How to Be Professional in the Workplace (Communication Diva's Guide To:) (5 page)

The fastest way to a poor work ethic is to answer no to all of the above questions.

Accountability

We’ve already talked about this earlier in this book. Being accountable for your actions and being able to admit mistakes and move forward all lead to more professional behaviour.

Know Your Limitations/Weak Areas

This can be a real indication of a non-professional: a person who has no idea that it is acceptable and even desirable to know when you cannot do something.

Everybody has limitations
.

In fact, it’s a really common (and somewhat annoying) interview question prospective employers love to ask interviewees: “what are your abilities and weaknesses/limitations?”

This is an excellent question to ask yourself and to think about BEFORE you get into a situation where you have to answer it. Then you will sound articulate and professional.

Remember to be honest! Everyone has limitations, and saying something completely lame, like, “I’m too organized”, is ridiculous. Believe me, I’ve seen some “limitations” listed on resumes that are embarrassing. Couching a positive attribute in such a way that you call it a weakness or limitation is dishonest and most employers will see right through it.

It is much better to admit you can’t do something (or don’t know how/don’t have the training/skills/authorization to do something) than it is to say you know how  and then to  bomb the job completely.

How Are Your Communication Skills?

Everyone can use work in this area. EVERYONE ... even people who have degrees in communications and letters behind their names. Communication is a life-long practice. We all mess up at times, and could have done things/said things better.

Pick one area you want to work on and practice. It might be something as simple as putting your phone away while having a face-to-face visit with someone. It might involve turning off the tv/computer while on the phone so you can focus. It might be practicing to not interrupt. There are innumerable topics in this area, and for a small selection of them, please visit (here comes the shameless self-promotion again)
www.communicationdiva.com

Oh Lord, It’s Hard to Be Humble!

Humility is a large part of being seen as a professional. No one likes a person who toots their own horn or brags incessantly about how brilliant they are. A professional doesn’t need to TELL anyone that they are a professional. It’s all about how you conduct yourself that speaks the loudest.

Humility will take you far. This doesn’t mean you can’t be proud of your accomplishments, or that you can’t let people know about what you are doing and what you know ... but raving on about how amazing you are is a big turn-off, and is just simply not smart.

Practice Gratitude

In my humble opinion, there is not enough gratitude going on. If someone does something nice for you, thank them. If you notice someone doing an excellent job, compliment them on it. If you are done a favour, be grateful. Send a little note (real mail or virtual) to thank people for things they have helped you with or done for you. Say thank-you to the bus driver!

Words are extremely powerful, and sometimes using them to express that for which you are grateful will make more of a difference in the world than you can imagine.

Say thank-you often. It’s important ... and I believe it can change your life.

Be Generous

Professionals are generous with what they know. Hoarding information for personal gain is not the sign of a professional. Sharing information and being generous with it will serve you better in the long run.

Be Willing To Learn

I once asked a guy in an interview setting how much continuing education time he thought he might need. He very arrogantly crossed his legs and said, “I’ve got my doctorate. I’m done with learning.”

Needless to say, I wasn’t impressed. I don’t think we are ever “done with learning”. Ever.

There is always something new that will come along that could make your job better, more interesting, easier or more cutting edge. There are always courses, training sessions, seminars, books or webinars to take in. The willingness to learn new things will keep you current and up to industry standard, no matter your industry.

If you think you are “done”, you will eventually get left in the dust.

You can’t control what other people think of you. One of my favourite quotes, (and I have no idea who actually said it first), is this: what other people think of you is none of your business.

I love it. I also think it’s absolutely true. And, I DO care what most other people think of me, especially those I work with and for. I assume you do too, or you wouldn’t still be reading this book.

While you can’t control what other people think of you, you CAN, however, try to improve the overall professional impression you make upon others by implementing as many or all of the suggestions in this book. There are no guarantees, but I will suggest that there is a strong possibility that you will gain more respect and will be better thought of IF you improve your professionalism.

And that can’t be bad.

My hope is that you will have found value in this book, and that if you have, you will let me know about it. Please feel free to contact me either via email or the website:

[email protected]

www.communicationdiva.com

I look forward to hearing your comments.

As for improving your overall professionalsim,  it is not generally difficult to do, it just takes thought, time, determination and practice.
You
can do it.

Good luck!

Jenn Swanson

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