Successfully complete a blaring trial period

I will give you an advice to successfully complete a blaring trial period when arriving in a new company. But before that, I would like to tell you a story that I saw in the company where I worked a few years ago and in which a new employee had just found a job.

A three month trial period had been allocated to the employee at his arrival, in order to allow him to prove that the company had been right to trust him. Unfortunately, after the three month the employee had failed to complete the major task that the company had given to him. However, by feeling good in the company and by being confident that he could do better, the newly hired guy then asked the company to give him another chance. The company accepted and proposed him a new three month trial period, which unfortunately was not a better success than the first one. So the newcomer started looking for opportunities in other companies.

This story showed me the very important role of a trial period: it enables the employer and the employee to check whether they match to each other and if they can or not start to establish a climate of trust between them.

I will give you my tip to successfully complete your trial period when arriving in a new company. This tip enabled me to make a good start on all my long term positions, and to get job offers very soon after the beginning of my internships. Here is this advice:

Tip to successfully complete a blaring trial period:

• Results of your first main mission must exceed your new employer’s expectations, and create a “woaw” effect.
• These results must be delivered quickly and under a communicable form that you will distribute (e.g. PDF report, powerpoint document, presentation during a meeting…).

Indeed the company will generally give you a first main mission in order to test you. People from Management will also want to know whether you fit your new position. Therefore if not only you achieve the first objectives but also you exceed them, you will rapidly secure your image and your credibility in the company. The objective here is clearly to create the “wow” among your new managers and to make a real impression. 

As instance, do not hesitate to store the information you used for your mission and to make them available to your colleagues under a practical form. This extra will show to all people that you are in the same boat as them and that you are ready to move forward with them.

I also advise to present your results under an easily distributable form (e.g. pdf report, powerpoint document, presentation during a meeting…). This will demonstrate your good organizational behavior and particularly it will enable to communicate in a concrete form that you are able to deliver added value in exchange for a salary. A pdf report or again a PowerPoint document can easily be distributed by email among your new colleagues, who will wonder about your actual skills shortly after your arrival.

Two remarks:

• If you feel good in your new job but that you struggle to deliver your first outcomes, step back and react professionally. For example you can provoke a meeting with your boss to explain your difficulties. Your direct manager expects that you will encounter difficulties; the contrary would be surprising for him. React pro-actively in such a way is exactly what did not do the newcomer taken in example at the beginning of this post.
• Keep in mind that the trial period is not uniquely to the benefit of the company, but also of yours. It allows to check if you feel good in the company, and to leave this one if it is not the case.

In short

• A trial period enables the employer and the employee to check whether they match to each other and if they can or not start to establish a climate of trust between them.
• To successfully perform a blaring trial period: exceed expectation of your employer and deliver your results under a communicable form that you will distribute quickly.

To your success.

Julien