I work at a career college as well, and the dress code is different amongst the different programs. However, in all cases professionalism is expected and enforced. Students are expected to be in dress code whenever they are on campus, whether or not they have class that day. They are learning to be professionals, and whenever they are in a professional environment, they should present themselves accordingly. We frequently hear from students that being at school is not the same as being on the job. Our faculty and staff are quick to point out that learning the subject matter is only a part of learning the profession.
Brad,
Excellent...this gives students the feeling that you are passionate about the field.
Shelly Crider
Understanding the field in which you are studying is key to learning professional skills. I bring in guest lecturers so students can see the variety of people and personalities that make up their field. I also ask them to interview professionals, asking them what it means to be a professional in a specific field. Great answers and this allows students to see similarities and differences.
Moira,
Do you think that social media is some of the cause of unprofessional traits?
Shelly Crider
KAI,
Awesome job. We need more employees that show strong work ethic and professionalism.
Shelly Crider
Jerry,
Oh so true! We do not want to teach someone who in turn will struggle to stay employed.
Shelly Crider
In our environment professionalism is taught and discussed on an ongoing basis from the beginning of their training thru the end during their externship/internship. I am constantly surprised at some of the unprofessional traits that our students sometimes exhibit thru their training and job experience rotations. I'm constantly looking for new ideas.
This is crucial. I have very in-depth network of employers who provide me constant feedback on student interns and jobseekers. Their biggest complaint is lack of professionalism from appearance to interview etiquette. By introducing professionalism in the classroom my students gain an edge over others. In fact many employers have complimented me on some of my students strong work ethic and professional behavior.
I try to relate the things that they are learning and apply it to clinical situations that will come up. I talk about autonomy and how they have to be self governing to be considered responsible. Working with doctors they are going to have to mirror the doctor's professionalism or they will stand out and struggle to stay employed it is more about the things that we cannot teach that will allow them to succeed or fail.
Heather,
This helps students get a good feeling about themselves going into the interview process!
Shelly Crider
We offer two courses at our campus that help with this. Career Development is the fisrt that gears their minds in a careeer driven thought and helps prepare them for college itself. And lastly Career Management, which helps build resume and work on interviewing strategy.
Laura,
Positive results is exactly what we are looking for when it comes to professional skills. Nobody likes to deal with negativity.
Shelly Crider
We provide a TBLS class that consist of professional skills, mock interviews, resume writing.It seems to really have poitive results with most our students.
donald,
Yes, it is vital in the medical clinics. I work in a medical clinic as well and I mention to my students....would you want your mother treated that way.....
Shelly Crider
Teaching healthcare topics one has to realize the proximity the successful student will be working with a patient. It is extremely important to make the student realize that the manner in approaching a patient could make or break their perception of seeking treatment in the future. In the classroom I stress the importance of "How would you like to be treated in this situation". Bringing role playing moments into the classroom allows for opportunities for students to visualize how things can be done better.
Samuel,
In this day and age we are not confined to face to face customers. It is important to be able to deal with customers across the world.
Shelly Crider
Mark,
I like this!!! Students think they will have a wonderful job when they get out of school, but there are times when the boss takes the job down the wrong road!
Shelly Crider
Sean,
I like how you listed the customer as well. There are many customer types out there that we need to know how to deal with.
Shelly Crider
its important to show the student the need for comunication skills and how important it is to be able to deal with customers
I share real world situations where being professional has paid off. The place where most students will loss track is when the customer lacks professionalism, hence they think that gives them the right not to be a professional. Real world examples helps them realize thats not the case. The second way they seem to loss track is when their boss lacks professionalism. I share example of how following a poor lead by the boss hurts your career.
