Representing Yourself Well
Contributed by Speak Up for Kids Student Intern Team — This article was developed through the combined efforts of multiple student interns, each bringing unique skills and perspectives to support life skills education for foster youth.
Overview
Stepping into adulthood can feel exciting, but it also comes with new responsibilities—one of the most important being how you present yourself. Representing yourself well isn’t always easy, but it’s a skill that can open doors and build lasting impressions. In this article, we’ll explore practical tips on how to carry yourself professionally in the workplace while also embracing what it means to be a confident, capable adult in everyday life.
Professionalism at Work
Attitude
Having a positive attitude in the workplace can help improve collaboration as it boosts morale and promotes a more teamwork-friendly environment.
Positive attitudes in the workplace help employees develop a sense of respect with each other and can aid in their collaborative problem solving skills.
Key Point: Maintaining a positive outlook also helps reduce stress, as you’re less likely to get overwhelmed by challenges and will develop the ability to find creative solutions to problems.
Communication
Communicating effectively helps reduce the chances of misunderstandings or arguments as everyone will be on the same page. If you deal with customers directly, making sure that you communicate professionally can help de-escalate situations and help aid in their understanding.
Ensure that you use professional language, whether verbally or in an email. This will help you maintain professionalism no matter how you’re communicating with others.
Presentation
Not only do you represent yourself, but the place you work at as well. It’s important to employers as they want to see that you care about your work and take it seriously. Dress appropriately according to the type of environment you work in. Working at a bank requires a different kind of attire than working at an amusement park. Make sure you have good hygiene, looking taken care of and presentable.
Body language and the tone you use are important as well. Make sure your mannerisms and speech don’t come off as awkward, hostile, or disinterested.
Time Management
Always do your best to respect deadlines. If you tell someone you can have something done by a certain time, make sure that outcome is actually feasible. It’s ok to say “no” and that you need more time at the onset, but doing so is frowned upon close to the deadline.
Manage your time effectively:
Prioritize.
Eliminate distractions.
Give yourself extra time just in case you run into unexpected delays or setbacks.
Arrive on time, as it shows both respect and commitment.
Integrity
Be ready to admit when you make a mistake or fall short of expectations and consider what needs to be done going forward. It is important to be honest when interacting with your peers and superiors. Show them that you are reliable and can be depended on.
Professionalism as an Adult
Work Ethic
Developing a good work ethic is central to becoming more professional as an adult as it increases your productivity and prepares you to take on challenges throughout life. Showing others that you have a commitment to high quality work can help increase your standing with them, showing that you’re a reliable individual who gets things done.
Life Hack: Having a good work ethic is also a way to help you stand out in the crowd. Most people are average at most things, so show others that you can be a cut above the rest!
Respect
You should always strive to treat others with respect. Whether you agree with them or not, whether you even like them or not, we are all people who share one world and as such, we have a duty to extend basic decency to our fellow humans.
Exercising empathy is another important way to show respect for others. Validate what others are feeling and just listen to what they have to say and try to understand their point of view.
Take Ownership
It’s important to be self-aware as an adult, which means understanding your strengths, weaknesses, beliefs, and behaviors. How do these things affect your life and are there any areas you could improve on to make yourself a better and more successful person?
You’re responsible for your actions, and you need to be ready to accept the consequences of them, good or bad.
Everyone makes mistakes. When you do, try not to beat yourself up and question how that mistake could’ve been avoided and what you can do to rectify it.
Self-Control
It’s important to manage your impulses as an adult. You’ll have access to freedom and money unlike anything you’ve experienced as a youth. Think of the big picture. What behaviors or other things are holding you back or causing you to make poor choices? How will those choices affect you in the future, and how can you set yourself up to have a better future?
Small Action, Big Results: Remove things in your life that enable temptations towards behavior that’s not helpful for yourself or others. There’s also no shame in seeking out others to help you develop better habits.
Strive to Become Better
Set goals for yourself so that you can not only give yourself something to work for but also monitor your progress towards success.
Practice self-care to make sure that you’re in the best condition you can be in both physically and mentally.
The journey to become a better version of yourself is a goal that lasts throughout your life. Stay committed to continuous improvement!
Final Thoughts
Below we’ll review what we’ve learned about representing ourselves well in two different parts of life:
Demonstrating Professionalism at Work requires that you have a positive Attitude to roll with the punches. You need to show others that you have good Communication and Time Management skills to contribute to the overall efficiency of the workplace. It’s also important to Present yourself according to what’s appropriate for your work environment. Make sure that you develop a good sense of Integrity as well so others know you can be depended on.
Demonstrating Professionalism as an Adult in general means developing a good Work Ethic, or the ability to apply yourself. You need both good Self-Control and the ability to Take Ownership of your life and actions. Extend Respect to others even if you don’t agree with them and above all else, Strive to Become a Better version of yourself in all areas of your life. Constantly ask yourself how you can improve! You got this!
