You've got the job; now you can relax, put your feet up on your new desk and get on with e-mailing your mates from your new account. Actually, your first day is not the time to rest on your laurels. You might have got through the interview and selection processes, but you've still got a lot of proving yourself to do. Learn from these stories from employers whose new recruits didn't make the best of first impressions.

The mummy's boy. “A couple of weeks ago a new recruit turned up to his orientation with his mum,” says Donna Miller, the European HR director of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. “We had to explain that he was the one we had hired, not his mother.” The 22-year-old did manage to let go of the apron strings and Miller says that he's doing well now. She puts the incident down to the “helicopter parents” phenomenon, but the real issue here is understanding what consitutes appropriate behaviour in the world of work.

The boy racer. Avoid erratic driving on your way to your first day in a new job - you don't know who you might be cutting up. “A story I heard was of a guy who was driving to work, and someone cut him up and made a rude hand gesture,” says Jonathan Rose, a senior manager at WH Marks Sattin, an accountancy and finance recruiter. Not necessarily an unusual rush-hour occurrence, but it turned out that the inconsiderate motorist was on his way to a new job - working for his road-rage victim. Not the best start.

Mistaken identity. “My funniest story is one that happened in my old job,” says Jacqui Maynard, the HR business partner at Mouchel, a consulting and business services group. “A guy walked into reception at 9am to say, ‘I'm here for my first day.' The receptionist didn't know anything about it, we were all in interviews that day and the managing director was out of the office. Not wanting to appear unprofessional, the receptionist made the guy a cup of tea.”

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It wasn't until about an hour later that they finally got in touch with the managing director, who said that no one was due to start that day. Sure enough, the new recruit had got the wrong office - he wanted the company that was based two floors up from Maynard's. To add to his embarrassment, he was now more than an hour late for his new job. The lessons here are to do your research, read the directions in your starter pack, and keep in mind that your first day might not be at the office where you had your interview.

The breakfast club. New starters on Enterprise's induction course often stay in a hotel, which can cause problems. “The nine recruits were told to be in the lobby at 7.45am,” Miller says. “Only five turned up. So the recruiter went to look for the others and found them in the restaurant, having a leisurely breakfast.” An induction is still work, no matter how good the croissants.

Day of judgment. Employers find it particularly annoying when their new recruits compare every aspect of their new workplace with their old job. “Avoid using, ‘At my old company, we did it like this',” Maynard says. “You used to work at an ice-cream factory; this is an engineering company.” Things are going to be different, and it's going to take you a while to get used to it. “We've had some people - especially temps - who don't come back on Day 2,” Rose says. “Be open; every company's different.”

Eager beavers. Relax. “No one's going to expect you to perform miracles on your first day,” Maynard says. “Don't put too much pressure on yourself. It takes three months to get your head around a new company.” Miller advises letting things happen to you, rather than being desperate to show initiative, which can put your new colleagues' backs up.

Loaded questions. It's fine to ask questions about the company, but be careful of the impression you are giving. Here are a few clangers that Maynard has heard people ask on their first day: “Why is the notice period so long?”; “Can I take an extended period of unpaid leave?”; and “How quickly can I be promoted?” A particularly good one, though, was, “What is my sick leave entitlement?” “Was he planning to be sick?” Maynard asks. Her final word of advice is not to ask questions that suggest that you are not committed to the job.

Read about more blunders and share your stories on our blog at timesonline.co.uk/snakesandladders