Kick Off Your Apprenticeship with Impact | by Miriam Romero

A Little Bit About Me  
I work as a coach in the Digital Business Accelerator programme. Before my role as a coach, I managed apprentices in a corporate sales environment. I saw first hand the positive impact they had in our team, company and culture.
In this article, I will have my manager hat on and share with you advice that worked for my team but also what I observed in other teams around me and tips I gathered from other managers. 

Starting Your New Job
The first day you start a new job can bring lots of feelings and emotions: nervousness, excitement, confusion, imposter syndrome… These can become even bigger when it is your first-ever job! 
Don't worry, I promise, it will get better! 
I will share with you some practical tips you can follow to maximise your impact when you start a new job, so you transform stress, confusion or nervousness into career development.
We will be looking into 2 key areas: communication and Growth Mindset 

Communication in the Workplace
If there is one key action to take when you first start a job is to constantly communicate with those working around you! 
Your manager and colleagues would want to know how you are getting on, how they can help you succeed and how your tasks are going. 
There is no such thing as over-communication!
 

How does this look in practice?

-Send an email to your manager with a recap of your week: Highlight your progress in tasks and deadlines, what your plan is for the upcoming week and if you need any support. 
This is a great way to show your project management skills, organisation abilities and proactive attitude.    
-Be engaged and present in meetings : Have a notepad and take notes, be attentive and show that you are listening. If you work in a virtual environment, have your cameras on, be engaged and participate. 
Something that I learnt from another manager is to be ready for meetings 5 minutes before the meeting starts. This helps you get in the right mindset, refresh your memory on the topic, and be ready for success. Plus, you won't be late! 
Being engaged in meetings will show your manager that you are always eager to learn, that you want to contribute to your team's success and that you are committed to your apprenticeship. 
-Manage your time effectively: Use your calendar wisely, give visibility to your team about your availability and upcoming tasks, and make sure you stay on top of your deadlines! 
Using your calendar to block time and schedule reminders for your tasks will ensure you don't miss anything. 
Managing your time effectively will show your colleagues that you have strong project management skills and most importantly, that you are a reliable member of the team. They know they can count on you to get things done on time and this may open lots of new opportunities for you in the future. 

You can watch this Community event to learn tips about time management: Skills Studio Managing Oneself Time Management & Prioritisation Time blocking works for me, but explore other methods and stick with the one that works for you.

Adopting a Growth Mindset 
“Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations.” 

In Multiverse, we acknowledge that you are on an incredible journey, and as with every journey, it will have its ups and downs. Things may get more difficult at times, and we want to always encourage you to look at challenges with a Growth Mindset, instead of Fixed Mindset. 

A Growth Mindset is believing that a person's abilities aren't innate and can be improved through effort, learning, and persistence. A Fixed Mindset is quite the opposite. It is believing that you cannot learn new things.
Adopting a Growth Mindset will show your company that you are solution focused and you have strong problem-solving skills. It will also allow you to push your development forward, allowing you to discover new skills and superpowers you have in you. 
 

Watch this event to learn more about growth mindset: Skills Studio Cultivating a growth mindset.

• Get a Multiverse Buddy: expand your network and learn from other apprentices from day 1. Your buddy will help you get set up for success and learn best practices, so you maximize your apprenticeship journey.
• Be curious: adopt a “learning mode always on” approach.  Note terms you don't understand and use the quiet time to learn about them. Find industry-specific publications and subscribe to their content. Use social media to learn more about your company, mission and updates. Take ownership of what you learn from day one, and little by little your knowledge and confidence will show off. Another way you can show curiosity is by asking questions. Your manager and colleagues prefer you to ask questions to execute a project well, rather than you staying silent to deliver something that is not up to the level they expect. It will show you have strong project management skills and that you want to guarantee quality in your work. 
• Learn from your mistakes: This is how you will be learning the most! Reflect on how could you have approached things differently. or if things are not going as planned, what needs to change so you achieve the desired outcome? Showing you are able to learn from your mistakes and doing it with a growth mindset will demonstrate your coachability and analytical skills.  This will also help you cope with change and failure in a positive way, which will impact your mental health.  
• Create a career development plan: this will ensure you have clear goals and targets to keep developing.  You can start by looking at some models such as Johari’s Window or creating a SWOT analysis. Invite your manager to a chat and show them your thoughts. Demonstrating you are intentional about your development will show them you are committed to your apprenticeship. Making your manager a participant in your career development plan will also give you a chance to be mentored and potentially be involved in initiatives that will help you grow. Click here to read more about the Johari Window model , or watch this video instead.
• Review your goals: Be intentional about this and ensure you review your goals regularly. I recommend spending at least one hour a month reviewing how your progress is going and what will be your focus areas for the month ahead.

A Manager’s  Reflection 
As a manager, what I loved the most about managing apprentices was seeing them achieve even more than they thought they could! 
Use your network, Multiverse support teams, and Multiverse Community to unlock your superpowers. 

Your potential has no limit and the future is unwritten! 

Believe in yourself: YOU can make EVERYTHING happen.

Miriam Romero is a Digital Business Coach at Multiverse.