Starting a new job can elicit a mix of powerful emotions: from pants-crapping excitement to pants-wetting terror. Sure, it’s intimidating. You won’t be doing exactly what you were doing in the same way you were doing it with the people your were doing it. That’s a lot of change to process – and fast.

So, rather than being overwhelmed by your new surroundings, take a gander at these tips that will ensure your transition is as smooth as Ex-Lax.

1. Be prepared for anything. You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight and you don’t bring a gun to your first day of work. Take whatever time you have prior to actually starting to read up on your new position, your new employer and your new industry. Go through a mental checklist of what a day at your new job may entail. I like to test drive my route to work during the times I’d be commuting to get a feel for how traffic flows. This may seem like overkill, but it’ll save you the embarrassment of explaining to your new boss why you’re late. Oh, and it may be a good idea to figure out what you’re going to wear for the first week. From there, you can wash and dry clean as needed. Once you’ve established a reputation as being the smelly person in the office, it tends to linger. Like your stench. Seriously, hit the showers.
2. Put on a happy face. No hissing, cursing or spitting at new colleagues. Take a cue from a motivational poster: It takes more muscles to frown than to smile. While an ear-to-ear grin may make you come off looking more phlegmatic than charismatic, a generally pleasant demeanor will help you seem more approachable. Even if you aren’t terribly excited about your new position, don’t let The Man know. Show enthusiasm for your new job and surroundings.  Be attentive. And try to play nice with the other kids. You can gradually add the hissing, cursing and spitting later.
3. Get to know your new colleagues. You’re thrown into a sink-or-swim environment. You need to find out who will help you clip along and who will drag you down. Whether you like it or not, this involves getting to know your coworkers. It’s important to know who does what and associate a face with a task. This may not go over so well in a proctologist’s office, but under normal circumstances, it’s just good policy. Also, “Hey! You with the hair…” quickly wears out its welcome. So take the initiative to learn people’s names. Another benefit with this “getting to know people” thing is that you may just make a new friend. And that’ll make break time around the water cooler that much more interesting. Or going out for after-hours libations. Or between-hours libations. Wait, strike that last one.
4. Pay attention to what you’re doing. It’s safe to say that learning your new job is pretty important. After all, that’s kind of the reason you’re there. So find out what your new boss expects of you. And how to meet those expectations. Don’t just learn how to do your job, learn how to do it well. Also, take note on how projects move around the office. Who you get assignments from. Who you give assignments to. It’s a sad fact that many offices do things because that’s the way they’ve always been done. But sometimes this isn’t the most efficient or effective course of action. As an outsider, you’re in a good position to catch these inefficiencies and earn a hearty head pat from the higher-ups.
5. Remember yourself. If you want to bring your A-game, you need to take care of yourself. Don’t let stress and nerves sabotage your health. Eat right. Exercise. Sleep. And take time for yourself. At the end of the day, it’s just a job. And no job is worth sacrificing your health or integrity.

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