So, whatever you are going to do with your seminary degree, there’s one thing that is certain no matter what direction you are headed – you will be a professional and it is in your best interest early on to cultivate a professional “image.” We chatted about this in my previous posts. We're continuing that discussion in this post with Tip #5-8.
TIP #5 – Keep Your Chin Up
This tip for professionalism is really about having a good attitude. The reality of graduate school and seminary is that it can be challenging. There will be stress, and perhaps even, some sleepless nights. Don’t let it get you down. Keep your chin up.
In my opinion, the best antidote to a bad attitude is progress. Productivity towards completing assignments and meeting deadlines has never failed in my own life to cheer me up. When I have been at my most sour, there usually has been an approaching deadline that I am not prepared to meet. Which brings me to the next tip…
TIP #6 – Meet Your Deadlines
Keep a good, up-to-date calendar and don’t miss your deadlines. Also, get some kind of productivity system. When I first started seminary, I began using David Allen’s Getting Things Done as a philosophy for project management. To actually accomplish things using this philosophy, I have used an app for my Macbook Pro called THINGS. THINGS helps me track productivity on both short-term and long-term projects. If you don’t have a “system” for productivity (in which case, go immediately to Google and search on ‘productivity system’), then get one. A system will not only help you meet deadlines, it will help you manage projects daily on the way to the deadline. A system is invaluable. I recommend Getting Things Done.
TIP #7 – Show Up and Do the Work
Perhaps the simplest and yet most important tip is this: do the work and be where you’re supposed to be. In your case, do your seminary work and don’t miss class. You’d be surprised how essential this is to cultivating a professional image. In my mind, the consummate professional is the one who can be counted on to get things done – whether it is a paper for a class in seminary – or a late night call to the ICU for a church member who is dying, even if it is 2am. Be there and do the work. Soli Deo Gloria.
TIP #8 – Manage Your Web Presence Well
It goes without saying (I would hope) that you need to manage your online presence in such a way that your professionalism is enhanced, not denigrated. Meaning, delete those embarrassing photos on your Facebook wall, clean up that Twitter stream, tighten up those privacy settings, etc. If you need help knowing what is and isn’t appropriate on social media, do a bit of Google research on this topic (search ‘online reputation management’), or join a free service like Reppler.
But managing your online presence is more than just about making sure your social media stuff is clean and appropriate. It’s also about having a professional online presence, like a webpage that presents you to the world in a way that is not “Facebook-like.” Meaning, it needs to be something professional looking, almost like one of your professor’s faculty webpages. Whatever platform you consider for setting up your web presence, the most important qualities are its professionalism and its ability to cultivate your professional image. Consider using Facebook for your social life and something like LinkedIn for your professional life.
Use privacy settings on your social media so you can control your information. And be thoughtful about what you write if you maintain a blog. Blog posts are easily parsed and can be a benefit or a detriment to your professional image. At the very least, “Google” yourself and find out what is out there on the Web when it comes to YOU. Manage your web presence well. As mentioned, whatever you are going to do with your seminary degree, there’s one thing that is certain no matter what direction you are headed – you will be a professional and it is in your best interest early on to cultivate a professional image.
