Found yourself out of work for the first time in a long time? We’ve launched the #GetHired Skills Toolkit as a simple and actionable step by step guide to secure your next role. Access the full kit here.

A good start in your new role will set you up for long term success, even if you’ve initially had to swallow a pay cut or accept a lesser title than you previously held. Use this new opportunity as a fresh chapter and a springboard to achieving your professional ambitions going forward.

Set goals

Set yourself some goals of what you want to achieve in the first 30, 60 and 90 days of your new role. Remember to utilise the SMART framework we discussed when making goals during the application process. This will ensure they’re manageable and allow you to celebrate the milestones, not matter how small, and keep your motivation engaged.

Ask for feedback

Once you’ve familiarised yourself with your role and duties ask for feedback. This can be a valuable tool to understand expectations and make changes before you’ve fully formed habits. Asking for formalised feedback in the form of a review or one to one shows you’re invested in the role and that you continuously seek to improve. However, never ask for feedback if you’re not prepared to act on it.

Track your accomplishments

Much like it’s important to create goals looking forward, you should try and keep a record of your past achievements. Whether that’s keeping a list in the back of a notebook or a live excel document, tracking your achievements over time act as a marker of how far you’ve come and drive your performance over time. It’s also a great way to prepare for performance reviews and evidence the impact you’ve had when asking for promotions or pay rises.

These accomplishments are also the kind of things you’d want to include on a CV if you were ever job hunting again. This will reduce some of the difficulty and effort when looking to refresh your CV or fill out applications. Recording detailed notes of your achievements will ensure you don’t forget to include high-impact projects and valuable information.

That’s the end of our #GetHired Skills Toolkit. We hope you found it useful and you’ve had some luck securing your new role. Remember, you can always reach out to us if you need help on your job hunt. Get in touch using our online form.