Learn who your silent evaluators are.

Find out quickly which internal candidates were passed over in choosing you for the job you have just gotten.  These are not necessarily rivals ready to help you fail.  Remember, they know the ropes and have far more internal knowledge of the organization than you do.  If they have true potential, could these people be your best backup?  Could grooming them to fill your job improve your own chances for further advancement?

Where are lateral relationships in your company the worst?  Perhaps you’re in manufacturing and your team has a notorious reputation in the distribution department-always finishing production deadlines at the last moment.  Maybe you’re in advertising and the creative people have a lousy record of keeping accounting records for the control people.  You can make great peer group gains by correcting long-standing organizational resentments.

Members of task forces and ad hoc committees are often informal assessment teams of a new player’s effectiveness.  If a committee’s work looks like a thankless waste of time, either help shoulder the drudgery or help change the team’s mission

Stay in touch with recruiters and the personnel department.  They will track your placement to make sure it was successful.  These people can also help facilitate if a roadblock suddenly emerges, like an uncooperative coworker or if a housing deal goes bust and suddenly sidetracks your time.

Your former company may be eager to torpedo your new job, especially if you left on hostile terms.  Monitor the gossip mill.

For more job search tips and secrets check out my book “Use Your Head T o Get Your Foot In The Door”