爱思英语编者按：当新人从来不是件容易的事。不管你是大学毕业才获得第一份工作，或者这已经是你的第15份工作了，总之在一家新单位里的头几天都不会过得很轻松。新的同事，新的办公室，以及全新的工作文化，会让你充满了人生地不熟的感觉。那么，最好的适应方法是什么？

It's never easy being the new guy. Whether you're heading into your first job out of school or your 15th, the first days at a new gig are rarely easy ones. New coworkers, a new office, and a brand new work culture all lend to the feeling that you are a stranger in an even stranger land. What's the best way to cope?

俄勒冈州波特兰市马沃里克研究院（Maverick Institute）的创始人，《我的入职计划：职场新人的成功指南》（"My Personal Onboarding Plan: The New Hire's Guide to On-the-Job Success."）一书作者托德•哈德逊建议是：“到自助餐厅或休息室去，让人们给你讲点故事。”

"Go to the cafeteria, the break room and ask people to tell you stories," says Todd Hudson, founder of Maverick Institute, Portland Ore., which published the handbook, "My Personal Onboarding Plan: The New Hire's Guide to On-the-Job Success."

从这些老员工的话里，你可以得知谁是办公室里的关键人物，以及谁“非常努力，非常有创造性，非常保护他们的客户。新同事的故事会告诉你，在这些情况下应该如何表现。负面的故事都是相同的，而正面的故事各有各的意义。”哈德逊说。

From what these seasoned employees tell you, you'll learn who the key players are at your new office and "about extraordinary efforts, about creativity, about people protecting their customers. Your new coworkers' tales will tell you how you should act in those situations. If you hear all negative stories, it tells you one thing. If you hear positive things, that tells you something else," Hudson says.

他补充道，人们是喜欢讲这些故事的。“他们会告诉你，什么样的事情会给人留下最深刻的印象，而什么样的事情会被传得八卦满天飞。”

People love to tell these stories, he adds. "They will tell you what made the biggest impression on them, what got their juices going."

当你开始一个新工作的时候，你可能要接受某种正式的入职教育。有的入职教育只是简单地介绍一下公司的政策和福利，但有些公司却会让你对工作环境稍作了解。

When you start a new job, you'll probably have some type of formal orientation program, also known as onboarding. It may be nothing more than a quick introduction to policies and benefits, but some companies make an effort to offer you a taste of what kind of environment to expect.

道明银行（TD Bank）会让新员工参加一个叫做“道明大学”的项目。最后，公司会组织新员工们通过舞台表演、劲歌热舞和狂欢来庆祝入职教育的结束。

TD Bank (TD) enrolls new employees in a program called TD University, complete with stage performances, feather boas and confetti.
道明银行组织发展部的高级副总裁兼首席学习官泰德•诺研介绍道，这个项目“通过面具和狂欢让人们感到兴奋，但同时它也会让新员工对新的工作环境有所了解。”

The program "gets people excited with masks and noise makers but it also teaches them something" about their new work environment, says Ted Nouryan, senior vice president of organization development and chief learning officer for the bank.

道明银行在新泽西州的樱桃山（Cherry Hill）和缅因州的波特兰都设有总部。诺研去年10月加入道明银行时也参加了这个入职教育项目。在加盟道明银行之前，诺研曾在酒店业、制造业和高科技行业工作过。

Nouryan, who took part in the orientation in October, had been in the hospitality, manufacturing and high tech industries before joining TD Bank, which has headquarters Cherry Hill, N.J., and Portland, Maine.

他表示，道明大学“不仅介绍了我们的工作是什么，而且还告诉我们，为什么要做这项工作，以及公司对员工的期望是什么。”对于道明银行来说，公司对员工的预期大部分围绕着用积极的态度提供客户服务。

TD University "introduced us not only to what we do, but why we do it, what the expectations are for employees." In TD's case, those expectations largely revolve around delivering customer service with a positive attitude.

我爱奖励公司（I love Rewards Inc）是一家多伦多的软件公司。它鼓励新员工在开始工作之前，先拜访一下自助餐厅或休息室。该公司CEO雷泽•舒勒曼说：“我们会给你介绍一个人，你们可以通过邮件沟通，还会带你参加一两个活动。”

I Love Rewards Inc., a Toronto-based software company, encourages a virtual visit to the cafeteria or break room even before new employees start work. "We give you a person you can email," says CEO Razor Suleman. "We bring you to an event or two."

在入职教育期间，公司会为每个新人指定一个朋友，也就是提前一年加盟公司的人，与新人共进午餐，回答问题和做介绍等。

During orientation, each newbie is assigned a buddy -- someone who has joined the company within the past year -- to share lunch, answer questions and make introductions.

业务发展经理杰森•萨路斯几个月前刚刚加盟我爱奖励公司。在此之前，他已经在其他公司参加过好几次入职教育了。

Jason Salluce, business development manager, had been through several orientation programs at other companies before he joined I Love Rewards about seven months ago.

在之前的那几家公司里，“我签了约，然后他们给了我一本大概400页的活页夹。”萨路斯说：“那种教育方式没有像这次一样令人身心振作。在这家公司里，每个人都非常热情。这让我充分投入到了公司里。”

In those earlier cases, "I signed on and they gave me a binder with 400 pages," Salluce said. "It didn't come to life the way it does with this total immersion. Everyone is so passionate. It got me emotionally involved" in the company.

萨路斯表示，他在多伦多的“大学式”入职教育体验非常宝贵，现在他已经成了我爱奖励公司在波士顿新开设的办事处的第一批员工之一。

The "university" experience in Toronto was especially valuable, Salluce says, because he is one of the first employees at the company's newly opened Boston office.

他表示：“我接触到了公司所有部门的人。我了解了人际关系的本质。要跟客户打交道，跟他们说与奖励和认可有关的事情，首先就得能够拿起电话，接触到（正确的）人。我需要知道给谁打电话。从这个角度看来，公司的入职教育做得真的很好。”

"I received exposure to every group within the company. I learned about how relationships work. When I'm working with clients, speaking to them about rewards and recognition, I need to be able to pick up the phone and reach [the right] people. I need to know who to call," he says, and the orientation "was really great from that perspective."

萨路斯说，如果你从未接受过好的入职教育，“你可能不知道自己缺失了什么。如果我当时没有加盟这家公司，而是去了别的地方，我可能就得自己想办法和客户建立联系。这家公司的入职教育的确增进了我的知识。它也没有占用我一两个月的时间去适应，我大概只花了一个星期的时间。”

If you've never been through a good orientation experience, "you may not know what you're missing," Salluce says. "If I were to go somewhere else, I would have to go out of my way to make connections. This really accelerated my knowledge. Instead of taking a couple of months [to acclimate] it took me a week."

没有入职教育怎么办？

When you need to orient yourself
有的时候你来到一家新公司，却发现公司没有为你准备任何东西，就连一张桌子、一个电话都没有。这种现象并不鲜见。

It's not uncommon to arrive at a new job only to find there's not so much as a desk or a phone ready for you.

如果你的新东家连最基本的入职教育都没有准备，那该怎么办？托德•哈德逊说道：“那就准备自己上手。制订一份计划，展示你的主动精神，做到全力以赴。”

If your new job doesn't start with even the basics of an orientation program, "be prepared to onboard yourself. Make a plan," says Todd Hudson. Show initiative and "put your best foot forward."

舒勒曼给出的建议是，你可以在开始工作之前，联系那个把你招聘到公司里的人，为自己争取一套入职教育。

Suleman recommends starting your own orientation before you even start the job, by contacting the person who hired you.

“你可以在开始工作的前一周给他们发邮件。比如你可以说：‘能来公司工作，我感觉很兴奋。我想知道工作的第一周会是什么样的？有什么事情是需要准备的吗？’这样一来，对方就会回应。”

"Email them a week before you start. Say, 'I am so excited to come to work. I was wondering what the first week is going to be like. Is there anything I can do to prepare?' You will trigger a response."

在你找工作的时候，你可能已经看过公司的网站了。如果没有人告诉你入职的头几天应该做什么，那么你可以利用公司的网站来搜集信息。哈德逊建议道，你可以看看公司网站的FAQ（常见问题解答）、组织架构图和其它基本信息。

You probably explored the company's website when you were searching for a job. If no one steps in to show you the ropes in the first hours or even days in your new position, use the website to collect information.Hudsonrecommends checking out the FAQs, the organization chart and other basics.

哈德逊说：“你需要自己承担责任，收集你需要的信息，和别人交谈，开始构建自己的关系网。”

"Take responsibility. Make lists of information you need. Talk to people. Start to build your network," Hudson says.

如果公司没有为你指派一个“朋友”，那就自己去找一个，甚至不妨去找那个把你招到公司里的人。你可以与他一起吃午饭，问问他刚到公司的时候是怎么过来的。

If the company doesn't provide you with a buddy, find one, perhaps the person who referred you for the job. Take the person to lunch and ask about his or her first day with the company.

哈德逊补充道，不要害怕让别人知道你是新人。他建议道，你可以在电子邮件的签名档里加上这条信息，此外再加上你的职位名称和你所在的位置。他说：“你要鼓励人们去联系你、帮助你。”

And don't be afraid to advertise to your coworkers that you're new on the job, he adds. Hudson recommends putting that information in the signature line of your email, along with your job title and where you're located. "Encourage people to contact you and help."
 
哈德逊表示：人们往往不愿意让别人知道“我是新人”，这一点很奇怪。事实上，当有人加入公司的时候，人们往往会说：“谢天谢地，他们终于雇人了。”

It's odd that people are reluctant to broadcast "I'm the new guy," he says. "Today, when somebody joins an organization people say 'thank goodness they finally hired somebody.'"

“人们会开始回复你，比如他们会说：这儿有一些关于这个项目的基本信息。他们给出的信息可能是你之前没有得到的。如果看见你是新人，而且你乐于接受帮助的话，他们就会帮你分忧。”

"People will start replying, saying here's some background on this project, some information you probably didn't get. They'll cut you some slack when they see that you're new and you're open to being helped."