Here are some things to keep in mind to help you through the
transition.

MEMORIES

The person who had your desk before you got there sued the
company for everything possible. Or else they were the
darling of the office, beloved as well as competent.

Whether it's one of those two things, or something in
between, if you're replacing someone, there will be
memories. Keep being yourself and doing your best, and
eventually they'll fade.

Purge your own memories. Don't bring your former boss,
colleagues and reports with you to your new job. Give the
new ones a chance.

EQ COMPETENCY: Trust until proven otherwise. Mistrust has
a huge self-fulfilling component.

FANTASIES

Whoever's training you for the job has fantasies about it.
Whatever you hear, take it with a grain of salt. I once
replaced a woman who trained me for two weeks. She was
crying and screaming all the time about the job and boss
from hell. It wasn't that way at all for me. The job was
easy to master, and the boss, a real mentor. Your own high
EQ skills can turn around many a situation that had gone in
the tank before you got there.

EQ COMPETENCY: High EQ and functional optimism.

DIFFERENT PRIORITIES

You want to know where the bathroom and coffee are, who has
the power, where to park and when pay day is. THEY want you
to fill out 1000 pieces of paper, go to introductory
meetings, and get trained on the obtuse software you know
you'll never use. How can you ace the first big project
when you have all that to deal with? I don't know, but
you'll figure it out.

Remember, your irritation at 'policy' will be more important
to them than your performance output in the early weeks so
quit trying to hit a home run, and just touch all the bases.

EQ COMPETENCY: Interpersonal skills, patience, creativity
and flexibility.

PAYING FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S INCOMPETENCE

Unless it's a newly-created job, their focus is going to be
on comparing you to the one before you, looking for negative
similarities. They're watching to see if you abuse the time
clock, alienate clients or fail to meet deadlines, or
whatever else the guilty predecessor did. Whatever it is,
it will work itself out with time.

EQ COMPETENCY: Interpersonal skills. When you catch on to
what it is they're worried about, deal with it, in behavior
and with words. "What makes you think I would fail to meet
a deadline?" is one way to handle it. Don't take the bait
(that you won't meet the deadline). Eventually by
corrective actions, you'll be trusted. And BTW, use a
quizzical and calm tone of voice; nothing smarty.

MEMORIZE PHRASES THAT TELL WHO YOU ARE

These days the person hiring may read 200 resumes to bring
in 5 people, and they may not remember what yours said.
What they do remember won't trickle down correctly. Don't
assume anyone knows your degrees, expertise, or past work
history.

The first week on his new job Tom's boss introduced him at
the first meeting as being from New York (wrong) and a whiz
at Excel (never had used it).

The antidote - take the time to get to know people
one-by-one and demonstrate and/or subtly point out your
strong points.

Work with a coach for an armory of EQ-wise responses to
difficult people and situation.

EQ COMPETENCY: It's the interface between thinking and
feeling. Manage your emotions so you can think on your
feet!

BE POSITIVE, BUT AVOID HUMOR

Keep your thoughts and comments positive. It's not the time
for self-deprecation, nor humor. Humor is easily
misunderstood, and very culture-driven. Anything you say
about yourself that's remotely negative, can and will be
held against you. Think of what you say in the early days
as being shouted into a cavern where it will reverberate and
amplify.

EQ COMPETENCY: Authenticity. Until they know you, be
yourself a little more than you ordinarily are, and your
best self.

PEOPLE ARE NATURALLY SUSPICIOUS

Because of your predecessors, and because of human nature,
you're going to have to prove yourself in many ways. The
group you're entering is forged, and you're the intruder.
Some new hires in the past have not fit it, but others have,
and eventually they'll incorporate you into the "family."

It can feel like a minefield at first as people come and try
and get you to take sides, agree the working conditions are
terrible, and so forth.

USE YOUR EQ: Learn some phrases of reply, and adopt a
neutral tone of voice, such as "So I see you've found this
to be difficult," or "I can tell you don't like Mr. X," or
simply, "Thank you for giving me the heads-up on that." You
don't want to ignore it because they'll think you're
ignoring them. You don't want to amplify it or agree,
because that can and will come back to haunt you. You have
to get in the loop first to find out what will work in your
favor.

When Blanca started her new job, Juliette told her all the
faults of Mary, another secretary. Two weeks later,
Juliette was fired, and Blanca found out that Mary was the
boss' niece.

Gossip is never the best policy, and can be lethal early-on.
If someone comes to you with gossip, under the guise of
"advice," you can tell a lot by the intensity of the emotion
behind what they say. The more emotional they are, the more
personal to them it's likely to be; in other words, not
necessarily true.

BEING TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF

Before you got there they raided your office for all the
good supplies and equipment, and then made a list of things
to foist off on you that no one else wanted to do, like
taking the cases in Durango County, and telling you no one
was allowed to mess with the thermostat. The less organized
the management of the organization, the worse it's going to
be.

EQ COMPETENCY: Use your intuition. If it smells fishy, it
is. If it's colleagues, don't fall for it. If the senior
partner, however, tells you you're going to Durango County
twice a week, then like it (or leave). If your office
doesn't have the equipment others do, mention it to
management. Workers generally do this cannibalizing without
informing management.

HOLD YOUR CRITICISM

You have to see it from the other people's point of view.
Every new person who comes in complains about things, and
often it's things they've complained out themselves. Give
yourself a break and save your criticism until you know what
you're talking about, and who to go to with the information.

DON'T TRY TOO HARD

It's the negative attraction principle. If you try too hard
you're worrying, and also forcing things, and you're more
likely to mess up. Remember how you were in your last job,
at your peak performance, and try and adopt that attitude.

YOU'RE GOING TO GET SICK

It's a combination of a new germ pool, and the stress of a
new job. Take care of yourself as best you can. Get more
sleep than usual, eat right, and don't quit exercising.

When you're new, you're under the microscope. Keep your
nose clean, use your EQ, and one fine day they'll hire
someone new and the focus will shift.