Congratulations! You have got the job. Now what?  

First and foremost, do not panic. There is so much to think about what you get offered a new job but the most important thing is to keep calm and plan what you need to do next.  

Do you already have a job?  

If you already have a job and are planning to leave for your new role then do not hand your notice in straight away. Wait until you have an offer in writing from your new employer. If they need to do background checks, you may have to wait a couple of weeks for this to happen. Once you hand your notice in, it is final so make sure you know your new job is confirmed and you have a start date before you hand in notice.  

Start preparing.  

Things to think about when getting ready to start a new job: 

• Will you need to change your daily routine? Start thinking about this now and how you can make changes so that it will be easier to transition into the new routine  
• Do you know how to get to your new job? Take time to look at your journey to work and how long this might be, remember you might have been for your job interview later in the day when traffic was quieter, but if you are starting at 9am your journey will probably take longer 
• What should you wear? Ask your new employer what the dress code is and go shopping if you need to 

Disclosing your disability  

Starting a new job can be scary, particularly worrying about fitting in and knowing what to say on your first day. One thing to consider is how and when you are going to disclose your disability to your employer (if you have not already done this for the interview).  

If you are disclosing then it is best to do this before you start or as soon as possible after you start. This way your employer will be understanding of your needs from the beginning and there will be no misunderstandings.  

Think about what you want your employer to know. You can write down a few key things that you might need support with at work. You do not need to tell your employer everything about your disability but focus on how this impacts on you at work and what support you might need. You could let them know for instance “That you find group meetings challenging, but if you are given the agenda up front and are able to sit closest to the door it makes the meeting easier to navigate.”    

Quite often an employer will ask you to fill in a health questionnaire, if they do then think about putting your disability on this but then follow this up to ask for a meeting to discuss this.  

The night before 

Try and spend some time the day before doing something that relaxes you. Take some time out and try not to worry too much.  

Get an early night, try and get lots of rest as your first day is likely to exhaust you.  

Make sure you get everything ready the night before. 

And don’t forget to set extra alarms to make sure you are up in plenty of time.  

Good Luck! Remember, our team offers in work support. If you feel you would like additional coaching and mentoring in your role then contact our team before you start your new job and we can help you apply for Access to Work funding.  

If you are about to start a new job then take a look our our in-work support available via our Access to Work programme.