Professionalism in the Work Place
One of the best things that our internship teacher discussed was about professionalism. He even required us to make our own reflection of the topic and upon contemplating on the notes given; I learned that to project professionalism is such a tough thing to do. Want to know why? Simply, being professional comes with a package. It does not solely rely on projecting the physical image of a professional but goes beyond it. It also needs to project the intellectual, emotional and social image professionally. It pays a lot for a professional to prepare these aspects for all of them are interconnected. To further understand this premise, the succeeding paragraph will discuss elaborately the different aspects.
First, how will we project professionalism physically? Let us not forget that the physical aspect is the most visible among the four aspects. People don’t judge other people directly through their innate attitude but initially go through what is visible. As the saying goes, “what you see is what you get.” Hence, first step to become professional is to project professionalism physically. But how will we do it? To dress the proper dress code of a professional is one way. This is very much prevalent to those people working in the corporate world. They should wear the corporate attire and not the casual wear like those street tees or over-fashioned outfit. However, to wear corporate attire doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to be fashionable. We can always be fashionable but not too much. Take note, being fashionable means being presentable.
On the contrary, the judgment of the people doesn’t stop in the physical aspect. After going through what is visible, the scrutiny then now transfer to the intellectual aspect. As what the society defines, the more intelligent the person is, the higher his or her position in the society. But being intelligent doesn’t stop from being knowledgeable to trivial things but also on how to make the right decisions, when to dispel information with utmost confidentiality and most especially on how to do things appropriately. If a person knows how to do these, he or she is then considered as a professional. Consequently, doing things right truly determine our position in the society.
Moreover, the emotional aspect is also a big contributor to become a professional. People’s disposition is to dwell on their emotions which may cause harm to themselves. Thus, a professional should also be a compose person. It’s like how a person dance once situated in pressure. We have to always keep our composure even though things go out of hand. Let us not dwell on emotions and not make decisions when we’re mad for it may cause wrong decisions. Lest, let us always see to it that we do not make prompt decisions once situated in an unpleasant mood.
Lastly, the social image is the summation of the three aspects aforementioned. The three contributes on how people professionally socialize with other people. Doing the appropriate actions in interacting with other people is caused by the three interconnected facets. They give us awareness about our actions, body language and words.
Truly our discussion was filled with learning very much applicable to the real world. We will be taking all of these with us in our odyssey to the realm of the corporate world and most especially to our earthly sojourn. As a conclusion, let me cite one of the quotes that inspired me most.
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.” Thomas Paine