Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber
Professionalism in some work places is a joke at best, I can't tell you how many times I have literally smacked my head against a wall because a customer sends an email
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I guess what I am trying to say is that FIRST makes us excited to be engineers and get out there and do some good, then the real world gets a hold of us and hits us with the rock of reality until we realized that in the end our life will be an endless series of meetings, changing requirements, changing deadlines, and dealing with our darling customers
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I think this is actually a good example of why gracious professionalism is so important. The way frustrating situations like these are handled can speak volumes about a person, and can have a profound effect on how interactions with said person are handled in the future. If your interactions in "the real world" are always both gracious and professional, you will eventually make a name for yourself as a respectable person who should be treated accordingly. If the people you are interacting with don't catch on and lack professionalism, they will not come to be known as reputable individuals/companies, and this reputation will begin to affect them as well.
I am still fairly young, so I am often initially greeted by disbelief and disdain from people in "the real world". I am organizing MIT's Career Fair, which entails a lot of interactions with companies in the business world, so this has come up a lot recently. Student-run career fairs, especially of the size of MIT's Career Fair, are virtually nonexistent, so people tend not to take us seriously at first. Coupled with the anonymity of the internet, I get a lot of demands, complaints, and reactions with an attitude along the lines of "pfft, you're 18, I've been working in HR since before you were born, what could you possibly know?"
I get dozens of emails daily from people who seem to be unable to read, count, follow basic instructions, or work with standard modern office technology, and it is incredibly frustrating. Sometimes I feel like tearing my hair out, but I always reply politely and professionally and help people work through the issues they've encountered. After seeing my responses and demeanor, the attitude of the other party towards me typically changes to be much more respectful, which helps our interactions significantly. Similarly, when company representatives initially treat me with respect and understanding, I am much more likely to grant them favors. It works the other way, too- most companies do not turn a blind eye towards blatantly rude and unprofessional staff. We worked with a VP of HR earlier this summer who constantly acted childish and unprofessional, so we eventually moved our negotiations directly to the CEO. When he found out about her behavior through some of her emails and phone calls, she was fired.
I think most people do care about gracious professionalism in the workplace, though they may not call it by that name. It is a valuable force which can lead to better interactions and relationships with partners and competitors alike, and most people do seem to recognize that, at least in my experience.
Jane, thank you for another interesting topic to reflect on.