Listening and researching can place you on the road to success. (Photo by Cynthia Price)

You are starting a new job. Congratulations!

Are you ready for the first few months on the job? Here are a few things to consider:

Meet your colleagues within your division. You should know what each person’s role is. In addition, they can provide you with important information about how to do your job, what paperwork you need to complete and who really knows the 4-1-1. They also can provide you with practical tips, such as the best places to eat.

Secure early wins. You are new and want to prove yourself. That’s great, but you don’t want to over promise and under deliver. Instead, identify opportunities to build personal credibility. At one company, my boss told me that he would consider my hire a success, if we had a newsletter within the year. I delivered a newsletter within the first quarter, and continued to publish it regularly during my tenure.

Listen. In the first few weeks, meet with key stakeholders. Hear what they have to say. Learn about what opportunities exist for success. More importantly, learn where the land mines exist. Don’t come in thinking you have all of the answers. Instead listen to people who can help you understand the environment.

Research. Ideally, you reviewed the annual report, website and social media sites, as well as any news clips about the organization before you interviewed. Now that you are on staff, find out if there are other documents with which you should be familiar. You most likely won’t have time to read them during the day, so make them your homework.

If you follow these suggestions, you should be on the road to success.