What does it take to be professional?<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): We know what it means, but sometimes it's hard
\nto put into words what it is to be professional.<\/p>\n
Here are some views on being professional, and the obstacles
\nwhich sometimes get in the way.<\/p>\n
Rini Moerjono, 33, promotions manager for a jewelry company:<\/p>\n
There is a difference between our responsibilities in being
\nprofessional and loyalty to the office, but sometimes people here
\nget caught between our Eastern values and being professional, the
\npersonal and the professional. It's hard for us, even though,
\nlike it or not, we sometimes have to make an unpleasant decision.
\nWe should be firm, but feelings enter into it and it ends up that
\nwe can't say no. We're still using our feelings when someone who
\nis professional should be able to put them aside ...<\/p>\n
I think it must be hard if people are professional but working
\nin an unprofessional environment. It's not easy; there are a lot
\nof disturbances when people around them are not professional. For
\nexample, other people go home early and try to get you to do the
\nsame thing. It's easy to lose your enthusiasm for the job. I
\nthink you either decide to stay in the job and try to be
\nprofessional, or you have to look for new work in a more
\nprofessional place.<\/p>\n
George Pattian, 61, a corporate affairs general manager for a
\ntelecommunications company: I think that even though the
\ndevelopment is not that significant, people in the middle sector,
\nwhat we've come to call yuppies, have come to realize the
\nimportance of being professional in the global market. They know
\nthat they have to catch up if they want to get a job, here or
\nabroad.<\/p>\n
I think it (the development) is phenomenal in finance, and
\nalso in property and banking ... you can also see it in the
\nadvertising sector, where companies seek out people who are
\nexperienced but not too old. The environment is what pushes us to
\ndevelop. A person who likes a challenge will thrive in a
\nchallenging job; someone who is professional does not want a
\nstable situation but a dynamic one. We want people in business
\nwho are not troublemakers, but also do not want to be over-
\ncontrolled.<\/p>\n
It may seem like a small thing, but I see professionalism in
\nother ways, too. For instance, we go to the bank, and the teller
\nis very professional. We are given an allotted amount of time,
\nand if we're a bit uncertain, they help us out by giving
\nrecommendations. So they're professional, too.<\/p>\n
Batara Siagian, 40, distribution and sales director at
\nCitibank: It's very simple -- you have to go back to what the
\nword means in relation to professional standards, character and
\nintegrity. If we say someone is professional, it means he has
\nintegrity and is competent; it's as basic as the word itself. In
\nlayman's terms, it's the difference between being professional or
\namateurish in competency and character, because there is a value
\nthat society recognizes.<\/p>\n
The qualities can be in an athlete, an executive, the man in
\nthe street. If you are a good satpam (security guard) then you
\nare a professional one. Everybody, irrespective of their job, can
\nearn that title ...<\/p>\n
It comes from within; nobody is going to stop you from being
\nprofessional. If you are in a stagnant job, then you'll look
\noutside to one with challenges. The old saying \"if it ain't broke
\ndon't fix it\" actually promotes stagnancy. You have to earn the
\ntitle of being a professional, but structural things, like
\nsalary, job satisfaction, are important, too.<\/p>\n
Part of being professional is to be assertive and people are
\nbecoming more critical, asking more questions. I can see it with
\nmy children. It applies to the corporate world. For challenges,
\nwe need to ask questions, improve -- or otherwise we will be
\neaten up by the competition.<\/p>\n
Benny, 25, a sergeant in the Army: We're a nationalist army,
\nnot a professional army. If there is a damaged bridge and we
\nhappen to be in the area, we will probably be called upon to fix
\nit. In America, you wouldn't do that -- you would call the
\nspecial corps to take care of it. American soldiers know their
\nposition and what they are supposed to do, but if we get called
\nupon to help with something, we have to do it. In that way, we're
\njust coolies in uniform ...<\/p>\n
Maybe there are individuals in the Army who are professional,
\nbut generally it's not the case. The standards are getting higher
\ntoday, like you have to have a high school degree to get in,
\nwhile in my father's day, any diploma, even one from elementary
\nschool, was enough. But I think in this country we cannot have a
\nprofessional army, we're not liberal and free enough to handle
\nthat ... Increasing the salaries wouldn't lead to more
\nprofessional troops; you'd still have soldiers being security
\nguards to earn a little extra.<\/p>\n
The other thing is that a lot of people, including me, become
\nsoldiers just to get a job. It's not like we sincerely want to be
\nin the Army. If you tell a soldier to go out on a training run,
\nif he really wants to be a soldier he'll have no problem with it
\nbecause he realizes this is what he has to do. But those who only
\njoined because they need a job will go hide in the toilet, or
\nstart complaining after five minutes. (brc)<\/p>",
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