Professionalism and your first week at work

Your first week in a job, internship or volunteering role shapes how people see you for months. Nobody expects you to be an expert, but everyone notices whether you are on time, curious, careful and easy to work with.

Before day one

• Work out your journey the night before: how long it takes, which metro or bus you will use and a backup plan. Robert Half suggests planning your timings, laying out your outfit and packing a notebook, pen and lunch money the evening before.
• Check the dress code with whoever hired you. If you are unsure, go slightly smarter than you think is needed for the first few days, then adjust to what colleagues actually wear.
• Reread the job description and the organisation's website so you can connect what you see on day one to what they do.
• Get a proper night's sleep. Arriving alert matters more than any last-minute research.

Your first day

• Aim to arrive about ten minutes early, as Robert Half recommends. In UAE summer heat, allow extra time so you are not arriving hot and rushed.
• Prepare a short introduction of about 60 seconds: your name, what you are studying, your role and one friendly detail. You will repeat it many times.
• Take notes during your induction. Write down names, the systems you will use and who to ask for what. Never write actual passwords in a notebook you might lose.
• Robert Half reminds new starters that no one expects you to be an expert on day one. Your job this week is to learn, not to impress.

Asking questions the professional way

• Ask rather than guess. Robert Half notes that a manager would rather you ask a question than misunderstand and do a task wrong.
• If your manager is busy, keep a running list and ask several questions together at a good moment, rather than interrupting every ten minutes.
• Before asking, spend a few minutes trying to find the answer yourself (shared drive, handbook, earlier emails). Then say what you checked: 'I looked in the onboarding folder but could not find the leave form. Where is it kept?'
• When you ask by email, follow the UNC Writing Center's advice: state your purpose in the first line and include the context the reader needs (see the next lesson).
• Repeat instructions back in your own words to confirm: 'So you would like the summary by 3pm, one page, in the team folder. Is that right?'

What professionalism looks like day to day

• Be on time for your start time, meetings and deadlines. If you will be late, message your manager before the start time, not after.
• Google's Project Aristotle found that dependability, meaning members reliably complete quality work on time, is one of five dynamics that set effective teams apart. Punctuality is where it starts.
• Keep your phone away during meetings and while serving customers, unless it is part of your work.
• Double-check your work before handing it in: spelling, numbers, names and file names.
• Own mistakes quickly. Robert Half advises admitting errors immediately, showing you understand what went wrong and explaining how you will fix it.
• Keep confidential information confidential. Do not post photos of the workplace, customers or documents on social media without permission.
• Observe before suggesting changes. Learn why things are done a certain way before proposing a better one.

Weeks one to four

• If no goals were set during induction, Robert Half suggests asking your manager for a meeting to agree goals for your first 30, 60 and 90 days. For a short internship, ask what a successful end of placement looks like.
• Agree a regular check-in, even 15 minutes a week, to review progress and expectations.
• Accept a buddy or find an informal mentor: someone a year or two ahead of you who can explain the unwritten rules.
• Spend five minutes each morning planning your day and five minutes each evening noting what you finished and what you learned.