Your first month in a new job: settling in

How to handle your first day, week and month in a new job: preparation, introductions, workplace rules, a mentor, a question log and a manager review.

You have been hired, congratulations. Now comes the most interesting and nerve-racking stage: new people, new rules, unfamiliar software and plenty of “how do things work around here?” questions. Nobody expects you to know everything in your first month, but this is exactly when the team forms its first impression of you and when you shape your own way of working. This guide is about settling in (onboarding): what to prepare before you start, how to get through the first day and the first week, how to find a mentor, keep a question log, understand the team’s culture, balance asking for help with working things out yourself, do your first tasks well and talk to your manager at the end of the month. Along the way we follow three people: Jahongir, an office manager; Malika, who has joined a marketing department; and Sherzod, who has started work as an electrician at a manufacturing plant. Their names and situations are illustrative.

Preparing before your first day

A good first day begins a day or two before you start. The aim at this stage is simple: nothing should throw you off on the morning itself.

Documents

Ask HR or your manager in advance which documents you will need. Usually that means your passport or ID card, copies of your diploma or certificates, your employment record and, for some roles, a medical certificate. The list varies between organisations, so do not guess: ask. Put everything in one folder and keep scanned copies on your phone.

Route and timing

Try the journey to work beforehand, ideally at the time your working day starts. In Tashkent, morning traffic or the metro, and in the regions, the bus timetable, can upset your plans. On the first day arrive 10–15 minutes early: you will need time to find the entrance, the security desk and the right floor.

Clothing

Ask about the dress code during the interview or check with HR. If there is no clear answer, dress slightly more formally than the team on day one; you can adjust later. Sherzod’s situation is different: on the factory floor, workwear, safety footwear and protective equipment are either issued or required. Before starting, he checks what will be provided and what he needs to bring himself.

Questions for day one

Write down a few questions in advance: what time the working day starts, who to report to, how lunch works, what to bring on the first day. Jahongir sends these questions in a short message to the manager who hired him and gets the answers beforehand, so his first day is much calmer.

Day one: introductions, your workspace and accounts

Meeting people and remembering names

On the first day you will be introduced to dozens of people and half the names will vanish straight away. That is normal, but a few techniques help:

Repeat the name aloud when you are introduced: “Nice to meet you, Dilnoza opa.”
At the end of the day, write it down in a notebook: name, role and what they can help with.
If you forget a name, do not be embarrassed to ask again: “Sorry, could you remind me of your name?” In the first week this is perfectly fine.

In Uzbek workplaces, how you address people matters: in many places it is usual to add “aka” or “opa” when speaking to older colleagues, or to use their name and patronymic. Notice how colleagues address one another and follow their lead.

Your workspace

Check that your desk, computer, phone and any equipment you need are working. If something is missing, find out on the very first day who to tell. For Sherzod, the most important part of day one is the health and safety briefing. He listens to the whole briefing, asks about anything he does not understand and does not touch any electrical installation on his own until he has been cleared to do so. On a production site this is not a formality but a matter of life and safety.

Accounts and password security

Office staff often receive several accounts on the first day: work email, an internal system, the team chat, accounting software or a CRM. Your security habits need to be right from the start:

Change the temporary password straight away to a strong password of your own.
Do not write passwords on a scrap of paper on your desk or on a sticky note on your monitor. Use a password manager approved by your organisation.
Do not use the same password for personal and work accounts.
If it is offered, turn on two-factor authentication.
Lock your screen when you step away: on Windows, press Win + L.
Do not trust messages or calls “from IT” asking for your password. A genuine IT specialist will never ask for it.

On her first day, Malika is given access to the marketing department’s social media pages. She does not forward the passwords to her personal chat “so she remembers them”; instead she asks the head of department whether there are rules for storing them.

The first week: structure, rules and communication etiquette

How the organisation is structured and who is responsible for what

The main task of the first week is to draw a “map” of the organisation. Sketch a simple chart on paper or in a document: management, departments, your own department and the people you work with most. Next to each name, note what they are responsible for: who signs documents, who approves purchase requests, who to tell when a computer breaks, where holiday requests go.

As office manager, Jahongir works with almost every department. In his first week he drops in on each one briefly, introduces himself and asks, “What will you need from me?” The question works both as an introduction and as a list of future tasks.

Internal rules

If you are given the internal work regulations, a job description, safety requirements and other internal documents, do not just sign them: read them. Working hours, breaks, who to tell and how if you are late or ill, the confidentiality of documents and data: these are the rules you will need most often.

Etiquette in work chats and email

Many organisations run their work through Telegram groups or other messaging apps. In your first week, watch how these groups are used: which group is for what, when people usually post, who addresses whom and how. A few simple rules:

Only post in the general group what concerns everyone; ask personal questions in a direct message.
Do not send a bare “Assalomu alaykum” and wait for a reply; after the greeting, write your question straight away.
Do not message in the evening or at weekends unless it really cannot wait.
Write rather than send voice messages, especially to your manager.

If email is used for formal correspondence, pay attention to the subject line, the greeting and the signature. We cover this in detail in our article on email etiquette.

A mentor and a note-taking system

A mentor or an experienced colleague

Some organisations formally assign a mentor to new staff. If yours does not, find one yourself: an experienced, patient colleague who is happy to answer questions. You could ask your manager, “Who can I go to with everyday questions during my first few weeks?”

Sherzod’s foreman pairs him with an experienced electrician, Rustam aka. For the first weeks Sherzod works alongside him, they read the wiring diagrams together, and every job he first watches, then does under Rustam aka’s supervision. Respect your mentor’s time: save up small questions and ask them once or twice a day, not every five minutes. And always thank them for their help.

A question log

The most useful habit of the first month is a question log. It can be a paper notebook or a note on your phone. Record three things in it:

Questions. Collect the ones that do not need an immediate answer and go through them with your mentor in one sitting.
Answers. Write down anything that has been explained to you once, so you never have to ask twice.
Processes. Break recurring tasks down into steps: “Purchase request: 1) fill in the form; 2) get it signed by the head of department; 3) hand it to accounts.”

In her first week, Malika already writes down how the department’s content plan gets approved. A month later her notes have become a ready-made guide for a new intern.

Understanding the workplace culture

Every organisation has two kinds of rules: written (formal) and unwritten (informal). The formal rules are in the documents; the informal ones you only learn by observing.

Watch for the unwritten rules

Do meetings start on time, or do they usually run late?
Can you message senior management directly, or are you expected to go through your head of department first?
Are important decisions made in meetings, or agreed beforehand in informal conversations?
How much humour is acceptable in the team?

Tea, lunch and celebrations

In Uzbek workplaces, tea and lunch are often not just about eating but time that brings the team together. In many offices people drink tea together in the morning or after lunch; in some, lunch is prepared jointly or people take turns bringing bread and sweets. Observe these customs and join in when you can: it is over tea that you most quickly learn “who’s who” and how things really work. Also find out how birthdays, holidays and weddings are usually marked. If the team tends to collect for a joint present, remember that taking part is voluntary.

Jahongir notices that every Friday after lunch there is a short “tea meeting” in the office. It is not in any official schedule, but the week’s problems are discussed there informally, and now he never misses it.

Observe, but do not rush

In your first month, avoid saying “at my last job we did it differently”. Your experience is valuable, but make suggestions carefully, once you understand how things work.

Balancing asking for help with working it out yourself

New starters tend to make one of two mistakes: either they ask about every little thing, or, worried that people will think they do not know, they ask nothing and struggle alone for hours. The second is often the more dangerous.

A simple rule: try on your own for 15–30 minutes first, then ask (the time is only a guide and depends on the task). Trying means checking your question log, internal documents and earlier correspondence. When you do ask, say what you have already tried:

“Rustam aka, this circuit breaker in the distribution board needs replacing. I have looked at the diagram, but I could not work out which line goes to which room. Could we look at it together?”

A question like this saves time and shows that you think for yourself.

There are exceptions, though. If the matter involves safety, money, client data or anything that cannot be undone, ask immediately, without trying first. For Sherzod this rule is absolute: if in doubt, work stops and he calls the senior electrician.

Doing your first tasks well

First tasks are usually small: tidying up documents, drafting a social media post, checking equipment. Small as they are, the team judges you by them. A few rules:

Clarify the task. Ask what the result should look like, what the deadline is and who to hand it to. Briefly repeat back what you heard: “So I’ll send you three post drafts by Friday lunchtime.”
Ask for an example. If similar work has been done before, seeing it saves a lot of time.
Show work in progress. Halfway through a larger task, ask, “Shall I carry on in this direction?” That beats redoing everything at the end.
Check before you hand it in. Spelling, figures, names, the file name.
If you will miss a deadline, say so early. Not on the last day.

For her first assignment, a post about an event, Malika first looks through the department’s previous posts, gets a feel for the style and prepares two versions. The head of department picks one and suggests a small change. The post goes out the same day.

A brief word on tiredness and stress

The first month is emotionally demanding: lots of new information, fear of getting things wrong and coming home exhausted are all normal. Keep a regular sleep pattern, do not overload your evenings in the first weeks and do not treat every mistake as a disaster: mistakes are expected from new staff; what matters is owning them and putting them right. We are preparing a separate article on managing tiredness and stress.

The end of the first month: self-assessment and a talk with your manager

At the end of the month, set aside half an hour and ask yourself three questions:

What have I learnt, and what can I now do on my own?
What am I still finding difficult?
What do I want to improve next month?

Write down your answers and ask your manager for a short conversation. If they do not suggest it themselves, take the initiative: “My first month is over. Could you spare 20 minutes to tell me how you think I’m doing?” During the conversation:

Briefly run through what you have done.
Raise difficulties not as excuses but together with a proposed solution.
Ask, “What would you like to see more of, or differently, from me?”
Agree on two or three specific goals for the next month.

If you are on a formal probation period, this conversation also serves as its midpoint. We explain in detail how you are assessed during probation and how to prepare for it in our article on the probation period.

Common mistakes, a practice exercise and a checklist

Common mistakes

Never asking anything. Struggling alone for hours and ending up handing in the wrong work.
Trying to change everything at once. Saying “this should be done differently” before you understand the process.
Writing nothing down. Asking the same question three times.
Being careless with passwords. Writing them on sticky notes or sending them in a chat.
Staying out of the informal side of work. Always skipping tea and lunch creates distance from the team.
Raising deadline problems at the last minute. Warning early that you will not make it keeps people’s trust.
Putting off safety rules “for later”. On a production site in particular, this can have serious consequences.

Practice exercise

If you are about to start a new job or have only just started, do the following:

Draw up a one-page “Day one” plan: route, timing, clothing, documents and five questions.
At the end of the first week, sketch a map of the organisation: at least 10 names, roles and notes on “what I would go to them about”.
In your question log, write out at least three recurring processes step by step.
At the end of the month, answer the three self-assessment questions in writing and ask your manager for a conversation.

First-month checklist

Documents handed in; workspace and equipment ready.
Temporary passwords changed; locking your screen has become a habit.
Safety and internal rules read; anything unclear has been asked about.
Names and responsibilities of your department and key colleagues written down.
You have a mentor or an experienced colleague you can turn to.
You keep a question log; the main processes are written down.
You understand the etiquette of work chats and email.
First tasks handed in on time and checked.
At the end of the month you have talked with your manager and agreed goals for the next month.

The first month is not about being perfect; it is about building the right habits. Observe, take notes, ask questions and do small tasks well, and by the second month you will feel like a full member of the team.

If you would like to learn a new profession and start work well prepared, take a look at our association’s free training programmes. When you are ready, submit an application and our specialists will get in touch.