WWW My Homepage


     Articles by category      Recent Articles         All articles   

Be a Professional

Kishore C.S.

July 1999 

‘Professional’ word is used as a quality attribute for individuals at work. What does the word Professional stand for? The following is my interpretation of word ‘Professional’.

A Professional

  • Knows his job
  • Is an expert in his field
  • Knows his Strengths and Weaknesses
  • Is not afraid of competition
  • Knows his success is based on his work
  • Does not feel jealous of competition
  • When he finishes his job you feel the touch of ‘class’
  • Takes Pride in his job
  • You can ‘trust’ him for his work
  • Possess specialised skills in his area and makes excellent use
  • You have to tell him what is to be done, he knows how to do.
  • You will be glad of availing the ‘professional’s’ services.
  • You will enjoy watching a professional at work.
  • You never feel cheated when you get the work done by a professional.

There have been instances in my life when I felt individuals are professional in their approach. Professionalism does not mean he has to perform a white collar job. Anyone who does a good work is a professional in my opinion. Examples of professionalism:

Whenever my vehicle needs servicing I take it to the garage and tell him to do servicing. I trust him for his work. He knows he has to do the best and I always found him doing a good job. I expect him to correct any faults unnoticed by me and return the vehicle in ‘better’ condition.

I requested service of an electrician sometime back my house. Not knowing anything about his job, I just kept quiet after stating my need. In a matter of two hours he did a thorough and neat job. I was impressed by the systematic approach, quality of work. That is what I felt is a professional job.

Every individual needs to understand the need to be professional. Recollect your experiences when you felt happy receiving professional service. Add what factor made you feel the service was professional. Analyze your own work and rate yourself on the professional aspects.

Be your best, do your best, that is what gives you satisfaction in your work life.

*Add your own observations to the above.

Questionnaire

Use the following questionnaire to rate yourself as a professional. Determine the gap and work towards being a better professional. Rating is on 1-10 scale. 10 being maximum. Rate yourself for each question and calculate total.

Name:

Date:

Question Rating
Do you know your job expectations?  
Do you know skills required for your job?  
Do you have adequate skills for the job?  
How do you rate your expertise to the job you are doing?  
Do you enjoy your job?  
Do you always do your best in each of your task?  
Do you have pride in your job?  
Does your boss Trust you for your work quality?  
Do you receive good back from people other than your boss?  
Are you aware of your strengths?  
Are you aware of your weaknesses?  
Are you afraid of becoming extinct? (i.e. your services will not be needed anymore)  
You have personal standards for each work you do?  
You ‘rarely’ get detailed instructions on how to do the job.  
Do you always adhere to personal standards?  
Do you say ‘no’ when asked to perform work you cannot do?  

Score:

16-40: Low: You have to work hard at your weaknesses

41- 80: Average: You have some weaknesses to work on

81-120: Good: You seem to be going good.

120 – 160: Excellent: You are a ‘Top’ Class Professional

Suggested Methodology for improving the score:

  • Identify the question with lowest score.
  • Identify reasons for the same.
  • Discuss the problem with your colleagues or boss if required
  • Initiate action to improve the score.
  • Re-evaluate yourself after you feel you have improved.
Back