You’ve probably heard (from instructors, employers, family, and now us!) that it’s important to behave “professionally” in the workplace. What does that mean? If you want to be taken seriously at work, have promotion opportunities, and have your boss view you as an asset to the team (and organization), then doing things in a professional way is critical! It’s so critical that we’re telling you what it means by sharing tips and ideas with you in this Module.

So, what is professionalism? Very simply, it’s how you conduct yourself at work—your attitudes, your actions, and your behaviors. And, professionalism isn’t just for “professionals”—doctors, lawyers, engineers—it’s for anyone who’s employed by someone else. It’s not the job title that makes you professional, it’s you and your behavior, actions, and demeanor at work and how you interact with colleagues and customers. Even employees in jobs such as cashiers, food service personnel, and maintenance workers can exhibit professionalism. As a new college graduate, you’ll start off on a good foot if you approach your job (and career) with professionalism.

A study of professionalism and recent college graduates by the Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania highlighted some interesting points about the level of professionalism of young people.1 First, survey respondents were more likely to think that younger employees were less likely than all employees to exhibit professionalism.2 Another finding from the survey was that the professionalism qualities seen as most lacking in recent college graduates included social/communication skills, respect, and work ethic. Another finding of this survey looked at the qualities or behaviors most associated with being professional as an employee and the qualities or behaviors most associated with being unprofessional. Here’s what respondents said:3

Exhibiting professionalism is more than avoiding being unprofessional. Your attitude might be that as long as you do your job well, who cares? However, if you’re always finishing tasks or projects late; if you’re unprepared when attending meetings; if you’re treating people disrespectfully; if you’re using others’ ideas without giving them credit; if you’re saying one thing and then doing completely the opposite; if you’re breaking promises regularly—you’re going to be labeled as unprofessional. Exhibiting professionalism is intentional. Acting professionally means doing what it takes to show others through your skills, your attitudes, and your behaviors that you’re reliable, respectful, and competent.

Skills. What skills do employers say are important? Three skills that top most lists are communication, critical thinking, and ethics/integrity. That’s why we’ve made employability skills a key focus in this text. We’ve expanded the skills to include not only critical thinking, communication, and social responsibility/ethics, but also collaboration and knowledge application and analysis. Arming yourself with these skills by practicing and using them while in school is one way to up your level of professionalism. But skills only get you so far. Being viewed as professional by your manager and your employer requires having appropriate attitudes and behaviors, as well.

Attitudes and Behaviors. What attitudes and behaviors are important to being professional? We’re going to share several with you. While our list is by no means exhaustive, these are important steps toward showing your professionalism.

• Be reliable. Show others that they can depend on you to be there, to do what you say you’re going to do, and that you are attentive to deadlines. Seventy-eight percent of HR professionals say that reliability is one of the most important behaviors.4

• Be honest. Tell the truth. Be upfront about things. If you’re not going to make a deadline, be honest with your team leader or manager. If someone asks your opinion, be honest. Your colleagues will know they can trust you if you tell the truth.

• Conduct yourself with integrity. Be consistent in living your principles. Hopefully, you’ve “landed” in an organization where your principles are in alignment with organizational principles.

• Have respect for others. Treat all other people—inside and outside your workplace—with respect. People like to know that they matter. A big part of having respect is making it a priority to be on time. When you arrive late for work or for meetings, it gives people the impression that you don’t care about your job or about their schedules.

• Exhibit a good work ethic. You’re being paid to do a job and to do it well. So, do that! That doesn’t mean that if you see something that could be improved that you just keep your mouth shut. Speak up! If your organization does well, you’ll do well.

• Don’t deflect blame. Don’t be the person who’s always saying “It’s not my job.” It IS your job! Take responsibility even if it’s not literally in your job description. Be willing to step up and out to help your team and your organization. And if you have done something wrong or screwed up, admit it!

• Be a good listener. The ability to effectively listen and respond to others is crucial in developing good work relationships. And most of us have to work at being good listeners. We tend to be thinking of how we’re going to reply to the other person rather than really listening to what he or she has to say.

• Manage your emotions. Handling pressure and functioning well in high-pressure situations requires an ability to manage your emotions. It’s not easy, but someone with a high level of professionalism has learned how to be civil even during arguments and disagreements and, as we said earlier, to be respectful.

• Don’t have a bad attitude. Yup, we all know someone who goes through life with a bad attitude. (Hopefully, this doesn’t describe you!) An individual with a bad attitude is cynical and negative. These individuals tend to find fault with everyone and everything before looking for benefits or solutions.

• Be willing to change. Yes, we know change is hard! We like the comfort of the familiar. But sometimes, change is necessary. Don’t expect others to just accept you as you are and drag your feet in trying new approaches.

• Try not to be a grump! Yes, we all have bad days when we’re not feeling our best. But leave your bad mood at the door. Don’t take it out on your coworkers, your boss, or especially, your customers. If the reason you’re in a bad mood is because of your work, hmmmm. It might be time to think about finding a different job.

The term career has several meanings. In popular usage, it can mean advancement (“she is on a management career track”), a profession (“he has chosen a career in accounting”), or a lifelong sequence of jobs (“his career has included eight jobs in four organizations”). For our purposes, we define a career as the sequence of work positions held by a person during his or her lifetime. Using this definition, it’s apparent that we all have, or will have, a career. Moreover, the concept is as relevant to unskilled laborers as it is to software designers or physicians. But career development isn’t what it used to be!

Although career development has been an important topic in management courses for years, some dramatic changes have occurred in the concept. Career development programs used to be designed to help employees advance their work lives within a specific organization. The focus of such programs was to provide employees the information, assessment, and training needed to help them realize their career goals. Career development was also a way for organizations to attract and retain highly talented people. This approach has all but disappeared in today’s workplace. Now, organizations that have such traditional career programs are few and far between. Downsizing, restructuring, and other organizational adjustments have brought us to one significant conclusion about career development: You—not the organization—will be responsible for designing, guiding, and developing your own career. This idea of increased personal responsibility for one’s career has been described as a boundaryless career.5 The challenge is that few hard-and-fast rules are available to guide you.

One of the first decisions you have to make is career choice. The optimum choice is one that offers the best match between what you want out of life and your interests, your abilities and personality, and market opportunities. Good career choices should result in a series of jobs that give you an opportunity to be a good performer, make you want to maintain your commitment to your career, lead to highly satisfying work, and give you the proper balance between work and personal life. A good career match, then, is one in which you are able to develop a positive self-concept, to do work that you think is important, and to lead the kind of life you desire. In a survey by Capital One Financial Corporation, 66 percent of college graduates said that a comprehensive benefits package (including, for example, health care, 401(k) program, child care, and domestic partner benefits) was the most important factor in their job search. Starting salary ranked second at 64 percent, with job location ranked third at 60 percent. Today’s college grads are also looking to be rewarded or compensated (with comp time or matching donations, for instance) for their volunteer and philanthropic activities.6

Once you’ve identified a career choice, it’s time to initiate the job search. However, we aren’t going to get into the specifics of job hunting, writing a résumé, or interviewing successfully, although those things are important. Let’s fast-forward through all that and assume that your job search was successful. It’s time to go to work! How do you survive and excel in your career? Here are several tips.