Looking Professional VS Being Professional~Episode 32
This is the VR6 logo that someone asked about the other day
Happy Friday everyone! This was the first full week of 2015. I hope that you all stayed warm. Today I want to talk about being professional as a mechanic, as well as looking professional. This is a pretty interesting topic. If you have seen any of the podcasts, you know that I don’t really fit the mold of a professional looking technician. I think that gives me the perfect outlook to talk about it 🙂
While you are watching, be ready to post your thoughts in the comments below!
Today on the Automotive Podcast we chat about:
- VR6 sign
- Why this came up today
- Looking professional
- Traditional professional
- A uniform look
- STOP DRAGGING YOUR FEET!(Didn’t talk much about it, but seriously)
- Ideal of being professional
- Being or acting professional
- You CAN look however you want as a mechanic
- There are still things you need to be read for
- Be ready to get judged
- 10 Habits of Successful Technicians; Podcast Episode 23 ( think I said 27 in the show)
- and more
Having trouble video? Watch “Looking Professional VS Being Professional~Episode 32” on YouTube
As always, your comments are always welcome and appreciated. I hope that you all have an awesome weekend. I will be doing a view questions show on Monday. To submit your question, email me Charles(at)HumbleMechanic(dot)com and put “QUESTION FOR CHARLES” in the subject.
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Religious change engine oil at 3750 miles. My 2012 frontier oil by that time is not too dirty at all with about 12000 total miles so far, however the oil drained out appears very red in color almost the color of some trany fluids although my trany fluid is clear. Working vehicles for many years but have not seen this engine oil drain out red before. All other fluids ok, stumped!! Help!!
Oh whats the best way to check the trany fluid here…warmed up engine off or on?
Mark
I have always loved working in medical practices that do not care if I show my tattoos and allow me to have my gauges in because they know I have an excellent work ethic and I treat patients well. Because I do have a lot of tattoos I try really hard to go above and beyond what people expect and try to be super professional.
Hey Charles, I’m glad you rock that beard. I miss mine. I work at a dealership that has a dress code, but I feel it’s well worth the trade off to work in an absolutely awesome shop. We all have choices.
Really love the show,these episodes geared toward those of us in the industry are excellent. Your perspective and laid back delivery make it great to watch I can’t wait til the next one
This blog is very true! I really like this video! It is very important to have that balance of looking professional vs being professional.
Sawyerwood Auto Service is very professional as you are!
I feel that if you can carry yourself well and you can discuss what you do with confidence, and back that up with fact, I’m on board. People will always judge everyone, it’s part of their problem, not yours. The preconceived notion that professionals must fit into a preset mold is ridiculous. You hit the nail on the head in regard to being professional, it’s the mindset that leads to excellence. Warren Buffett and Albert Einstein, both non subscribers to what their peers consider acceptable dress in the workplace. Being brilliant at something does not require the best clothes, it requires the best mind and a soft heart. Charles, you’ve got both of those down. If you came out for my test drive or to talk about my car service, I’d be pretty excited. One, you’re funnier than all get out and two, you have an uncanny way of making people feel comfortable. As a costumer, I’m less concerned with how you dress, unless you’re nude because, well , that’s a conversation starter..I’m more interested in how much you know and how interested you are in your job. If you feel good about the work you do, then so do I. 🙂
Boy, can I relate to this one. I’ve had ‘hair down to the middle of my back’ &/or the ‘crazy/awesome beard’ AND I’ve looked like I came out of that ‘assembly line’, at one time or another of my life.
Like you, I found if I could talk intelligently to the customer, make sure there car/injury/computer/house problem went away, for good, it really didn’t matter what I looked liked, or wore.
The one thing I can tell you as an ‘old fart’ is something it tool me a number of years to figure out. I would get feed back from bosses/employers/co-workers, etc that it seemed like I was in a bad mood. I’m NEVER in a bad mood; stuff goes south, I cuss it out a bit, and move on. For years, this bothered me.
I wasn’t the type to walk around with a big smile on my face, but I joked around, I was always friendly. I couldn’t figure it out.
I don’t remember how I figured it out, finally, but I did come to the realization that when I had a full beard, with a ‘larger’ mustache, people tended to think I was in a bad mood. I intentionally shaved it off at a job I had where the feedback was more than usual. I then tried at hard as a I could to act exactly the same, and wow, did things change. THe feedback stopped, people would say to me, “you look like you’re having a good day”, when in fact, everything I had touched that day had gone to sh*t! I was really struggling to not implode, and I looked happy?! Go figure.
I finally quit wearing a big beard because I got tired of futzing with it, too much work, & I was getting old!
(Take a look at some of your pics, Charles, you’ll see what I mean. When you smile, you do light up, but hey, you’re the one choosing to be in the public spotlight…)
GeoD