As I mentioned before, I am currently participating in the Humanities Institute Junior Fellows Program. The topic for this semester is “Social Media and Social Change: Negotiating Access, Control and Unrest in the Information Age.” The guest lecturer, Lee Aase, mentioned something in his lecture a few weeks ago that I think is worth pondering a little further. In regards to social media, he explained, “Professionalism isn’t just the absence of unprofessionalism.” Of course, this comment was in regards to online presence, given the subject of the course. Given that I’ve already posted about professional online presence, I thought it might be worth thinking about how this idea of professionalism applies to our daily life as college students.

This idea that “professionalism isn’t just the absence of unprofessionalism” implies that seeking professionalism is something that needs to be done actively. It got me thinking about ways I could actively improve my professional persona. Thus, in true type-A spirit, I have come up with a seeking professionalism to-do list.

1. Practice interviewing skills. Even though I do not have any upcoming interviews, interviewing skills are something I feel I can always improve on. The last thing I want to happen is to leave an interview with the interviewer thinking, “Well, she wasn’t unprofessional.” While I feel like I usually have good answers to most interview questions, I am certain that I can improve on how I interact in an interview setting in regards to fidgeting, gestures etc. Hopefully some practice interviews with the CP&R team will help!

2. Use LinkedIn. While I have been on LinkedIn for about a year now, I do not use it nearly as much as I should in order for it to serve its purpose. In order for it to be effective, I probably need to at least log on once a week. To make better use of it, I will meet with CP&R to learn about how to take the most advantage of it. I really need to learn the ins-and-outs of making connections, asking for recommendations and staying in contact with connections I may not know very well, but may be useful in the future.

3. Make Career Planning a Part of My Daily Routine. Because I know I want a career in Media (whether that will be on air-talent, PR or Production—I have no idea!), there are certain things I really should be doing on a weekly, if not daily basis to make sure I am on top of my game. While I stay caught up on news through online, print sources, I should really make time to watch more broadcast content. Additionally, I need to make a habit of visiting websites and blogs for people working in media, marketing and communication. Hopefully, this will help me feel like I know more about what is currently going on in the industry, even though I have yet to officially enter the professional working world.