Just like breaking in a new car, there’s that “honeymoon” period after you start your first day that requires extra special care and attention. You can’t hit the gas too hard otherwise you risk spinning out of control and skidding out of the lines, even before you know where the lane markers are.

Smart career managers realize that it takes a delicate balance of assertively stepping up to job tasks and gaining the respect of co-workers and counterparts while carefully navigating around unknown landmines which could blow up right underneath their feet. Treading carefully and quietly is the savviest career move you can make as you get settled in.