This document provides guidance for succeeding in a new job. It discusses preparing for the first day, the importance of orientation, working with supervisors and coworkers, handling stress, evaluating performance, and understanding unions. The key points are to arrive early and prepared on the first day, pay attention during orientation, accept criticism from supervisors, get along with coworkers, manage stress in healthy ways, regularly evaluate your own performance, and understand that unions give workers a collective voice in the workplace.

1. Succeeding on the Job
Objectives:
- Learn to prepare for a new job
- Discuss success strategies
- Learn what unions are

2. Your first day - Plan
Get plenty of sleep
Have your clothes ready
Arrive a few minutes early
Take a checkbook – direct deposit often
requires a copy of a cancelled check.
Take your social security card and drivers
license (or possibly a passport) for your I9

3. Orientation
Safety rules
Policies
Benefits
Pay close attention – this is dull, but
important!
Paperwork

4. Orientation
Filling out a W4
W4 Video
The correct answer is 0 deductions

5. Working with Your Supervisor
Accept constructive criticism
Perform all tasks you are assigned to do,
even ones you don’t want to do.
Figure out your supervisor’s management
style and how to make them happy.

6. Working with Coworkers
Learn names
Cooperate and be pleasant
Don’t gossip
Be very careful about dating in the
workplace

7. Job Success Tips
Follow directions.
Enjoy learning.
Act responsibly.
What do you do when you finish your task?
Be enthusiastic.
Deal with mistakes.

8. Job Success Tips
Handle gossip.
Control anger.
Assert yourself.
Act confidently and voice your convictions.
Take responsibility.
Read the case on p. 388

9. Handling Job Stress
Keep a positive attitude.
Stay healthy.
Discuss your problem.
Manage your time well.
Know your limits.
Learn to accept the situation until you can
change it.
Cooperate with others.

10. Handling Job Stress
Cooperate with others.
Find healthy ways to relieve stress.
Take time to relax and have fun.

11. Do workbook p. 132

12. Evaluating Job Performance
After working at your job for a few weeks,
think about your job and your
performance.

13. Am I making progress in this job?
If you are having problems learning a
particular aspect of your job, ask for help.
If you are accomplishing your work with
time to spare, let your supervisor know
you are capable of taking on more
responsibility, or find more on your own.

14. Does this job give me
personal satisfaction?
No job is fun all the time.
If a job is all drudgery, consider making a
change, either with the current job or by
seeking a new job.
To be successful, you must feel your job
is useful and helpful to others.

15. Am I paid adequately for
this job?

16. Can I foresee opportunity
for advancement?

17. Job Probation
Most jobs hire people on a probationary
basis.
This is a trial period of time to see how
well the new employee can do the job.
Ranges from a few days to a few months.
At the end, the supervisor evaluates the
person’s job skills, work habits, and ability
to get along with coworkers, and decides
whether to keep the employee or not.

18. Performance Rating
Most companies evaluate each employee
every 6 months or year and assign the
employee a performance rating.
A supervisor should identify your strength
and weaknesses and help you develop a
plan to improve your weaknesses.
A performance review that doesn’t list any
weaknesses means your supervisor has
done a BAD job. Don’t take it personally!

19. Performance Rating
If you get a “good” rating, use the
information to consider other opportunities
in your workplace, and keep up the good
work.
If you get a “bad” rating, actively try to
improve the areas that concern your
supervisor.

20. Training Opportunities
Employers like it when you learn new
things.
Take advantage of in-house training
classes, tuition reimbursement, etc.
Sometimes additional training means an
incentive of additional pay.
Additional training always looks good on
our resume

21. Changes in Job Status
Promotion
Lateral Move
Demotion
Layoff
Firing

22. Why are employees fired?
Absenteeism
Loafing
Personality conflicts
Violating company rules
Incompetence

23. Making a Job Change –
Why Would You Do This?
Your job responsibilities have not changed
in 3 or 4 years.
Your responsibilities are reduced.
You are not chosen for important projects
or committees.

24. Making a Job Change –
Why Would You Do This?
You are passed over for promotions or
you have been demoted.
You are bored, find it hard to focus, and
get little enjoyment from those things that
once excited you.
Your relationships with the boss or
coworkers are strained or deteriorated.

25. Benefits of seniority
Staying in one job for many years can
bring increased pay and benefits, so try to
“ride out” temporary problems

26. If you decide to leave . . .
Leave on good terms.
Give at least 2 weeks notice.
Offer to train your replacement.
You may have an “exit interview” Share
constructive criticism, but stay positive
and don’t bad-mouth anyone.

27. Unions
A union is a group of workers who have
united to voice their opinions to their
employers.
Labor unions developed because of poor
working conditions, low wages, child labor,
and unfair treatment.
Unions can be expensive.

28. Must you join a union?
If a workplace has a union shop
agreement, all its workers must join the
union as a condition of employment.
If a workplace has an open shop
agreement, its workers are free to join or
not join.
People who do not join the union are
sometimes required to pay an agency
fee.

29. Organization of Unions
Craft unions are formed by workers who
have the same craft or trade.
Electricians (IBEW)
Carpenters (UBCJ)
Industrial unions are formed by workers
who belong to the same industry.
Automotive (UAW)
Apparel, garment, and textiles (NAGTWC)

30. Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining is the process of
labor and management representatives
discussing what they expect from each
other in the workplace.
Through collective arguments, a labor
contract is written. A labor contract spells
out the conditions for wages, benefits, job
security, work hours, working conditions,
and grievance procedures.

31. Do workbook p. 129 using
the following word bank:
Absenteeism
Collective Bargaining
Conviction
Demote
Fire
Incentive
Labor Contract
Lay off
Open Shop Agreement
Orientation
Performance
Probationary
Promotion
Stress
Union
Union Shop Agreement

32. Homework
Tear page 135 out of your workbook.
If you are in a trade that has a union, do
page 136. Try to find someone in your
trade to interview.
Otherwise do page 135