{"id":636,"date":"2016-09-12T16:00:07","date_gmt":"2016-09-12T20:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/?p=636"},"modified":"2017-03-20T13:16:53","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T17:16:53","slug":"true-professionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/2016\/09\/12\/true-professionals\/","title":{"rendered":"True Professionals"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Mary Crane<\/a><\/p>\n

Most employers report that today\u2019s colleges and universities graduate some of the smartest students this country has ever seen. Unfortunately, those same employers complain that many new hires lack a series of critically important professional skills. \u201cI can teach a junior associate how to draft an iron-clad contract,\u201d senior law partners have told me, \u201cbut I can\u2019t teach a new hire how to think through a problem or behave in front of a client.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether you are about to interview for your first professional position or have just started a new career, you must demonstrate professionalism in all that you say and do. If you want to succeed, demonstrate a determination to adjust to the professionalism expectations of employers. Avoid assuming that the workplace will adjust to you.<\/p>\n

Following are five things that you can do to ensure you come across as a true professional.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Develop self-awareness<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You know that you need a certain amount of \u201csmarts\u201d to land your first job. Once you start work, however, interpersonal skills will predict your future success far more so than your GPA ever could.<\/p>\n

    Developing interpersonal skills starts with self-awareness. Understand your unique talents and strengths. Recognize that your personality impacts how well you work with others. Reflect on how you can modify your behaviors to facilitate relationships with internal and external clients.<\/p>\n

    A variety of assessment tools can help you develop self-awareness. If you are still in school, visit the career services office and inquire about any assessment tools that they offer. If you\u2019ve already started work, check with your professional development department. Among the tools that I recommend are StrengthsFinder, DISC, and OCEAN.<\/p>\n

    Beyond assessment tools, learn to value every piece of feedback that you receive. (See #5.) Constructive feedback, in particular, allows you to develop a more thorough understanding of your unique capabilities as well as aptitudes that you should still grow and develop.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Communicate professionally<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Though electronic gadgets pervade our lives, an impressive face-to-face communication may be among the easiest ways to distinguish yourself as a true professional. Some studies estimate that 90 percent of your most important work-related conversations will take place offline. And no less than gazillionaire Warren Buffet has identified the ability to speak effectively in front of others as the number one skill that students and new hires will find particularly valuable throughout their careers.<\/p>\n

      So, get comfortable with speaking on your feet. Actively seek out opportunities to step away from your desktop, laptop, and smartphone and engage in verbal communications. Develop a comfortable speaking pace, learn to articulate key thoughts succinctly, and avoid verbal tics like space fillers (allowing uhs<\/em>, you know<\/em>, and like<\/em> to pervade your speech) and upseak (allowing your voice to inflect up at the end of sentences).<\/p>\n

      In your electronic communications with anyone who is not a peer, adopt a slightly more formal approach. (By the way, if you\u2019re a new associate, a senior partner is not a peer. If you\u2019re an interviewing student, anyone on the hiring committee is not a peer.)\u00a0 Use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Skip abbreviations, especially ones that may not be known or understood by others. And for heaven\u2019s sake, avoid using imperatives. When communicating with a supervisor or prospective employer, instead of indicating, \u201cSend me the document,\u201d write, \u201cPlease send me the document.\u201d<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Show initiative<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Students and new professionals who possess a positive attitude arrive at work willing to tackle any project that comes their way. In most cases, bringing a \u201ccan do\u201d perspective to the workplace merely meets an employer\u2019s expectations. Professionals look for ways to contribute without being asked.<\/p>\n

        Even though technology affords you the ability to work anywhere and at any time, most employers want to see you at a workstation or desk tackling projects throughout the official workday. They assume that you will complete assignments on time and deliver them in a \u201cclient ready\u201d condition. They take it as a given that you will not waste company time and resources.<\/p>\n

        If you wish to be known as a true professional, do more than meet these minimum standards. Show initiative. Understand the discrete tasks that have been assigned to you as well as the bigger picture. Look for potential problems before they emerge and resolve those issues whether or not recognition or reward follows.<\/p>\n

        Three simple ways to show initiative include:<\/p>\n

          \n
        • Carry a pen and pad of paper (or an electronic tablet) with you everywhere so that you can record notes, assignments, etc. (Students should carry a copy of their r\u00e9sum\u00e9 to all interviews just in case an interviewer misplaces their information.<\/li>\n
        • When you make a mistake\u2014and every student and new professional will\u2014immediately inform anyone who will be impacted. Don\u2019t stop there. Take the additional step of suggesting a proposed solution.<\/li>\n
        • When invited to an event\u2014whether the event is an interview, a quick lunch, or a client presentation\u2014respond immediately. Do not wait for a potential \u201cbetter offer.\u201d And once you indicate that you will attend, remember, only a genuine emergency excuses your absence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n
          1. Respond to feedback<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            One recent study indicates that nearly half of newly hired employees fail within their first 18 months of joining the workforce. Among those who fail, 26 percent do so because they can\u2019t accept feedback.<\/p>\n

            Feedback. Everyone likes to hear that his or her work exceeds expectations. No one likes to hear that he or she has come up short. True professionals welcome constructive feedback. They know that any feedback that points out a shortcoming, as hard as it may be to hear, helps them to learn and to grow.<\/p>\n

            So, welcome feedback. In fact, if your supervisor doesn\u2019t automatically provide it, proactively seek out some constructive criticism of your work.<\/p>\n

            Then, here\u2019s the most important feedback principle to keep in mind: own it and hone it. Listen to every piece of feedback that you receive and take immediate action to improve behaviors that don\u2019t meet expectations.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. Manage stress<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              Stress is an inherent part of every about-to-be and new professional\u2019s life. Much of the stress that you will encounter can be directly tied to a series of external factors over which you will have little control, including supervisors, clients, and market forces. Your internal makeup\u2014your personal drive to succeed as well as tendencies toward perfectionism\u2014can drive individual stress levels, too.<\/p>\n

              True professionals develop stress-coping strategies. With regards to daily tasks, learn to identify what you can and cannot control. Then take steps to tackle what you can control quickly and let go of the rest. Away from work, focus on nabbing six to eight hours of sleep nightly, eat and drink with your health in mind, and incorporate exercise and mindfulness into your schedule whenever possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              by Mary Crane Most employers report that today\u2019s colleges and universities graduate some of the smartest students this country has ever seen. Unfortunately, those same employers complain that many new hires lack a series of critically important professional skills. \u201cI can teach a junior associate how to draft an iron-clad contract,\u201d senior law partners have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2177,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[29934],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-advice-from-students-and-alumni"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2177"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/richmondlawcdo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}