As the old saying goes, "you don't have a second chance to leave a first impression".

Everyone from a fresh graduate to a manager or chief executive officer undoubtedly wants to make the right impression quickly on the daunting first day at work in a new company.

To weather the tough times, Hays, the global specialist recruitment firm, has come up with seven tips to help leave a quick and lasting first impression.

The first impression from Simon Lance, regional director of Hays in China, is to "break bad habits such as poor time management", a tip heartily endorsed by Qin Hao, deputy general manager of Jiangsu Allyrise Pharmaceutical Co Ltd.

"Being late on the first day of work is really unforgivable. Punctuality is not a merit, but a must at my company," said Qin.

The second piece of advice is to sketch a seating plan of your immediate work area and put people's names at their various seats.

"Greet people by name and use their names when conversing to help imbed this information. You will be building rapport at the same time," said Lance.

The third tip is to stay focused on what is important while the fourth tip is to ask questions or for an instruction to be repeated.

"Managers have a busy job so don't expect them to remember to tell you everything you need to know," said Lance. "This is also a great time to talk to other key people in the business - when appropriate - about the bigger picture as well as what they do and how success is achieved in their areas."

A fifth tip will be listening a lot more than talking in the early stages. Make good quality notes but check the workplace protocol before taking any hand held device into meetings, advised Lance.

The sixth tip should be simply observing the workplace culture, connections and rituals in the early stages. "Don't make snap judgments about people or situations. Steer clear of any politics and walk away from any conversation that sounds like gossip," said Lance.

It was just such an experience that caused Li Yuchen, who now works at an advertising firm in Shanghai, to leave a position soon after she was hired.

"Office politics were so serious at my previous company that I had to keep my head down all the time to avoid being maligned. But that did not last too long. I quit three months after working in the consulting firm," said Li.

Last but not least those nervous about starting a new job, are advised to get farewell card from the former workplace handy at home to re-read the positive message from people who were once strangers.

"Remind yourself of past successes and that you were hired because you are the best person for the job and have a lot to offer," said Lance.

shijing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/18/2013 page17)