Shape a professional reputation for yourself

The importance of professional conduct at the workplace is understood by one and all. It is inescapable for you to behave professionally at all times if you seek to do well and advance in your career; and also be respected as a pillar of strength at your workplace. That your capabilities, proficiency and personality as judged by your juniors, peers, seniors and even clients are epitomised by your professional standing, needs no emphasis.

The only way to portray an image of being a professional is by making efforts to make certain that you indeed are one. Since the perception of professionalism varies from person to person, it is rather difficult to get anybody tell you what precisely professionalism is. The general perception however, is that professionalism is all about keeping commitments, doing high quality work and having expert status. In other words, you have to be regarded as dependable, reverential, knowledgeable and skilled. However, the type of responsibilities you shoulder and the organisation you work in make professionalism assume varying configurations. But there are some common attributes and the ones that ought to be your focal points are:

·  Professional outlook: A professional invariably serves to encourage juniors and colleagues; and also support seniors. An outlook that incorporates such excellences call for a total commitment to organisational interests. To build a professional reputation for yourself, you have to be punctual, unbiased and refrain from tattletale. As an individual, you cannot have separate rules governing you; your attitude per se has to be one wherein duty obligations, devotion, truthfulness, uprightness and answerability are the cornerstones. The important point is that display of professionalism is an all-time requirement because any absence at any time can prove to be highly detrimental to your career interests.

·  Professional sensibleness: This implies discharging all responsibilities to the best of your capabilities and with distinction. If at all you blunder, you have to take responsibility and not pass the buck to others. In the eventuality of problems, it is your responsibility to make efforts to resolve them and not let them haunt you or others. You should make yourself adept at identifying potential distractions that tend to incapacitate efficient functioning. Your professional sensibleness also demands that personal or family matters are kept out of official loops so that they do not disturb routine functioning. Further, your sensibleness makes it mandatory for you to be well-dressed at all times.   

·  Professional guidance: If you have knowledge, you should let others light their candles in it. You may have a mine of knowledge with you, but that knowledge is of no use if others and your organisation cannot benefit from it. You need to share it and your experience with others so that people look up to you as a Godfather. In the environment that exists today, if you withhold knowledge, your own power and authority will get gnarled and obsolete. Contrary to a belief that is totally incorrect, when you guide others or assist your seniors, you maintain your cutting edge superiority because you invariably get respected.

·  Professional personal management: They say that the first and best victory is to conquer self. Personal management skills are very important to achieve success in your career and overall life. Success is actually a matter of understanding and religiously practicing specific, simple habits that always lead to success. One most important habit is effective time management. Practical management of time should be your priority. You simply cannot fail to keep up appointments made or meet deadlines that are required to be met. Personal management also implies organising your workspace well to facilitate access to anything that you may need without wasting time. It also entails your ability to exercise control over your attitude, behaviour and emotions because you are not likely to be judged by your academic qualifications alone. If you seek to have a professional reputation, your personal management skills have to be impeccable.

·  Professional communications: The way you communicate with others and also with yourself eventually decides the quality of your reputation. It is essential that you possess and develop good communication skills so that you can motivate and inspire others. You need to remain composed at all times, particularly if there are people who are out to confront you or challenge contest your ideas. The need to be able to enunciate your views clearly and concisely therefore, needs no emphasis. The importance of communications should not be underestimated because they impact on your professional competence too. Professionalism calls for constantly improving the situation around you and the major prerequisite for the purpose is good communication skills.

As a professional out to boost your professional reputation, you need to set a high degree of ethical standards for yourself and which will invariably call for an equally high degree of integrity and superiority in work output. Since downbeat impressions are rather difficult to knock down, you must identify your inadequacies and work hard to overcome them. And when you work in the direction of shaping a professional reputation for yourself, you will realise that your own self-value and self-dignity increases. And that realisation by itself will usher in greater job contentment.