BusinessHABTrending Tips To Maintain your Professional Skills
Join us in our mission
For over a decade, we’ve been on a mission: to help everyone in the world learn how to do anything. Today, we’re asking that you join us. You can request publication of your article for publication by sending it to us via our Email
1. The Background:
Being professional is one of the most important aspects of being successful at your job. Your professionalism could open the door to other career opportunities, a raise, or even a bonus. Your demeanor toward your boss, your coworkers, and your clients should be courteous and professional at all times, from how you present yourself to how you communicate to how you interact with others at work.
2. Things You Should Know
- Dress appropriately, be punctual, and maintain a positive attitude.
- To manage your time, communicate via email or phone unless something needs to be discussed in person.
- Do quality work and complete your assigned tasks without having to be reminded.
3. Be well groomed and appropriately dressed.
You should come into work every day clean and well groomed to ensure you have a professional appearance. You will also need to dress professionally based on the expected attire of your workplace. Avoid clothing that is too tight or too revealing and if you think something may not be appropriate for your workplace, don’t wear it.
4. Trending Tips To Maintain your Professional Skills
Gauge the dress expectations of your workplace by noticing what other employers are wearing. If everyone is wearing conservative attire, with suits, collared shirts, and long skirts, adjust your attire accordingly. Many workplaces have a business casual dress code, which may allow slacks or jeans as long as you still appear professional. Be mindful of bright colours and busy patterns as well.
- If possible, cover any tattoos and remove any piercings, unless your superiors are fine with you exposing them.
5. Follow the cultural norms of your workplace.
- You may also notice how your coworkers interact with clients during meetings, and how everyone always shows up on time, or a few minutes early for a meeting. Pay attention to the behaviour of others to get a sense of what is considered professional in your workplace.
6. Be on time for meetings and discussions.
- If possible, try to get to meetings 5 minutes early to get settled and organized before the meeting begins. Avoid showing up more than 10 minutes early for a meeting, as any earlier can throw off other people’s schedules and actually be inconvenient for others.
- Make sure you organize your materials and papers before the meeting begins. Be prepared to participate or give your input in case you are asked to do so.
7. Maintain a positive attitude.
Often, a professional attitude is a positive and motivated one. To be successful, you will need to demonstrate to others that you have the skills and knowledge to perform your duties and responsibilities. But in addition to expertise and know how, your employer will value a professional attitude that demonstrates character and integrity.
- Focus on being honest, reliable, a hard worker, and positive, day in and day out. Your job should be important to you, and you should value your successes, no matter how small or minor.
8. Bring a notepad with you to meetings and discussions.
9. Speak clearly, and speak up when necessary.
- If you notice problems or issues around a certain project or client, speak up to your coworkers and your superiors. Don’t ignore or avoid these conflicts. Instead, face them head-on by alerting others to the issues and working together to try to problem-solve.
10. Use email or the telephone, unless you need to discuss something face to face.
Most workplaces encourage managing your time effectively by using email or a phone call to discuss minor decisions or issues. Avoid calling a meeting for topics that could be addressed in 5 minutes with a quick email exchange or phone call. Wasting other people’s time with unnecessary meetings can be seen as unprofessional.
11. Trending Tips To Maintain your Professional Skills
- Research your question or issue before bringing it to everyone else’s attention. Look through your emails or office memos to ensure you aren’t missing information that has been disseminated.
- There may be an instance where you need to call a face to face meeting to discuss a major issue. If this is the case, send a meeting invitation by email to your coworkers and/or clients. Check your coworkers’ calendars to ensure they are available during the proposed time.
12. Learn to take feedback and act on it.
13. Avoid office politics and gossip.
- Not talking about your coworkers behind their backs or based on gossip will also show you respect your coworkers and are willing to be honest and straightforward with them.
14. Be pleasant and respectful to your coworkers.
This includes coworkers you may not get along with or see eye to eye with. If you have a coworker who you cannot work with, avoid working directly with them, if possible. You may consider talking to your boss or superior if you have constant issues with the coworker’s work attitude and performance.
15. Treat your boss like a possible mentor.
If your boss sees potential in you as an employee, they may try to act as a mentor to you. It’s important to maintain a relationship with your boss that is professional and humble. Avoid acting like you know more about the job than your boss does or that you are not willing to learn new skills or to take their advice.
16. Focus on getting your work done well.
The easiest way to be professional at work is to do your job well without having to be reminded. Career coach Melody Godfred advises “really focusing on yourself and what you can contribute to your workplace. Think about what you can gain from your workplace, too; even if ends up being a short-time opportunity, you can move onto the your next opportunity having gained and contributed something.”
- Having a mentor as your boss can lead to bigger career opportunities and the ability to expand your existing skill set.
BusinessHAB