To celebrate Careers Week and International Women’s Day, as well as being one month into my new job, I wanted to write a quick post to help others who may be starting a new role. Whether you’re moving internally, or getting a brand new job, moving on to a different role can be a daunting prospect.

This is particularly the case for women working in STEM, as research shows that they are more likely to experience imposter syndrome in their roles due to being a minority in the workplace, with just 26% of the UK tech workforce being women. Women of colour are hit even harder by this effect as they account for just 0.7% of the UK tech workforce. It can be hard to know what to do in order to get the most out of the early days of your new career, and to not let your confidence be dented.

I felt the same way just one month ago, when I got a new job with a different company. So based on my experiences, I want to highlight the three things that I think are most important for anyone to do when starting a new role.

1. Develop Relationships

Getting to know your new manager, colleagues and team members is vital when starting a new role. You will learn so much more from those around you than you ever will from documentation, and by getting to know people you will likely settle in faster and ultimately be happier in your new team.

Some key relationships to establish are with your:

• Manager. Set up a meeting with them to introduce yourself if you haven’t already done so. Get them to tell you about their career journey, about the culture and goals of the company you now work for, and work together to decide how you will work together going forward. Your manager should always be your biggest supporter, so getting to know them early is key!
• Mentor. Get a mentor if you don’t already have one! They can be a person in your company or someone external. Mentors can help to guide you, support you with questions, and help identify opportunities for you to grow and develop. They are often a key source of support on more difficult days to. Imposter Syndrome is very common when starting a new job, and a good mentor will be there to help you through this.
• Immediate Team. Depending on the size of your team, try to get to know a few of them better. Maybe have lunch together or get a tea/coffee during a break. You will likely end up interacting with these people a lot, so try to develop some friendships. Not every working-relationship has to be 100% business.

2. Make a Development Plan

Once you’ve gotten to know people, you should then start thinking about your skills and knowledge. Either by yourself or with your manager or mentor, sit down and work out what your current strengths and weaknesses are, and what you need to learn in order to develop and grow.

You can think about development in the short, medium and longer term and align your development with personal goals as well as the companies strategy and values. Make sure you share this plan with your manager, and identify any areas of training you might need.

When thinking about training, it can be useful to remember the 70-20-10 principle: 70% of your learning will likely be on-the-job, 20% will come from developmental relationships such as mentorship or shadowing, and 10% will come from formal training such as courses or qualifications.

You can structure your development plan in the way that suits you best, but the key thing is to be accountable to yourself. Make sure you visit your plan regularly to check that you are on track.

3. Be Authentic

This is potentially the most important thing you can do. You have been hired for a reason. Do not compromise on who you are to try and ‘fit in’ with a new job. It’s very easy to fall into the trap of agreeing to work later to help the team, or going to social events just to avoid letting anyone down. Ultimately, once you’ve started this pattern and expectation, it’s very difficult to undo it and this can lead to burnout or stress.

There are many ways to help yourself remain authentic. The first is to decide on your boundaries and communicate them early: if you finish work at 4pm, say this to your team and block out your calendar. The second is to do a quick introduction meeting with your entire team. I recommend presenting just one slide about yourself, including your background, values and hobbies, to your team for no more than 30 minutes. Not only will this help other people to get to know you, but it shows people what is important to you and may help them understand your principles and why you make the decisions you do.