There is a lively, lifelong debate concerning the essence of professionalism. Some people believe that it is a set of skills and knowledge developing with age and fruitfully completed tasks, while others are confident that it is a combination of personal traits, maturity, behaviors, and appropriate appearance. Those belonging to these opposing groups would view wearing a t-shirt to an interview from different perspectives, as those supporting the first standpoint would believe that looks do not affect professionalism, while the believers in the second approach would ardently dispute this viewpoint. This essay will make an attempt to speculate on various dimensions and draw lines connecting them.
First and foremost, professionalism refers to competence. It is inseparable from obtaining a particular volume of knowledge, developing a specific set of skills critical for coping with job duties, and constantly improving performance. In this view, the perception of professionalism differs across industries, as a valuable talent in one sector would be meaningless in another. For instance, being proficient in accounting would be inappropriate in mining, just as the ability to run an assembly line does not line up with surgical practice. At the same time, professionalism is connected to effective communication skills, whether verbal, non-verbal, or written.
In addition, professionalism can be viewed as behavior. In this case, it refers not only to decency and managing to cope with job duties regardless of emotions but also acting ethically. True professionals are always dedicated, respectful, and able to separate personal matters from work-related ones, thus avoiding interrelation and collision of the two. This behavior is common both inside and outside the workplace environment, as true professionals always know how to address work-related issues outside office hours. For example, if a doctor sees an individual losing consciousness at the subway station, helping this person instead of ignoring the problem would point to professionalism expected of a doctor. The same would be true if a policeman were to stop a criminal outside of working hours. Moreover, a true professional addresses each situation while following laws, regulations, and predetermined job duties.
Finally, professionalism is a set of personal traits. Of course, it is inseparable from competence and ethical behavior. However, there are some character traits that determine an individual’s predisposition to growing highly professional. For instance, self-management, responsibility, punctuality, and dependability are valuable determinants of professionals, as they are helpful for working on the first two aspects of professionalism—competence and behavior. On the other hand, professionalism is rarely related to narcissism and the inability to accept criticism because they slow down personal growth and continuous improvement. All in all, professionalism is about engagement and passion for work, as they are the drivers of self-development.
In summary, professionalism is inseparable from individuality. Even though there are some generally acceptable determinants of this concept, such as behaviors, competence, and personal traits, the very essence of professionalism is synonymous with standing out from the crowd. However, it is not connected to becoming an attention seeker. Instead, professionalism involves becoming a remarkable person who strives for constant improvement in order to increase work-related effectiveness. At the same time, it is about the ability to determine an appropriate frame of behavior and pay specific attention to filling existing gaps in knowledge and skills. Thus, when viewing the situation involving a t-shirt mentioned earlier, it is vital to find out whether it was the only option for drawing the hirer’s attention, or compensating for an absence of talent and creative potential.