5 easy tips for being more professional

 

The word "professional" is synonymous with "polished," "skilled," and "educated." It is something we all aspire to be at work. Believe it or not, it's easy to appear more polished and to show that you're skilled and educated. It all boils down to your conduct, especially how you treat people. Here are a few easy tips to make sure you're acting as professionally as possible. 

Be on time

When you show up on time, you're saying that you respect other people's time. This is such a basic principle, but it is often forgotten. It helps to leave 15 minutes before you think you need to, in case you run into traffic or something goes wrong, which it inevitably can.

Say "please" and "thank you."

By using your manners, you are valuing the person you're talking to. Rather than just making demands, it creates a softer, more friendlier dialogue. "May I please take a break" sounds a lot nicer than "I'm taking a break now."  Think of how the person on the receiving end of the conversation feels. You always want to treat other people the way you would want to be treated.

Stay off your phone

When in a work situation, you should be focused on work. It's tempting to check social media, and even to read this (lol!) but you'll end up looking distracted-probably because you ARE distracted. As much as we think we can multi-task, your mind just won't be on work if it's on memes and reels.

Do more than is expected of you

Asked to generate 3 sales leads? Generate 4. Opening the restaurant? Check to see if there's any side-work you can do too. When you go above and beyond the call of duty, your supervisor will notice. It will lighten the load for everybody else, which brings me to my next point...

Really focus on teamwork

How can you make it easier for your co-workers? How can you work WITH other people instead of just thinking about you? You're all together for a length of time, you might as well make it easy for each other. Learn everybody's names and be friendly with them. Resist the urge to talk behind your co-workers' backs. When you work as a cohesive unit, the job gets done faster and easier.