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Questions to Ask When You’ve Started a New Job

Written by Bernie

Bernie Frazier, SPHR is the Founder and President of CAREERCompass, LLC, a speaking and career coaching firm in St. Louis, MO. She also spent almost 25 years recruiting talent to six organizations across four industries and led the talent acquisition function for four of those organizations, including one global team.

Starting a new job can be exciting, but it can also be nerve racking. New people, new work, new location, new processes, new systems – it can feel a lot like drinking out of a fire hydrant.

One of the things that can make your transition easier is by starting off on the right foot with your new supervisor. Since this is the person who will directly control many aspects of your work experience, setting your relationship up for success with your new boss is critical.

The French philosopher, Voltaire, said, “Judge a man by his questions and not his answers.” So, to help your initial evaluations (yes, you’re being evaluated from day one) go well, here are few questions you can ask to set the right tone:

  1. Who should I meet with outside of our team?

The old premise is still true: what you know is often less important than who you know. This will help you to figure out who the ‘movers and shakers’ are, and how to influence others

  1. How do you prefer to communicate?

When you’re new, you don’t know what you don’t know. That’s why maintaining good communication with your boss is critical. But, you don’t want to constant email your boss if (s)he prefers text messaging. Finding out can save you time, money, and maybe your relationship with your boss.

  1. What’s the best way to ask for your input and feedback?

Establishing a cadence where you can get regular feedback on how you’re doing, even via 15-minute weekly chats or regular email check-ins, will help you regulate and calibrate your efforts to settle into your role properly, and improve your performance if needed.

  1. What can I do to support the team and add value to the organization?

Knowing this will help you to clarify your role, align with your boss on expectations, and strategically prioritize tasks and efforts. It may also help you to make fast friends with your colleagues.

  1. What would you do if you were in my shoes?

This question will remind your boss of your newness and allow him/her to see things from your perspective. Whether the insights you get are good and timely or bad and outdated, asking this question can help to build a good connection between the two of you and further deepen your understanding of how your manager thinks, feels, and acts.

  1. How can I further develop my potential?

I wouldn’t ask this type of question as soon as you begin, but once you’re several months in, this question can prove to be invaluable.

  1. What could I be doing better?

Being critiqued is never fun, but often necessary. After a few weeks on the job, asking this question may encourage your boss to give you the guidance you may need for closing the gap between how you are performing and what your boss expects from you.

A final point to consider: every person is unique, including you and your new boss. Invariably, this means that some of these questions might not be be applicable given the situation and your growing relationship. But the general rule still stands: you will accelerate your career success if you can manage your boss better.

Until next time….