PROFESSIONALISM: Does it apply to the creative industries?
Updated: Nov 11, 2021
WHAT IS PROFESSIONALISM?
The concept of professionalism can be defined in many ways, such as your skills, perceptiveness & etiquette in your chosen profession. All of these points are taken into account when measuring an employee’s professionalism and employability.
PROFESSIONALISM IN THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
Now that we know how to define professionalism, we can answer how it applies in the creative industries. In many, if not all, creative careers, a professional will have deadlines. It is imperative to meet your deadlines in good time as a professional as this is what employers will expect of you. From this, we also learn that good personal time keeping and management skills are vital to working in the creative industries. You will also find yourself working with many other creative professionals in creative occupations. This means your demeanour in which you conduct yourself should always be pleasant and accommodating. The creative industries often offer challenges in many sectors of careers, thus making it important that you have good problem solving skills and good creative judgement.
THE PILLARS OF PROFESSIONALISM
The pillars of professionalism are always a helpful guide to refer to throughout your creative career.
COMMITMENT:
A professional has to be committed to being professional in the workplace as it is a vital aspect of the creative industries.
INTEGRITY:
A professional has to exhibit dependability and honesty while also knowing their own capabilities and possible limitations. A professional should also demonstrate respect for their fellow colleagues
RESPONSIBILITY:
As a professional, you have a responsibility to carry out your given tasks in an organised and well paced manner while taking into account any unforeseen problems that might occur in your project. A professional also has an obligation to always enhance their skills in order to always improve on their work.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
A professional is accountable for ensuring their own professional conduct in their work environment. You are to be held accountable for any errors you are responsible for in the workplace. It is part of a professionals job to understand and enquire about their given tasks fully.
RESPECT IN THE WORKPLACE
Why is it essential for a creative professional to respect in the workplace? In the creative industries it is always important to show respect towards your employer, peers and clients in order to have and build good relationships with them. Having a good relationship with others in your place of work will affect the outcome of your work as well as provide suitable means to work well with others.
REPUTATION
Your reputation as a creative professional in the creative industries is vital in encouraging a positive depiction of yourself. This generates beneficial promotion for you and your career in the workplace. Through doing this, you will find people in your chosen industry eager and more likely to want to work with you or even hire you. This could also lead to valuable references that you could potentially use to gain a promotion or new position.
USEFUL LINKS:
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-be-a-professional
https://www.careeraddict.com/workplace-professionalism