Professionalism:
it is something of importance, but it is a dying breed. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines
Professionalism as “the skills, good judgment, and polite behavior expected
from people in a business.” In most
establishments I visit these days, I see mostly people who have a desire to be
unprofessional. I have also seen this in
most places I have worked as well. I am
not sure what the cause of people wanting to be unprofessional is, but I urge
everyone to please be professional. Never
turn customers away, do whatever you can to stay professional and take your
work seriously, always be aware of how you might seem to others, and learn to
be honest and able to have an open mind to learn more about your craft as often
as possible.
First off, never turn customers away
or ignore them no matter the circumstances.
This is a way to lose your customer.
Even if you are on your breaks, you should help the customer out if you
can, or at the least find someone who is able to help them. According to Halton (2013), a man walked into
a bank but was turned away because the worker at the desk was about to start
their lunch. The man went to another
bank instead, and even though the worker was about to start lunch, they helped the
man out. It made a big impact for the
bank. You should also never tell a
customer “I don’t know.” This is just a
turnoff to customers. According to Green
(2013), you need to do more than what is in your job description. Go above and beyond! If you truly do not know the answer for the
customer, then find someone who does and take the customer to that person.
Secondly, you should also do
whatever you can to stay professional and always take your work seriously. Even while you are not at work or if you just
work from home, you should always be professional. According to Kendrick (2014), if you have to
take your kids somewhere at a certain time, do not tell the person on the other
end of the line that. Just tell them you
have a meeting to attend. Kendrick also
said to be sure to have the mute button on your phone turned on so that no
unnecessary noises are heard. Keep your home
life at home. Your business partners do
not need to hear all that. Another way I
have discovered to stay professional is to take your work seriously. Even if you are not a professional just yet,
be a serious person when it comes to your work and how you present yourself. I am not a professional quite yet myself,
however how I present myself and how I try to be, I may as well be. Always presenting yourself in a professional
manner will also help boost your self-esteem and confidence.
You should also always be sure you
are aware of how you might appear to a customer. Just because pants full of holes and body art
seems to be a popular trend now, it is not very attractive in a business unless
you are working for a novelty shop. How
many people do you feel really find that as a way of being professional? If you
are going to have tattoos or piercings please cover them up or take them
out. There are a lot of customers who
feel this is just a distraction or offensive.
Some people will not even hire you if you even have them. You should also refrain from doing certain activities
while interacting with customers or where they can see or hear you. How do you think chewing gum, spitting tobacco
into your portable spittoon, or swearing appears? It is not great behavior and it also turns
people away. According to
brainyquote.com (2016), an Australian hair stylist
by the name of Tabatha Coffey once said “Being successful is about being
professional, and chewing gum is not professional. It is also a huge pet peeve of mine.” Swearing should also be left where it
belongs: nowhere.
Last, but certainly not least, you
should learn to be an honest person and have integrity, and also be willing to
learn more. According to Professionalism (2014), people who are honest keep
their promise, and you can trust them because of this fact. This will keep customers coming back to your
business. You should also be able to
have an open mind to learn more about your craft as often as possible, if not
every day. I told a friend the other
night that I do not agree with the word “Expert.” There is no such thing. A person may know a lot about their field, and
therefore have a lot of knowledge, however things are changing every day. If things change every day, there’s always
something new to learn, so to be an expert is actually impossible. Colin Carbno
on “Why I.T. professionalism is important” (2012), states “Professionals never
stop learning in order to be better at what we are doing.” He is correct with this statement. If you want to stay in business, you need to
learn anything new going on in your industry.
That is the only way to remain current, and relevant, and then able to
attract customers.
First impressions mean a lot to
people. It is very important that you
handle yourself in a professional way.
Your outward appearance: your attitude, how you dress, and how you represent
yourself will make all the big difference on if your customer will come back to
your
establishment
or not. Being honest, and able to learn
more about your field also makes a big difference. So yes, professionalism is a very big
deal. If you have no desire to be
professional, then you should just hang it up and stay home because only true
professionalism equals true success.
References
BrainyQuote. (2016). Professionalism
Quotes. Retrieved from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/professionalism.html
Green, A. (2013, July 22). What does it
mean to be professional at work? [Web log posting]. US News and World Report.
Retrieved from http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2013/07/22/what-does-it-mean-to-be-professional-at-work
Halton, B. (2013, September). Exceptional
service [Editorial]. Fire Engineering, 166(9), 6. Retrieved from Academic
Search Complete database.
Kendrick, J. (2014, March/April). Four
steps to home office survival. Quill, 102(2), 23. Retrieved from Business
Source Complete database.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Professionalism. Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved
from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/professionalism
Professionalism: Developing this vital
characteristic. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2014 from
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/professionalism.htm
Why I.T. professionalism is
important [Reader contributions]. (2012). Retrieved from the Canadian
Association of IT Professionals (CIPS) website,
http://www.cips.ca/Why-IT-Professionalism-is-Important