Professionalism to me is the way you present yourself to others around you. Whether it is in your personal life or your career there is always a time people need to be professional. Being professional is a way of presenting yourself in an appropriate manner pertaining to the environment you are in. For example, if you are at work being professional can mean coming in on time, completing tasks on time, helping those around you that need help, and so much more. Professionalism also involves the way you interact with those around you. This can be working directly with other individuals and having an appropriate demeanor when working together. For example, when working on a project making sure to be organized, being open-minded, and respectful of someone else's time. Although professionalism is such a general term and there are many different aspects; those listed above just begin to scratch the surface of different parts of professionalism.
Since working at my graduate assistantship I have learned firsthand that professionalism is very important. Specifically, with our Student Government Association, we are required to dress professionally, speak professionally, and appropriately represent the college. When students do not follow these expectations it begins to show others that they may not take their position seriously, resulting in a lack of dependability. I have begun to develop a new love for professionalism for myself and my students as it shows others that we are passionate about our positions and want to be the best we can be.
As a young female in higher education, I feel that there is a general expectation for us women to truly prove our professionalism. That we are just as professional and should be seen as such compared to our male counterparts. A concern that I have about entering into the higher education field is that individuals who have many years of experience may not view our generation as professional compared to previous years. Although times are changing along with dress code, piercings, tattoos, hairstyles, and more, we have learned that this does not define someone's professionalism. It does however represent someone's personality, beliefs, and allows them to express themselves.
Of the four main personality profiles from the DISC model, my personality is a CIS. Meaning I am more open, dependable, I place an emphasis on relationships, quality, expertise, and more. Throughout my graduate assistantship, I have learned to be open-minded and build relationships along with being precise and contentious about my work. I like to be focused on the accuracy of my work and my personality falls right into place. My personality results have confirmed that I am enjoyable to be around but also professional when I need to be. I am lucky enough to have learned very early on in my career about professionalism and the tips and tricks provided to us. This allows me to have a baseline of knowledge of professionalism with a large amount of room to grow and improve!
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