Career advice: It Takes Time to Fit in With an Established Group of Workers

It requires a lot of patience and persistence when you're the new kid on the block. Sometimes it's difficult for an established team to accept someone new. Their relationships have been forged over time. Everyone knows what to expect and a new person will likely be seen as an intrusion into the team's domain. People are far more open to accepting and embracing changes in technology than they are in accepting new relationships. Even when a new person might offer positive contributions, most people feel threatened and need time to adjust.

Your best bet is to try to establish a relationship with just one person in the team. Invite whomever you feel is most receptive to lunch or dinner. See if you can find an area of common interest and begin to build a foundation of trust. Hopefully, this person will report back to the others that you're a team player and slowly they'll begin to want to know you better, too. It takes time to establish trust, so be patient and try to engage the other team members in conversation when you can, especially when you see signs of welcome. Be open, honest and maintain a friendly demeanor, each day taking small steps toward gaining more acceptance from the group.

You can show your willingness to be involved by volunteering for tasks that use your skills and expertise. In this way, you'll be making everyone's job easier. If you know there's something that needs to be done that doesn't particularly appeal to the others, do it. Demonstrate your readiness to get the job done. In the long run, it will be your positive attitude and can-do behavior that will win your co-workers over.