
Tips for first day of work jitters
Posted by KinderCare Jobs
Do you remember your first day of school? The first day jitters of meeting your new teacher, seeing old friends and rehashing summer vacations, wearing those new sneakers, going school supply shopping and packing that new lunch box – oh what an exciting time it was! But it was stressful learning new routines, meeting new people, and not knowing what to expect that first day.
Starting a new job is no different than your first day of school. It’s wildly exciting but it’s stressful, no doubt. Most first day jitters have to do with the fear of the unknown. You’ve done your interviews; you’ve likely met your Center Director and may have visited the center before. But, you don’t know everyone you’ll working with, you don’t know what is expected of you, you don’t know your schedule and you haven’t met the children and their families. This all comes with time, but it’s human nature to be nervous not knowing what to expect.
While we can’t eliminate all the unknowns, we recommend making sure you are aware of as much as possible because the more prepared you are, the fewer surprises you’ll have. Here are some of our tips to get your first day started off on the right foot:
- Check for a communication from your manager – First day logistics should be provided to from your manager to help you understand the time you need to show up, where to show up, what documents you need to bring, what you need to wear, as well as what to expect your first day.
- Have your elevator speech ready – meeting new people makes us all nervous. Anticipate what you’ll say when you introduce yourself throughout the day to families, colleagues and leadership. A 30-second elevator pitch is always helpful in life. Think of things to tell them like what you were doing before this (work or school), where you’re from, what brought you to this job, etc.
- List your questions – use your phone app or write on paper a list of questions you want to get answered throughout the day. This will eliminate those moments when you meet someone but don’t know what to ask or tell them, ask them the questions you’ve already written down.
- Get as much organized as you can the night before – make sure that you pack your lunch the night before, set out your outfit, map out the drive, bus or walk route to work to ensure you arrive on time.
- Watch a few walk-through videos – unsure entirely on what the center might look like? Take a look at some of our walk-through videos on YouTube. They may not be exactly what yours will look like, but a good idea on the general direction to understand what our classrooms look like.
- Get some rest – this is a biggy. Make sure you’re getting ample rest so that you’re ready for the excitement for your first day.
No doubt you will learn a lot of incredible things during your time at KinderCare, and one thing is for sure – no day is the same. We are excited to have you and can’t wait for you to have your own KinderCare adventure!
Here’s a fun activity! Are you excited to let everyone know that you just joined KinderCare? Take a look at these fun “First Day of KinderCare” signs that you can create, print and take a pic of on your first day! We’d love to see your KCE pride, tag us using @KinderCareCareers and use the hashtag #firstdayKCE.
Access the template: