Professionalism from the University to the Workplace
What is professionalism? Professionalism is something that is commonly discussed especially when you are in a university or work setting. Professionalism can often be defined for us by teachers, bosses, coworkers, or even our parents, but we all have something that defines that word for us. I believe that professionalism is conducting yourself in a way that portrays your best character, skills, judgement, and the values that the company you work for or the school you attend believe in.
A common stereotype of professionalism is a group of adults that are in a work setting and are dressed in business formal attire. The idea of professionalism is the same everywhere you go, but the definition changes to fit the environment that you are in. There was a coffee shop where I grew up that was respected by the whole community because of their constant outreach and involvement in our community. People wouldn't automatically picture this coffee shop when they thought of professionalism because it doesn't fit the stereotype. The baristas almost always wear shorts and tank tops that were often bright colors to represent California and to match their bright and sunny attitudes that you could always count on, they always had music blasting, and were overenthusiastic and outgoing when asking about your day. The baristas there still showed professionalism. Their clothes were within their dress code, their music was always clean and up to standards, they spoke to customers with respect and genuinely cared about them which is one of the main jobs of the baristas. They were doing their job well and that is professionalism.
Professionalism isn't just important for the employee but also for the employers. As with the coffee shop mentioned above professionalism from the perspective of the employer meant showing up on time, being prepared to work, being reliable, and following the culture of that coffee shop. For some employers coming to work dressed up is professionalism because that is a characteristic that the company wants from its employees. I worked at a summer camp as a camp counselor and even though we weren't in a stereotypical business environment we were still expected to act professionally every day. We were expected to follow dress codes, exhibit clean communication, and ensure that parents could trust us with their children for the week. We had bosses that we would meet with to talk about our progress and get feedback on our job. We had to be professional in the way that we had to be polite to all campers, parents, and other staff even if we didn't like them.
The concept of professionalism that we bring to both our jobs and the university are very similar. We are expected to take work seriously, accept feedback and work towards using it to improve ourselves and our work, to respect our bosses and teachers, and to show up prepared. That idea of professionalism is how I strive to be perceived in the university and in the workplace. I want people to think that I am hard-working, reliable, qualified, and capable of representing the brand of that company. People will perceive me as reliable because I always show up for work on time and prepared. I am hard-working because when I commit myself to a task I will do everything I can to finish it effectively and efficiently. I still have a lot to learn about being professional, but I believe that every day I am getting closer to my end goal. I want to have professionalism in my future jobs so for now I will work at being professional in school.
607 words