{"id":4689,"date":"2019-09-24T13:12:35","date_gmt":"2019-09-24T20:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/knowyourteam.com\/blog\/?p=4689"},"modified":"2025-01-10T12:08:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-10T20:08:55","slug":"how-to-impress-your-new-boss-in-your-first-30-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canopy.is\/blog\/2019\/09\/24\/how-to-impress-your-new-boss-in-your-first-30-days\/","title":{"rendered":"How to impress your new boss in your first 30 days"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When you start a new job, your goal is to make a good impression. Here are 8 ways to impress your new boss in the first 30 days.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Impress<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If you’re looking to impress your new boss, I may have a few good insights for you. Recently, I was hired at Canopy<\/a>, and \u2013 much to my surprise \u2013 I was shocked to learn that I had impressed our CEO Claire Lew<\/a>, in a way I didn’t quite know I had in me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire approached me back in March of this year to help with her podcast, The Heartbeat<\/a>, and before I knew it, she asked me to come on full-time as Canopy\u2019s Operations Manager. I\u2019ve found that when you start an engagement for a new company or client, your first priority should always be asking yourself, \u201cHow can you impress your new boss?\u201d But Claire\u2019s offer still came as a surprise to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat did I do so well?\u201d I asked myself. Before I knew it, I had some answers which Claire thoughtfully took the time to tell me in my onboarding letter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long story short: I had made an impression. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claire wrote to me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cIn the most simple terms: I was impressed while working with you. Ever since we began working together on the podcast, it became obvious to me that you produce excellent work. We highly value the ability to just execute, and I noticed your ability to do that immediately. You have a keen eye for detail (so important in your role!), adjusting things based on feedback \u2013 and you very quickly grasped our brand. Those are not easy things to do, so that really stood out to me.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So on my Blog<\/a> debut here, I\u2019m sharing eight ways you can impress your new boss in the first 30 days of your employment.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#1: Ask yourself:  \u201cHow can I exceed expectations?\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Chances are your new boss will have a serious backlog of work for you to be done when you are hired. Listen to them and take notes. Now, any decent boss will not expect you to wave your magic wand and make it all happen immediately…but you can<\/em> make a lot happen, faster than you might anticipate. \ud83d\ude42 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I originally started working with Canopy, there were 34 episodes of The Heartbeat<\/a> that needed to be edited and remastered. Claire asked me to edit and remaster four old episodes of the show every month, as well as take on the future episodes she would be putting out twice each month.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I edited and remastered the four old episodes for the month the next day<\/em> and let her know they were completed. After doing so, she expressed quite frankly that she was impressed \u2013 and that she in no way expected me to have them done so quickly. I\u2019d exceeded her expectations with both the turnaround time and with the thoroughness that I\u2019d completed the task. Because of it, Claire began to share with me with complex and interesting projects that I\u2019d never imagine taking on before. The fulfillment in my own role has increased, accordingly. And it\u2019s all because I asked myself, \u201cHow can I exceed expectations?\u201d for the work I was producing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#2: Display excellent writing skills.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pay attention to your grammar and writing skills. Your written words reflect your thoughts \u2013 and you can impress your new boss by sharing these thoughts clearly and articulately. When you write well, you show your boss your clear thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing with rampant spelling and grammatical errors, especially in a professional setting looks sloppy, and chances are the person on the receiving end of your writing and communication will notice. When you write carelessly \u2013 with mistakes and other issues \u2013 people won\u2019t take you professionally, most critically being your new boss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowing down and taking your time when you write, triple checking that names are spelled correctly, and asking for feedback on written, public-facing pieces (like blog posts!) are all things people who display excellent writing skills do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#3: Accept feedback willingly.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t get defensive<\/a> when your new boss is giving you feedback. Even if it feels like the smallest, idiosyncratic detail \u2013 like changing the structure of a sentence \u2013 understand that your boss\u2019s intention is likely to help, not hurt you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feedback isn\u2019t meant to pick you apart and have you feeling bad about yourself. It\u2019s your boss\u2019s attempt to encourage you to grow. Part of my role at Canopy<\/a> is running all of our social media. At one point in the first week of working together, Claire shared some feedback that a few posts on Twitter<\/a> could be “sharper” and “pointier”. Instead of being offended or becoming overly self-conscious of my work, I willingly accepted her feedback \u2013 I saw it as immensely helpful. I then immediately started changing the tweets. Turns out emojis really make a difference in post engagement! \ud83c\udf1f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accepting feedback willingly and going one step further by implementing it is a sure sign that you take your role seriously \u2013 and will definitely impress your new boss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#4: Give feedback willingly.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Bosses aren\u2019t perfect. The best ones want to help you. Help them help you<\/em> by giving them feedback that will tell them how you can work to your best potential. I know it can be scary to tell a superior you don\u2019t like something about their management style, the work that they have you doing, or being honest about your ability to pick up things up as fast as they want you to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, I am learning SEO and it is an immense<\/em> amount to take in. But my ability to learn SEO is something that could be a dramatic contribution to our team. I ran a few topics past her, and admittedly they did not have the punch nor power we were after. She came back to me with four suggestions for topics she knew I could write well on, and it was just what I needed. Therefore, I asked her if until I take the next few weeks to buckle down and really learn SEO, it would be super helpful if she gave me prompts on what to write about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giving honest feedback will impress your new boss and show them you want to succeed not only for yourself, but for the company at large. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

#5: Be eager \u2013 but set expectations.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This may seem counterintuitive to the advice I gave above about exceeding deadlines to impress, but you do need to let your new boss know your ideal working schedule. For example, you should share your take on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n