What I learned about professionalism as a US Marine

I’m going to start off with a small disclaimer. I am not a combat vet, nor did I deploy to a combat zone. I fixed aircraft in San Diego, but I learned a lot. I wanted to share some things with those that might gain from it. One of the best lessons I learned was how to be a professional and what professionalism is. The definition is the attitude and conduct of someone in a work environment, but today it is much more than this.

Online professionalism is my main topic today, the lines between online and the real world are blurred. The Marine Corps taught me to be professional at all times, didn’t matter if I was staying home all Saturday I needed a clean shave. When does a good Marine need a haircut, never. We had guidelines for how we looked and acted at all times because we represented the Corps at all times.

You represent yourself at all times. What do you want potential employers to see when they look you up? They will look you up, <a href=”https://www.first.edu/social-media-dos-donts-10-tips-on-social-media-professionalism/”>thirty seven</a> percent of employers look up candidates and of those sixty five percent look specifically to see if your online conduct is professional.

As a Marine NCO I was to be “beyond reproach” in my conduct and appearance and this is what you should do online. Never expect anonymity, there is a good list of people getting doxed for what they did online. I really like to follow <a href=”https://dakotameyer.com/about/”>Dakota Meyer</a> online as a good example of what it means to be professional online.

Thank you to those that have read this. Photo credit to https://www.miramar.marines.mil/Photos/igphoto/2001766692/