Importance of Professionalism

The importance of professionalism in the travel industry is imperative. In order to succeed at The Travel Academy and in your career, you must be professional. The Travel Academy is unable to give strong recommendations to employers if unprofessionalism is demonstrated. To ensure success at The Travel Academy and in future travel positions, please read the following recommendations:

1. Dress to impress everyday

This doesn’t necessarily mean a suit and tie everyday, but neat hair, clean makeup, cleanly shaven, neat fingers, clean shoes, etc. A neat appearance is a part of someones first impression, so, always dress to impress!

2. Remember to smile

Yes, it can be hard to keep a smile on your face, especially if you are having a bad day. However, a smile can make someone’s bad day better. Smiling is infectious and automatically makes another person smile. In addition, smiling makes a person more approachable. Always smile!

3. Be authentic

Be yourself and the same person in every situation, don’t change personalities. Being authentic makes you credible, therefore people and employers will trust you. Authentic behavior is also a leadership quality.

4. Kill others with kindness and play nice in the sandbox

In an authentic/genuine way. Nice gestures to others automatically makes you feel better and makes them feel good too. Hold the door for others, ask how their day is, listen, and be genuinely interested. Doing little things for others throughout the day makes you a better person. Other people will notice too. Playing nice in sandbox is working as a team, getting along with everyone, and supporting each other. Not playing in the sandbox would be spreading rumors, only working individually and not collaborating, and intentionally putting others down.

5. Be prepared and organized

Nothing says unprofessionalism like being late, unprepared, or disorganized. Always be on time or even early. In addition, know what is going to be discussed in meetings and expected of you at work. Lastly, always prepare your materials/clothes the day before. That way, you are organized and ready to focus.

These are a few tips to ensure success and professionalism. These basic steps can improve your life, the life of others, and your success in your future career. Go out and practice these steps daily!

-Allison Nawracaj