Professionalism matters because how you present yourself is how people will treat you. I learned a hard lesson in professionalism a few months ago and have since learned that reputations are hard to salvage once you make a mistake. Below I’ve outlined some areas that I think help people maintain a professional reputation in the workplace.

1) Attire  

This differs within industries. In my opinion, you should dress according to how others around you are dressing. If no one except the boss wears business formal attire, then wearing business casual will help you blend in. However, I’d always suggest dressing more professionally than casually if you’re unsure of what to wear. On the first day of an internship, I was unsure of how to dress so I decided to skip the blazer and wear an electric blue blouse with a skirt and heels. That afternoon, all the interns were introduced the Attorney General of California and given the opportunity to join her in group photos. There was nothing I could do to hide my very obvious blue blouse. At another internship, I was extremely overdressed on my first day, but I never regretted it.

2) Conduct in the workplace

Having a solid understanding of how you’re perceived in the workplace really makes a difference when it comes to improving interpersonal relationships. If you’re known as the person that watches the clock at 5 PM every day, other people may think you’re not as dedicated to the job. Similarly, if you’re known to take extra long lunches or work less hard when the boss isn’t in, your co-workers won’t take you as seriously as you’d like.

3) Conduct outside of the workplace

This may apply more to interactions with co-workers or peers similar in age to you. It goes without saying that you should never “fraternize” (I think this word is so great) with your superiors, but I think some people often forget that this also applies to the friends you make at work. I personally believe that relationships formed in the workplace should strictly remain in the workplace. It is definitely not worth jeopardizing your job or even your happiness at work to have to deal with someone on a daily basis that you had a bad experience with. I do know (trust me, I really do) that this can be hard to maintain, but this pays off in the long run when people respect you. Respect takes months, or even years, to gain, and one small misstep can damage your reputation tremendously.

I hope this information helps! If you’ve ever read any of my posts, or if this is your first one, please tell me what you think! Is this advice helpful? Do you totally disagree? (Because that’s totally fine too.) I hope you have a great spring break!