter the industry or are currently searching for a new role, get in touch with one of our team at YourTrades. With offices in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, we are one of Queensland’s leading construction recruitment agencies.
As well as connecting you with some of the leading trade jobs in Queensland, our team offer ongoing support and personalised care to every candidate when they start a new role. Make the right choice for your career and call us today.
