The little things we forget in big moments

This article is written by Angela Rasheed, senior tax analyst at the Ministry of Finance for the Government of Ontario

After days, weeks, months, and maybe even years of applying and interviewing, it has finally happened – you’ve landed your dream job.

You’ve packed up your desk, said your goodbyes, and are ready to embark on a new adventure. Public service jobs are situated within vast organisations, so you may be going to a completely different office, will have a new manager and new colleagues, and perhaps even be working in a completely different department or ministry. Here are a few things to consider as you make your move:

Relationships are key

The fantasy of telling off your old boss and irritating ex-colleagues may be playing out in your mind, but don’t be quick to dismiss those old relationships. Even within huge public service organisations that employ thousands of people, there is a good chance you may run into some of them again in the future, maybe as hiring managers. You may even be hiring them! Consider the rule of six-degrees of separation. You never know who knows who.

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I always make it a point to personally thank all the members of my management team, from senior to mid and low-level managers, for the opportunity to work with them, and for all the opportunities they gave me (even if they didn’t) while I was there. People talk, especially management, and you want to make sure you’re remembered as gracious and respectful, someone who is easily conveyed to your new management team that way.

It’s also a good idea to also make a point of booking a coffee chat with your onboarding manager or management team. Take this opportunity to tell them a bit about yourself, highlighting your accomplishments, any committees or initiatives you are on or have been on recently, as well as any personal volunteer work or transferrable skills that weren’t expressed in the interview.

Get to know your new colleagues meanwhile, and make a positive first impression. They’ll probably be instrumental in helping you learn your new role and will be there to answer your seemingly never-ending questions in the first few weeks.

I’ve even gone so far as to reach out to the other competitors for a position if I know them, and congratulate them on being selected for an interview, expressing regret they weren’t selected this time, and offering an informational interview or coaching session if they decide to apply again in the future. It all helps build networking relationships and solidifies your good reputation.

Get to know your new department

Even if you’re a shy introvert like me, it’s always a good idea to push your boundaries and be especially friendly, forthcoming, and interested in your new role and unit.

This is especially important if you’re building your career skill sets and plan on gaining new skills and experience to progress your career. By demonstrating that you’re engaged, knowledgeable, a quick learner, and dedicated to your new role, you’re more likely to stand out when management chooses someone to be on committees or initiatives. This will help you gain valuable transferable skills to progress your career.

Backup your data!

I recently changed jobs within the same organisation, and was completely shocked on my first day in the new role when I logged onto my organisational account and discovered my work account had been completely wiped.

We use a common and popular software platform with cloud storage, and since I was still in the same organisation, I’d assumed everything would automatically stay the same. Boy was I wrong! Every email I had saved, every work and networking contact I had gained, every resume, document, and file I had created and saved over the past four years was gone, never to be seen again. No one told me that was going to happen, nor was it something I’d ever assumed would. Even though everything had been saved in the ‘cloud’, it was gone forever because it was attached to my profile in another ministry. That meant that when my profile in the new ministry was created, my data was not moved over, and my credentials to access my previous profile were deleted.

As you’re getting ready to leave your current role, make sure you back up any personal files, resumes, and non-confidential files (things that can’t be shared outside your organisation for security reasons) to an external storage platform or hard drive. Make sure you also send any personal or professional contact information to an external contact management programme. There’s nothing worse than spending hours or even years building up networking relationships and losing everything in one fell swoop.

In the excitement of taking on a new role, it’s easy to forget how important the little things can be.

You may not even think of the possibility of losing all your data, of inadvertently severing important future relationships. or of failing to establish a good reputation in your new unit when you're overwhelmed with things to do.

Nonetheless, I hope this article prepares you for a smooth transition next time you earn your next exciting career opportunity. —Angela Rasheed

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