The first week in a new job is not a fair measure of the value you will bring.

REFLECTION

WHAT THIS MEANS

Week one measures familiarity, and you have none yet. The names, the systems, the unwritten rules and the reasons things are done that way all take time to arrive, so early clumsiness reflects how new you are rather than what you can do. The gap between how you feel and how you are seen is usually wide in your favor at this stage.

Keep a list of what confuses you rather than an inventory of your failings. Ask the questions while being new is still an explanation. Judge yourself at three months, and expect the first weeks to feel worse than they look from outside.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

What did you conclude about yourself during a difficult first week?

MORE IN MINDSET & IDENTITY

Free, with nothing to buy inside it.