It’s important to get off to a flying start with your career and make a good impression that you can then build upon. Here are our top 10 tips to help people at the start of their careers.

When looking for your first role and then how you progress in it, try to focus on what interests you and what you think you are good at. Evidence has shown that this is a recipe for success and people who do this feel more motivated and get better satisfaction from their work. In terms of both self and career development, also try to identify things that interest you but you may not be good at yet and use these to identify your areas for improvement so you can become strong in those too.

Making the transition into a new organisation can be daunting enough but making a transition from the world of learning to the world of work can present even more of a challenge. Making sure you are organised and trying to get yourself into a routine quickly will help with this. This starts with getting your self up and to work in the morning, through to how you manage yourself and projects throughout the day and also how you relax and switch after work.  Taking time to plan and prioritise can help with this as can trying different approaches to see what works for you and what doesn’t.

Research on effective relationships at work identifies that a lack of clarity leads to assumptions which can then turn to misunderstandings. It is crucial that you understand what is expected of you in your role. This may include targets and goals, what is in scope of your role and what isn’t along with who to go to for what. Your manager is the best person to help you along with your colleagues, so early conversations about this are important. After that if you are not sure then just ask.

Ask as many of these as you can. Those you come into contact with at work will not only be expecting you to, it also shows your interest and initiative to learn. Questions that come from people new to an organisation are often some of the best ones as they challenge people’s thinking and come from a place of not knowing. Adopting a curious mindset will help you with this and asking questions are a big part of your learning.

Don’t be afraid to put your thoughts and ideas forward, whether that be in meetings or day-to-day with the people you work with. It will get you noticed and help you to feel you are able to have a say. Its also good to speak up and ask if you need something or something isn’t working for you as the sooner you do that, the sooner it can be sorted.

Building and maintaining a good network of people at work is really important as it provides a source of help and information when you find yourself stuck. A good personal support network is invaluable if things become challenging, and you need to reach out to someone. Your network can be inside the organisation with colleagues or people who share the same discipline as you or outside the organisation such as professional networks and people you went to college and University with.

Developing your self-awareness will help you to get the best out of yourself, which in turn is key to your success. This involves trying to better understand your likes, dislikes, preferences and ways of working. It’s also important to share this with your line manager, and others you work with so they understand and can help get the best out of you as well.

Taking time to understand how others might be different than you in terms of their styles and preferences at work is also important. It can help you look at situations from their perspective so can that you adapt your style and approach when interacting with them if needed. This will help you build and maintain effective relationships and mean that they are more likely to adapt their style and approach to suit you.

In most organisations there will be opportunities to get involved in activities outside your immediate role. These can be great for developing relationships learning new things and generally raising your profile around the organisation. If something comes your way that interests, you and you can fit it in then go for it!

Don’t be afraid to try something new and different or something that stretches you. The more you do this, the more you will learn. Part of learning and growing is about not always getting things exactly right. You will make mistakes but learning from the experience and succeeding next time is what helps us and our comfort zone to grow.