Being modest and respectful is critical to building your network and advancing your career as a professional. As a student, a significant portion of your network will consist of University professors and staff and the best way to stay on their good side is to be modest and respectful.
Furthermore, the power dynamic between a student and professors is unbalanced in a dramatic way. Faculty and staff have almost all of the power, and students have very little if any at all. Hopefully, you trust your University to hire competent employees who will act fairly and on your behalf. For the most part, this is true, but what it means for you is that it does not pay to be disrespectful or immodest.
Consider the following exchange between an academic adviser (not a professor) and a student they are advising. Let’s say that the student sees the adviser’s office door open and swings by without an appointment. Keep in mind, in this scenario, it is unclear who is to blame for the problem.
How do you think the academic adviser will respond? I am guessing they will say something like “I don’t have time right now, please schedule an appointment”.
This is what I meant when I said that staff has all the power and it doesn’t pay to be disrespectful. This student is severely lacking in modesty and did not acknowledge that it could have been their mistake, instead, they blamed the adviser. The student also failed to apologize for his intrusion! The academic adviser does not have to help the student right away and the accusatory tone will only serve to alienate the adviser. My question is: WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? The advisors are hard-working, underpaid, intelligent people who are here to help you. Do not make them dislike you! Let’s see how that exchange could have played out differently.
Student: “Hello Mr. Adviser. I am sorry to bother you, but I noticed that there is a mistake on my schedule and I am worried it will impact my graduation. Do you have some time to help me fix the issue? If we can’t meet today I totally understand and would be happy to set up an appointment. Thanks so much for your help.”
Again, like a lot of things in this chapter, this is obviously the correct way to respond. In this case, the student did not blame the adviser for the problem (they didn’t even necessarily take credit for the problem either), they were respectful of the adviser’s time and humbled themselves. The adviser still might not be able to drop everything and help the student right away, but you can be sure that they are more eager and willing to help in this situation when compared to the first.
All of this comes back to being a professional. Successful professionals are always modest and respectful. People like people who treat them with respect and differ in their expertise.
