Book excerpt: How to Succeed in Your First Job Part One of a three-part series of a series of practical guidebooks on work transitions. These new books guide new hires-and their managers-step by step through the "breaking-in" process that is absolutely essential for helping new employees thrive. It is relatively easy to get new hires to be competent to perform the basic tasks they were hired to do. But success on the job is due to much more than that. It comes from understanding how the organization really works-the unique aspects of how things get done in that particular organization. And it comes from learning how to "fit in"-knowing how to get accepted, get respected, and earn credibility. The three books in the series are: How to Succeed in Your First Job: Tips for New College Graduates Helping Your New Employee Succeed: Tips for Managers of New College Graduates So, You're New Again: How to Succeed When You Change Jobs Built around author Ed Holton's dynamic 12-step process-extensively field-tested and firmly grounded in research-these three volumes give new college graduates and their supervisors, as well as seasoned professionals who've changed jobs, essential insights and tools for mastering a variety of transition challenges. Given the high costs associated with new employee turnover, no organization can afford to leave the new employee assimilation process to chance. Corporate human resources directors, managers of new employees, individual employees making job transitions, and career counselors alike will find powerful and practical new ideas and tools in these essential handbooks.