The time has come. You're going out into the real world and seeking your first 'grown up' job. Parents, professors and mentors have groomed you for this moment and you're ready to prove your worth as a young professional. But what happens when an email from a potential employer requesting an interview has a typo? You start thinking to yourself, "Do I really want a boss who didn't use correct grammar in their first contact with me?" Unfortunately, no matter how prepared and educated you are, there is bound to be a time where you encounter a lack of professionalism and it will frustrate you to no end.
Based on experiences I have encountered myself along with faux pas incurred by my friends in their pursuit of a real world jobs, I have compiled a list of things you may encounter, so you may be better prepared for the professional missteps of your peers.
Someone will fail to respond to an important email or phone call.
Someone will fail to respond to multiple attempts to communicate.
There will be typos. Oh, will there be typos.
You will be offered a job and then won't hear anything back.
A superior will instruct you on the policies and procedures, and then not follow the policies themselves.
You will be blamed for something a superior did because they can blame you for it and don't want to look bad themselves.
A superior will make up rules as they go (with or without your knowledge).
Tasks will be delegated unfairly (bosses may be hypocritical in what they ask of you versus the effort they put in themselves).
The boss will have a "favorite" (and it won't always be you).
Superiors will gossip and personal vendettas will occur.
You will see something you're not supposed to and be asked not to say anything about it.
The moral of this story is not to walk into interviews paranoid that every boss you have will be nightmarish; you will have superiors who will change your life and assist you in your professional growth. The story instead is to be prepared for the bad ones because they are unavoidable. What matters most is your response to the lack of professionalism. Remember your training, personal ethics and stay true to what you believe is the right way to conduct yourself. Don't stoop to the level of your superiors and co-workers if they are in the wrong.
And someday when you're the one doing the hiring, remember the bosses that burned you. Remember the frustration you felt when they didn't live up to the expectations you had for them as a leader. Strive to not be that boss.
As stated by David Maister, "Professionalism is not a label you give yourself -- it's a description you hope others will apply to you."
