How to Pass Your Probation with Flying Colours

You’ve got the job, met your co-workers and got stuck in, so now you might be thinking about that probation date on its way. Whether its 1, 3 or 6 months in, your probation is your last frontier to being truly settled in your new position.

So, we’ve compiled a quick list of tips for you on how to glide through your assessment period with flying colours!

Be a Sponge

Absorb everything that comes your way in your first few months. Soak up as much as you can from your day-to-day tasks, team culture, company messages and the interactions you have every day. Act as if you’re studying for your own role, if you’re learning a new process, we suggest making notes! Keep it organised and retain as much of the little details as you can to ensure you have a fully formed picture of your role.

Don’t be Invisible

Even if you’re a bit of a natural introvert, it’s important to not blend into the background at first. It can be tempting to keep your head down out of fear of doing something wrong, you don’t have to go the extreme of making waves in the entire company but being present and proactive in meetings and colleague interactions (even remote ones) goes a long way to solidify peoples first impressions of you.

Don’t Avoid Questions

Don’t let your pride get in the way, we all have questions when we start a new role. You could be setting yourself up for bigger problems down the line if you refuse to ask for help when you need it initially. If you can’t figure something out, or not quite sure how a certain process works, reach out to your line manager or colleagues, and ask for some guidance to save yourself bigger issues in the future.

Ask for Feedback!

Instead of waiting for one big report at the end of your probation, regularly check in with your line manager to make sure you’re on track. It is much easier to alter small things along the way rather than a lot of things at once. This will allow you to stay on top of your work and make it much more likely that by then of your probation period you will have minimal issues if any to address. It also makes you seem proactive and ready to improve which is always a bonus.

Make Connections

You might be virtually onboarding, you can find some more specific tips here, but it’s important that you curate good working relationships no matter how your role is set up. Don’t dodge the team building exercises or meeting that your line manager might set up to encourage team building. You might have to get your “fun fact” ready in advance, but breaking the ice is important to start the journey to being an integral positive member of the team and get you on your way to passing your probation.

One Last Thing…

It might seem like common sense but starting a new role can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to passing your probation! You can find more related blogs to navigating your new role below! If you’re ready to get stuck into a new probation period, check out our live roles here