Your first few days at work are the time of getting to know your co-workers and nothing could get you more information regarding your co-workers and work by asking them about it. You’ll be able to obtain tons of information from your co-workers during the first day at work if you ask questions.

Through simple questions you can get acquainted to your job faster and create a bond with your fellow employees faster. It would stir the conversation which would develop into a great camaraderie. Your question will break the ice after that awkward introduction.

Start of with Simple Job Related Questions

Asking questions on the other hand could lead to awkward moments if you ask the wrong questions. During your first day at work, everyone is expecting questions from you but they should be job related. Of course you are not familiar with the job situation although you know your job description. Expect that the people want to know you first before they would want to reveal some personal information to you. Be very casual in asking job related questions and they could easily give you that information. Beware of asking information that is too far off such as asking questions related to your work as if you don’t know your job description.

Presupposing is always a No-no

Asking personal questions from your co-workers is ok as long as you are sure that they are fine about it. How do you know when will it be ok? When they ask you a personal question first. Replying, “how about you?” could easily start a conversation with your fellow employee.

On the other hand, never ask personal questions out of the blue just to be part of the crowd. By the time you get hired for the job position, employees already have their “circles” or employees who have become a group of friends because of they have the same passion or interest. You may ask a personal question out of the blue but you are risking your reputation.

If someone could relate to your question well and good but if not, you’re in a rocky start. Of course you have to know your surroundings to understand what type of questions you should ask. It’s not really hard at all because they would often show their interest in something early on. Just be patient until you get a clue about your co-workers.

Location

I’m not talking about the location of your cubicle but the location of your office. In some states, casual talk is ok for a few minutes but anything beyond that is already time wasting. For example, offices in New York and Los Angeles are often very hectic and demanding that casual talk is very limited.

In some states, you can spend more than an hour talking about personal things because generally, the work is not that demanding. Understand the culture on where you work and adapt to it. That way, you’ll be able to have a good impression from your co-workers without any awkward moments.