"Come In. Observe. Understand. Adapt. Then Make Your Move."

Starting a new job and already seeing everything that needs fixing? Slow down. Here is why.

Many years ago, I had a new employee join my team. From almost day one, I started hearing about everything that wasn’t right. The systems weren’t good enough. There weren’t enough processes. Things weren’t structured properly. His previous company had all the bells and whistles that made the job easier.

I actually agreed with some of it. But I kept thinking… He wasn’t working for that company anymore. And we’d been very clear during the interview about what he was walking into. So why not first understand why we were where we were?

Why were the processes like this? How did we get here? What had been tried before? What worked well? What didn’t? Because every company has a history. And until you understand that history, it’s very easy to look at something and decide it’s wrong.

That experience stayed with me. Today, I see the same thing quite often in recruitment. During post-placement feedback, I’ll sometimes hear clients say: “The candidate is very good, but they’re already comparing everything to their previous company.”

That’s why I believe the early stage of any new role should be about:

Come in. Observe. Understand. Adapt. Then make your move.

Bring the experience you were hired for. Bring the ideas. Challenge things. Suggest improvements. But first understand the journey that got the business to where it is today.

Because you might discover that what looked obviously wrong actually had a reason behind it. And even if it is wrong, understanding the people and the history makes changing it much easier.

Your experience is probably one of the reasons you were hired. Use it. Just don’t rush it.

Need personalised help with this?

I have spent 15 years on the hiring side of the table. I have interviewed thousands of candidates and seen exactly what works and what does not. Book a session and I will give you direct, honest advice based on your specific situation.