As graduation season looms, college seniors are deep into the job hunt, hoping they have the skills and qualities necessary to find a landing place in the workforce. With the economy showing signs of recovery, many employers are hoping to land the best and the brightest of those new grads. But they don’t want just anybody. They want promising new blood that will bring a strong work ethic, solid interpersonal and communications skills, dedication, and high ethical standards. In short, they’re looking for professionalism. 
Defining what constitutes professionalism can be tricky, though. The Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania annually conducts a national survey on professionalism, and findings are used to track changes in just what it means to be “professional.”
The first study was conducted in 2009 and the most recent in 2011. The earlier two studies surveyed HR professionals about their experiences with newly hired college graduates. The most recent study, which was published in 2012, surveyed not just HR but also managers.
Professionalism: What is it?
With three years of surveys under their belts, the study authors say they have a strong understanding of what qualities make an employee professional. Interpersonal skills, appearance, communication skills, time management, confidence, being ethical, having a good work ethic, and being knowledgeable were identified as qualities affecting a person’s degree of professionalism.
Although managers and HR professionals gave generally similar answers about the qualities that characterize professionalism, differences do exist, the study shows. “Managers more often than HR respondents name work ethic (managers, 32.7% vs. HR, 14.2%) and time management (managers, 27.2% vs. HR, 20.8%) as qualities of the professional.” The study report also notes that “managers are more likely to see these qualities in existing employees than HR professionals are to experience them in the interview process.”
The qualities survey respondents most often identified as unprofessional are inappropriate appearance, lack of dedication, poor work ethic, sense of entitlement, disrespect, poor communication skills, being unfocused, and having a poor attitude.
Generation gap?
Both HR and managers indicate the presence of a generation gap, with study respondents saying professionalism is more often exhibited in existing employees than in new hires.
Even if a true gap exists between younger and older workers, most managers and HR professionals—but certainly not all—say the definition of what is professional shouldn’t change. It’s the younger survey respondents who were more likely to say the definition of professionalism “should change to reflect the standards of younger employees.”
“The attitude appears to be that young employees should learn to conform to current standards of professionalism rather than the standards being modified in response to larger societal changes,” the authors note in their report. Most HR professionals and managers also “disagree with the thought that a perceived lack of professionalism may be the result of older generations judging younger generations.”
The 2012 study report notes that age is a “reoccurring theme” in defining professionalism. “Repeatedly, managers single out younger employees as the ones least likely to exhibit professionalism,” the report states. “The younger respondents are the ones who most often feel that the perceived lack of professionalism in the workplace is due to an older generation reviewing the behaviors and attitudes of a younger generation.”
Where do we stand?
The latest study shows that a significant number of HR professionals and managers believe the state of professionalism has declined over the last five years, with 33.1 percent of HR respondents and 21.2 percent of managers voicing that belief.
But by looking at results of all three years of data, the study authors see signs of professionalism improving.
“The bad economy could be partly responsible for this,” the study report says. “Both sets of respondents note that with the bad economy, the pool of applicants from which to hire has grown. With more persons applying for employment, the ability to hire someone who already exhibits professionalism increases.”
Regardless of the definition and prevalence of professionalism, both HR and managers see an individual’s level of professionalism as crucial to hiring and advancement. In the latest survey, 96.0 percent of HR respondents said a candidate’s level of professionalism affects the likelihood of getting hired, and 92.9 percent of managers said it affects an employee’s chance for promotion.
“Deadly mistakes”
HR professionals responding to the survey were asked for the most common mistakes job candidates make during interviews, and they identified inappropriate attire, being late for the interview, lack of preparation for the interview, and poor verbal skills including grammar.
Managers were asked to name the worst problems they see in new employees. The four identified by at least one-fifth of the managers surveyed are lack of urgency in getting a job done, a sense of entitlement, poor performance coupled with a mediocre work ethic, and poor attendance.
As for mistakes that can lead to an employee being fired, both HR professionals and managers said the most common problem is attendance, including tardiness, leaving early, and racking up numerous absences.