What is professionalism and how to achieve it?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

You can be a director of a bank or a factory, a well-known journalist or a simple accountant, you can become a freelancer or live on alms - it is only important to be good at your job. What is professionalism in the conventional sense?

This is the performance of tasks with the maximum diligence, skills and knowledge that a person has on this topic. You are not born with it, but it can be achieved. What is professionalism for an enterprise? This is a guarantee of its success and prosperity. Not the only condition, of course, but a necessary one. Few of us would want to wear poorly made clothes or be treated by a half-trained doctor. It is unlikely that anyone will enjoy eating a poorly cooked dinner or getting a haircut by an incompetent barber. Nor would we entrust the repair of pipes or electrical wiring to someone who does not know how to get down to business.

What is professionalism and how does it differ from amateurism? After all, these two concepts are most often opposed. Professionalism in work is manifested in deep knowledge of a narrow specialization, in the relevantskills, in careful and conscientious preparation and performance of the task. The amateur lacks solidity and understanding of nuances and subtleties. When asked what professionalism is, many people answer that it is education first of all. However, this is not entirely true: theoretical knowledge alone is not enough. The professionalism of the staff is determined primarily by practical experience, skills and abilities. A carpenter who only theoretically knows how to process wood cannot be considered a specialist. Just like a doctor who has not performed a single operation or a programmer after a university degree who has not written a single application on his own, do not fit this definition of what professionalism is. A competent specialist can become someone who devotes a lot of time and effort to practicing in the chosen field, deepening his knowledge and achieving ever higher levels of skill. Formal education is not a guarantee of professionalism. Pay attention to how many university graduates are now who do not even understand their chosen speci alty. A lawyer needs years of practice and won cases to be considered a professional. A surgeon does not become a competent specialist immediately after graduation, because real knowledge and skills are acquired only in the process of work.

You can become a "pro", an ace in any business. However, this does not come by itself, it is not given without difficulty. In addition, the real problem for young people now is that few people want to hire "freshly minted" graduates. It is difficult for young people "without experience" to find a place that would allow them to feed their families. As a result, they do not have the opportunity to practice and specialize in their chosen business, but they have to think about earnings and daily bread. An enterprise that values its personnel, which understands that people are the main capital, creates all the conditions for the "growing" of professionals. This is a far-sighted approach: after all, only those who feel needed and useful, those who have the opportunity to show their abilities and apply knowledge and at the same time think about work, and not just about earning, can bring success to their company.