The Unadvertised Qualification 

By Yvonne La Rose, CPC
Certified Professional Career Consultant

There's one candidate qualification that simply does not ever get included in advertisements, job descriptions or formal discussions during the interview. Yet this is one quality that every employer and recruiter, every manager and customer is seeking. It would serve every candidate to realize that not only are they being evaluated for having that quality, it's expected throughout all phases of their work life both on the job and off. It makes the difference between getting hired as well as getting promoted. It's professionalism.

Professionalism encompasses a lot of things. It's evidenced in many ways.

· Attentive to appearances and image. Your personal appearance is merely one aspect of presenting a professional image. It's more than presenting a sharp, flawless resume and cover letter. You should realize that image is what you personally project to the customer and your co-workers while in the workplace through your service and knowledge of your work. It instills confidence in you, the employee.

· Attention to detail and accuracy. Orderliness is another indicator of the amount of accuracy that goes into your work and a measure of your professionalism. It's a critical factor in keeping costs low and completion times short. Accuracy means more reliability. It means you're valuable to the workplace. Ways to show these attributes during the interview are to arrive on time or a few minutes early, prepared with an extra copy of an error-free resume and cover letter plus any samples that may be requested by the interviewer. Another means of showing professionalism is to be prepared with knowledge of the company, its goals and needs because of good research.

· Customer service and goodwill. Goodwill is an intangible asset we all value. The potential employer is looking for goodwill from their employees via responsible work habits. When you provide good, reliable work, your supervisor will keep coming back to you to do more responsible and challenging assignments. There are at least five elements that make up good customer service and resulting goodwill:

1. Courtesy

2. Speech

3. Listening skills

4. Follow through

5. Timeliness and punctuality

· Respect. The supervisor is more likely to encourage those who are respectful of their co-workers. It's just part of the whole package, really, and part of the positive image one needs to project. If there is internal respect and courtesy, there certainly must be reliability in all parts of that business - professionalism. It's a good kind of infection for the workplace. When you practice courtesy with your co-workers and customers, you're more likely to be considered a valuable asset to the business.

· Speech. It says volumes about what one can expect from a person. It isn't necessary to have the vocabulary of the Oxford English Dictionary. It is important to use the correct words, tact, proper volume with good pacing and to project a positive, professional image. Now you can talk to people all day but that won't do a lot of good if you don't hear what they have to say.

· Good listening skills. That means not only hearing the words but also understanding what is meant by the message. One of the best ways to assure yourself and the person you're dealing with that

 

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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