I overheard two men talking about their interns and how unprofessional they are, which doesn't surprise me. I'm going to give you a crash course on how to be professional. Now, I've always struggled with the concept of professionalism because I do think competence is measured in a subjective manner rather than objectively. And a lot of times there's this internal coded language to police, regulate and marginalize certain groups of people. That being said, there are basics. We're going to start with the first thing they were complaining about, which was the tardiness of their interns. The first rule to professionalism is being a considerate person. And that starts with being considerate of other people's time. Coming to a meeting late as an intern is crazy work. When you have meetings, you should be the first person in the meeting room or the first person on Teams or Zoom. Once or twice is fine, but when it becomes a habit, it does come off as disrespecting another person's time. Number two, be careful what you put online. Everybody from content creators to 9-to-5 working professionals are very considerate of what they're posting online. Influencers post content that is brand safe because they want their content to be associated with their brand. If you're doing shots every weekend or posting certain fun things that you do online, whether you like it or not, that's a representation of the organization that you work for. And a lot of people will post where they work, which makes it even worse. Because sometimes people may show or take the content you've posted online and share it with your employer. If you cannot sit in a room and watch your boss watch your content and not cringe or feel some levels of discomfort by what you've posted, you probably shouldn't post it online. Number three, don't skip the pleasantries. I've seen discourse online of Gen Z versus millennials. And Gen Z saying like millennials just don't know how to get to the point. It's called having basic manners. When writing an email, good morning, good afternoon. I hope this email finds you well. If you skip the pleasantries, especially in written communication, it does come off as unprofessional. Even if someone is difficult, even if you don't like somebody, engaging in those pleasantries speaks about your character. And people are assessing that. Number four, learn to regulate your emotions. Don't go off on someone just because they irritate you. Don't go off in a meeting, don't have an emotional outburst. All of those things are utilized to assess your capabilities. The moment you lose your composure in a professional setting, people completely stop listening to the points that you were trying to make and they focus on your behavior. Number five, listen, communicate clearly and follow through on whatever it is you said you were going to do. There is nothing more unprofessional than someone being in a meeting and they're on their phone and someone asks them a question and they're like, um, sorry, I didn't hear you. Especially if you're an intern. What are you doing? For people who are a little bit more senior, they might be multitasking and addressing something else from a colleague, that's understandable. You are entry level, you are an intern. Your undivided attention needs to be in that meeting. So you can also speak up, contribute, showcase your abilities. Professionalism isn't about being fake, okay? It's not about changing who you are. It's about being someone people trust, respect, and want in the rooms where decisions are being made. You are entry level, you are an intern. Your undivided attention needs to be in that meeting. So you can also speak up, contribute, showcase your abilities. Professionalism isn't about being fake, okay? It's not about changing who you are. It's about being someone people trust, respect, and want in the rooms where decisions are being made.
