Like many new grads, I am starting my first real job on Monday. I bought my travel pass, planned clothes for the first 10 days and am practicing the winning smile and handshake in front of the mirror (right, that's a joke. I am excited but there are limits..)My question is, do any of you have winning tips to make the right 1st impression, any horror stories of new grads walking in into the office and making fools of themselves or fond memories of your 1st jobs?Excitingly waiting for your replies!V. Excited grad

Give it a month and you'll lose all feeling of excitement. Enjoy it!

I witnessed one of the funniest graduate moments and clear case of how not to behave on your first day. A fellow graduate, who will remain nameless, was from the Shetland Islands and very proud of the fact. A group of 5 graduates and 3 senior managers (one a senior exec) were all out on the first day after work drinks. After a few beers the senior exec made some harmless passing remark about the Shetlands and then proceeded to the bar to buy the next round. On passing the grad from the Shetlands he was swiftly kicked up the backside and fell through a table of fellow drinkers seated near the bar, breaking several glasses and scattering the plates. The grad never made it to his second week.

The great thing about consulting is the foten total lack of accoutnability you have to anyone so long as you keep your nose clean. Enjoy your training but don't worry about what the people taking it think of you as it won't matter the slightest bit unless you do something daft like the above.

(See my post for the cynicism I have after 1 year of a grad scheme.)That last piece of advice is one of the most important things I have learned. It's really amazing how much you can get away with, then play a little politics, be nice and sociable and be well thought of in your firm.Flip-side: do great work, be introverted and you will get sh*t performence reviews. I suspect this is true for many city-type jobs.