How Best to Conquer the First Day of Work Blues

The first day at a new job is often nerve-wracking for many reasons: you’re entering an unknown environment, starting a new role, and meeting a new group of colleagues, among others. It’s completely normal to be nervous. Learning how to deal with the nerves, however, is another matter.

You may experience self-doubt and anxiety in your new role, and that’s okay. You’re out of your comfort zone, and it’s only natural that you will feel unprepared. But it’s important to remember that your employer was impressed by what you had to offer when they hired you. You deserve to be there.

If you let the negative thoughts overwhelm you, you may have something called imposter syndrome.

Starting a New Role And Imposter Syndrome

According to the Harvard Business Review, imposter syndrome often occurs when individuals take on new roles or responsibilities. When people experience specific career milestones, like a new job, a new career or a promotion, self-doubt or guilt can kick in. People with imposter syndrome may obsess over the tiniest mistakes and work twice as hard to prove themselves.

Psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes came up with the term, highlighting three key characteristics of the phenomenon:

• Thinking that people have overestimated your abilities
• Feeling fearful of being exposed as a fraud
• A tendency to constantly downplay achievements

Imposter Syndrome in Singapore

If you feel like you have imposter syndrome, you’re not alone. It is a very common occurrence, especially in Singapore. In 2021, a survey conducted by workplace application tool Asana found that 74% of Singapore workers reported experiencing imposter syndrome in 2020. The global average is 62%.

Psychiatrist Lim Boon Leng suggests that this could be due to Singaporeans’ tendency to be perfectionists and have high expectations of themselves. Not achieving the results they want may make them feel like a failure.

It’s also possible that the pandemic has contributed to imposter syndrome. The lack of in-person interaction and affirmation from colleagues in the workplace can bring down an individual’s self-confidence.

Dealing With Imposter Syndrome

Once you’ve recognised that you have imposter syndrome, the next step is to process these feelings and manage them. Ignoring it will not make the issue go away, and may lead to burnout, anxiety disorder or depression. Here are some tips on dealing with negative feelings:

• Think positive - Downplaying successes may be an attempt at being humble and not becoming arrogant about your skills. However, doing this too often may hurt you and cause self-doubt. Celebrate your accomplishments to remind you of how good you are and empower you to believe in yourself.
• Talk about it - Whether it’s with a mentor, a friend, or a therapist, it would help to talk to someone you trust to help you realize the gravity of your feelings. A licensed mental health professional, for example, can help provide an objective analysis of what you’re going through and create a plan to break the negativity.
• Remember the facts - If you’re feeling down about your abilities, looking at your past work can be a helpful reminder. You’ve had achievements and successes that you may have forgotten, so writing them down can be helpful to boost your self-confidence.
• Plan - If you’re starting in a new role, it might help to create a checklist or a plan to help keep you focused. For onboarding, employers often look to creating a 30-60-90 plan to guide their new hires.

How a 30-60-90 Plan Can Help You in Your New Role

A 30-60-90 day plan is a common strategy to help new employees adapt to their new surroundings. Usually prepared by managers for their new hires, you can also create one for yourself for your personal use.

Having a 30-60-90 day plan can help combat imposter syndrome because it clears your goals and achievements. Ticking things off a list can help you focus on the tangible aspects of your job instead of your fears of feeling inadequate. Managers can also use this as a concrete source of feedback and affirmation, further boosting an employee’s self-confidence.

When you're joining a new team, having a 30-60-90 day plan can also help you make a good impression with your colleagues while creating a set of achievable goals. This can help focus your mindset on the task at hand, and prevent you from feeling overwhelmed or underqualified by your new responsibilities.

If you’re a people manager, remember to create SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) goals for both you and your team. Having clear expectations for everyone can provide metrics where you can base your success. Chances are that you’re managing your team remotely, so best to create a good first impression by showing them that you have a solid plan laid out from the very beginning.

Here’s what to think about when creating your 30-60-90 Plan:

• First 30 days - Spend your early days at the company developing a better understanding of the organisation, its processes and its culture. It is also when you meet your colleagues and stakeholders and learn their systems and expectations.
• Days 30-60 - If you’re a team manager, this is when you can look at the existing structures and figure out how you can improve the processes. Remember, you’ve been hired because your expertise can help make systems more efficient, and this is your chance to share your ideas with the team. For non-management roles, this is the time where you build relationships with your co-workers and get feedback on your performance from your supervisor.
• Days 60-90 - At this point, you should have a firm grasp of how the company works. Now is the time when you can implement projects or new initiatives that can benefit your organisation. For non-management roles, you can start working on projects and collaborate with other teams.

Executive coach and author Anne Marie Segal recommends a 30-60-90 plan to help one optimize and organise their early days in a new role. While it will not guarantee success, it will help facilitate the right mindset for anyone starting something new.

Being a newbie all over again can be daunting, and it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed. Having a plan from the get-go can help mitigate the negative feelings and stop them from taking over your every thought. Don’t forget to celebrate your new post! This is a step forward in your career journey, and you earned your spot here. You deserve this.

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