Field Professionalism: Beyond the Clean Shirt

Professionalism in the ICT industry goes beyond technical skills to encompass how technicians carry themselves, communicate, and build trust through consistent, quality work.

• Credentials serve as "career insurance" – showing your commitment to building a career, not just pulling cable
• Your appearance sends signals about work quality – if your shirt has holes, clients wonder what the cable looks like behind walls
• Building reputation happens when no one is watching – showing up early, staying off your phone, and taking notes builds trust
• You're the face of your company on site – clients remember you, not the salesperson who sold them the project
• Lead before you have the title – help new techs, share knowledge, and stay calm during chaotic situations
• Communication skills matter – explain technical concepts at the customer's level and confirm understanding
• Business ethics build long-term success – never trash-talk previous work, document change requests, and maintain confidentiality
• Follow-up and follow-through distinguish professionals – document everything, leave job sites clean, and communicate changes promptly

If you find value in this content, please consider supporting the show by clicking the QR code to make a donation, buy a cup of coffee, or schedule a 15-minute one-on-one call with Chuck after hours.

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction: Professionalism in Cable Industry
• 2:18 Credentials: Your Career Insurance
• 5:01 Personal Image and Appearance Matter
• 6:44 Building Reputation Through Daily Habits
• 9:18 Becoming a Leader Without the Title
• 16:19 Customer Relationships and Communication Skills
• 21:23 Business Ethics and Client Trust
• 23:30 Conclusion: Professionalism Drives Success

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey Wiremonkeys, welcome to another episode of let's Talk Cabling. Today we're talking about professionalism. It's more than just a clean shirt.

Speaker 2: 0:10

Welcome to let's Talk Cabling, the award-winning podcast where knowledge is power and the low-voltage industry connects. Hosted by Chuck Bowser, rcdd. We're here to empower installers, designers and industry pros with the tips, stories and best practices you need to stay ahead. From copper to fiber, standards to innovation, this is the show that keeps you plugged into success. So grab your tools, turn up the volume and let's talk cabling.

Speaker 1: 0:46

Welcome to the show where we tackle the tough questions submitted by installers, estimators, project managers, customers, even IT personnel. We are connecting at the human level so that we can connect the world. If you're watching this show on YouTube, would you mind hitting the subscribe button and the bell button to be notified when new content is being produced? The subscribe button and the bell button to be notified when new content is being produced. If you're watching us on one of the audio podcast platforms, would you mind leaving us a five-star rating Helps us take on the algorithm so we can educate, encourage and enrich the lives of people in the ICT industry. But I can hear you now, but, chuck, I'm driving my truck on Wednesday night at 6 pm. I don't want to get into an accident. Okay, I get it. They're recorded and you can watch them at your convenience. Also, while this show is free and will always remain free, if you find value in this content, will you click on that QR code right there? You can make a donation to the show. You can buy me a cup of coffee. You can even schedule a 15-minute one-on-one call with me after hours, of course, and that's the way you can support the show. You can also buy shirts on Amazon as well. Let me tell you something that they don't write on the job description the way that you carry yourself on site says more than the spec sheet ever will. I have seen great techs get fired. I have seen average techs get promoted just because they showed up, they listened and they did what they were told. This episode is about professionalism not about how to be a better tech, but how to build the reputation that's going to keep you employed and advancing in your career. You can't have any conversation about professionalism without credentials.

Speaker 1: 2:27

Credentialing is your career insurance. Oh, I like that one. I'm gonna start using that one more often. Career insurance Let me ask you this Would you go to a dentist who didn't have a DDS after his name? Would you go to a heart doctor who didn't have an MD after their name? Probably not. Credentialing or certifications yes, they cost money. Knowledge is expensive. Yes, certifications cost money. I get it, but you know what they're worth every cent of it, and the more expensive ones don't necessarily equate to better ones.

Speaker 1: 3:00

Credentialing any kind of credential, whether it's a Bixi, rcdd or tech installer, copper installer, fiber, or if it's a FOA, cfo, t or one of the new ones put out by light brigade. Those certifications means that you have invested in your career. Your company has invested in you. Now maybe your company won't reimburse you, but you know what? Maybe you should consider investing in yourself, because one thing I've learned in this career is my credentialing has helped me make more money than had I not had credentialing. Now you can have your current Bixby credentialing. You can have certifications from your OSHA, like your OSHA 10, osha 40. Even the manufacturer certifications. They show that you're not just pulling cable, but you are building a career.

Speaker 1: 3:55

Now I get it. There's some good manufacturer training programs out there and some not good, so good ones out there. But you know what? Even the bad manufacturing certification classes, I still manage to learn one new thing, and that should be your goal every day is to learn one new thing every single day. So if you want to stand out from that sea of resumes or to be trusted with that really cool job, this is how you do it and one of the things I can tell you about credentialing and certification.

Speaker 1: 4:23

You know, I've been a a trainer for many years now. I've started off in the field like everybody else, but the last 15 years I have been training people and I've had students who walked in who wanted to learn, and I've had other students walk in who just kind of sat back. I'm just here to get my certificate. You can't teach me nothing new. Let me tell you something. You know what? When you get your credentials, guess who's going to be the person who's going to be probably selected for that new position. Guess who's going to be the person who's going to be passed over for that position. If you said the person without the certification is going to get passed over, that is most likely a true statement. So credentialing shows that you are investing in your career.

Speaker 1: 5:06

Another thing personal image. Right, it's not vanity, it's a signal Field. Guys often say I work hard, I'm not here for a fashion show, and yes, that's true. But when your shirt is full of holes and stains, the client assumes that you know what You're. A risk is too. If you don't take enough time and consideration in keeping yourself looking professional. Then what's that cable look like behind the wall that they can't see? That's something you got to think about and it's tough.

Speaker 1: 5:34

I know the work that we do is dirty Getting up in the ceilings, sweating, getting insulation on you, working on new construction sites, I get it. I get it If you're out on a job site okay, but if you know that you meet customers from time to time, then maybe what you might want to do is carry a spare shirt, maybe even spare pants, in your van. I used to keep two complete sets of uniforms in my work truck because if I was outside working in a crawl space getting all nasty and sweaty and stuff, the last thing I'd want to do is get in my work truck and then get my seat all sweaty and nasty smelling and absolutely the last thing that I would ever do is go meet with a customer like that. So carry a clean set of uniforms in your trucks, and the uniforms don't have to be anything fancy. They could be just a company pullover shirt or a t-shirt that has the company name on it. Keep one good one in your work truck so that when you meet with the customer or you go to meet with somebody, you can put it on and you can look like a professional. Carry yourself like a professional and you will notice a difference in the way that people treat you. Ask me how I know that one Reputation is built when nobody is watching.

Speaker 1: 6:53

You know, it's the little things that's going to help you become a professional. Showing up early, right, staying off your phone oh, that's a good one in today's environment because everybody's always on their cell phones right, taking notes. Those compound into trust. You know, when I was an estimator, I used to quite often carry a notepad with me and I've done so many estimates that if somebody said, hey, we want to have X amount of drops and I've already walked through the site, literally all I had to do was write down the number of drops and I could figure out the pricing from there. But as the customer's talking, I would just go ahead and jot down notes, because that signals to the customer hey, what you're saying is valuable, I am listening to you, and that is a professionalism. That is that's going to go help you become better in anything and everything you do.

Speaker 1: 7:41

When you start doing that kind of stuff, trust is going to build up. You're going to start getting better positions within your company. You're going to start getting better projects and less micromanagement. Nobody likes to be micromanaged. Nobody likes somebody standing over top of them telling them every single step they got to do when they've been doing that particular task for 20 years, 10 years, even five years.

Speaker 1: 8:05

You know what you're doing. You don't like to be micromanaged, but when you build up that trust, then the boss knows or the customer knows. I don't have to be there to watch over top of everybody. And another thing I need to tell you is you are not just an installer, you are the face of your company on site. I say this almost every single class that I teach Everybody is a salesperson. When the customer typically thinks of your company ABC, cable contractors, able-bodied contractors, whatever it is they typically don't think of the owner of the company. They don't think of the salesperson who sold them the project. They think of you, the person who them the project. They think of you, the person who spends the most time in front of them. And that's why you got to make sure that you act like a professional, no matter what anybody else says.

Speaker 3: 8:54

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Speaker 1: 9:38

Now let's start talking about some on-site habits that can make you stand out from the rest. One of the things that I look for in a good technician is not somebody who knows the codes, not somebody who knows the standards, not somebody who knows the Bixie best practices, but somebody who makes life easier for their crew, who takes time and invests in their crew. That but the person who's going to make the life easier for the customer or, better yet, your supervisor, your project manager. That is what you should do daily and that's going to echo professional. So let's talk about some of the things you can do, some daily habits that you can do that's going to separate you a professional from the others. Number one arrive 10 minutes early. I can tell this is going to start an argument with a lot of people, but John, the company's not paying for me to be there 10 minutes early. Okay, it's better to be 10 minutes early than one minute late. And another thing that's going to go a long way for helping you be like a professional is respect the break room Park where you're supposed to park. Follow the construction site rules, even when nobody is watching, because if you break the rules, trust me, sooner or later, somebody will find out and they will look at you less professional.

Speaker 1: 11:05

Keep your tools clean. Keep your tools labeled. It's a sign of pride. We spend a lot of money on our tools, so why not put them away when you're done? Put them away clean, so that way when you go to get them out later for the next job, you don't pull them out and already have dirt all over your hands because the last job you used them on were done. Plus, when you keep your tools organized, it's easier to spot when something is missing, and it's much better to figure out when your tools are missing before you leave the job site than three days later when you're on a different job site. Ask me how I know that.

Speaker 1: 11:41

One and communication skills. It's not an afterthought. Texting done versus fiber runs complete and IDF tested and labeled changes the whole way that you're seeing. And done means done. If you say I'm done, accept, then you're not done. I don't care how you try to package that sandwich up, you are not done. Give a complete, accurate description of what it is that the customer asked for or your PM has asked you for. If you pull the cable and you terminate it but you haven't tested it yet then tell them that. Don't say we're done, but we got to test and label Again. You're not done. Don't yell across job sites and this is a hard one, because in a lot of construction sites it's noisy, it's busy, I get it.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Use radios, use a professional tone. A lot of times when we were pulling cable, we didn't even use radios or audio signals. We used hand signals. We had hand signals for pull the cable, stop the cable, hold on a minute so that way we could communicate across long distances without having to be able to hear the other person or even have to have radios, because what always happens with radios is you always forget to charge them.

Speaker 1: 12:55

If you ever get to have the opportunity to speak to a client, speak to them respectfully, even if they don't know what a Keystone Jack is. Remember it's not their job to make to know every piece of component. It is not their job to know the codes, the standards and the best practices. It is up to you to educate your customers. One of the signs that you are absolutely getting it right is when a customer requests that you go back and do the job, and I've had this happen to me multiple times over my career. I've had people request me to go back. I've had customers request some of my foremen to go back on a job site. I even had one customer tell me I will award the project to you, provided you're not too far over everybody else, as long as you put technician ABC on the job and if we did, we would get the job. That is the sign that you're acting like a professional, not because you're the best tech, but because you're the tech who listens, who hears the customer and applies what the customer has. And they don't treat the customer like they're dumb. Yes, customers don't have the cable smarts that we do. It's up to us to educate them.

Speaker 1: 14:07

And here's another pro tip for you Start to lead, even when you don't have the title. A lot of people wait. Oh, I'm not going to do that until I become a project manager. I'm not going to do that until I'm a project foreman. You know what? Start acting like one before you get it. And that doesn't mean start being bossy to everybody. What that means is take the new guy under your wing. Show the new person how to terminate the jacks. Show them how to put the faceplate on correctly. Make sure that it's level. You don't leave fingerprints on the wall. That is leadership, even if you don't have the title.

Speaker 1: 14:40

Share what you know and don't hoard the knowledge. I am a big proponent of this and you can tell just from the podcast. I am giving all of my knowledge to you because I love each and every low voltage technician out there. I don't hoard my knowledge. All you got to do is ask me If I don't know the answer to it. I will find you the answer for it, even though you might've been asked five times that day. How come we don't have to untwist the pairs by four different people? Don't get mad. Take the time and explain it, and do it patiently and with care. Be calm in the chaos. There's a lot of chaos in our industry, a lot of chaos in construction. Construction is stressful. It does, and your demeanor manners. People remember you long after you left the job site if you were the one who did not cause them additional stress.

Speaker 3: 15:28

Let's take a short break. Are you trying to reach the technicians, project managers and decision makers of the ICT industry? Then why aren't you advertising on let's Talk Cabling? With over 150,000 impressions a month across podcasts, youtube and social media, this isn't just a show. It's the go-to resource for the low voltage industry. We spotlight the tools, training and technology shaping the future of structured cabling, and your brand could be front and center. Don't just get noticed, get trusted Email. Chuck at advertising at letstalkcablingcom and let's connect your brand to the right audience today.

Speaker 1: 16:14

Now let's talk about soft skills, ethics and client trust. Here's a secret that nobody tells you in trade school Clients don't remember your certification, but they do remember how you made them feel. That should ring true to everybody who's listening to the show, because I have a feeling you listen to this show because you want to be the best technician, you want to be the best project manager, you want to be the best estimator, and people who do things right, who do things the best, become the best. Customer relationship is everybody's job. I said this earlier you are in sales even if you don't have a sales quota, even if you don't have to make cold calls. Because, trust me, if you are the project foreman on a job site and you belittle the customer even the next time you get the opportunity to work on a bid or your company gets a chance to bid on a job site, and you belittle the customer even the next time you get the opportunity to work on a bid or your company gets a chance to bid on a project for them, even if you are the lowest bid, the customer may not choose you because of how the technician treated them in the field. They might just have to get three bids to meet some corporate mandate and you're just a number. Now you are in sales. Your attitude and your communication they all will help get that next contract. They absolutely will. And you don't have to be slick, just be there, be helpful, be respectful and be clear.

Speaker 1: 17:36

Listen to the customer's question. Don't talk over the customer. Listen to what they're asking. Here's a tip for you when they ask you something, repeat back to them what they just asked you in a different language. That helps you clearly understand. That's going to tell the client. You were actually listening.

Speaker 1: 17:52

I learned that one from one of my estimators when I used to run an estimating team here. I was the manager of the team and one of the team members was teaching me something new. Again. I said try to learn one new thing every day and try to explain the things at the customer's level. Don't assume that the customer is an RCDD or this customer is a fiber optic expert. Explain it in a method that they're going to understand. If they don't get it, they won't trust it.

Speaker 1: 18:26

Take the time, explain to them and this is going to help you overcome those challenges like why can't we put the telecom room in the bathroom? Why can't we put the telecom room in the storage closet, if you sit there and you tell them look, if you put it in the storage room. Storage room has cardboard boxes that has dust. Dust is contamination. That's the number one enemy to fiber and we don't warranty dirty connectors. Take the time, explain to the customer how their decision is going to affect their network.

Speaker 1: 18:59

Let's talk about business ethics. What you do when nobody's looking there is always it's Dad always used to say it's better to be quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubts. Never trash talk the designer, never trash talk the previous contractor. Even if that work is garbage, even if the print was garbage, just fix it, document it and move on. Another one that I learned in the field when I was an estimator. I went out to a project one time to do an estimate for a project and we were doing a walkthrough. We walked into the telecom room and it was done horribly, horribly and I even made a comment about how horrible that work was and the customer turned around and looked at me and said it was your company that did the work. Yeah, I had to swallow my pride that day, but I promised the customer look, we will send somebody here to fix it and it'll be done up to the ANSI standards, up to the Bixie best practices. Cost us a little extra money. We didn't make money on that job, but you know what? We won more contracts with that customer down the road.

Speaker 1: 20:10

Don't say yes to every customer's ad hoc changes, at least not without checking with your project manager. If you get asked to do more work, listen to the customer, document the work that they want to have done and then seek out your project manager, because the project manager is going to look at that. Is it covered under the scope of work that they're currently contracted for? Is it going to be considered a change order? Scope of work that they're currently contracted for Is it going to be considered a change order? Is it going to impact the schedule? You know some jobs the schedule gets done when it gets done, but other projects you'll be doing, you literally will have a schedule. If you're not done on that schedule, there's a huge penalty for that, a huge financial penalty for that.

Speaker 1: 20:48

So always document those changes the customer wants. Never do them until you tell the project manager and the project manager tells you to do it. Okay, the customer, don't? A lot of technicians fall into this trap. They want to please the customer, they want to make sure the customer's happy, and the customer says we want one more drop over on that wall. Okay, well, we're already pulling some cables out of the way, so it's just one more cable. Okay, no big deal, but that wasn't in the contract. Right, that was not in the contract. That material wasn't in the contract, that labor was not in the contract.

Speaker 1: 21:19

Talk with your project manager. Let them be aware of it, let them decide to do it. A good rule of thumb is never do change order work until the change order is signed. Also, confidential information is not locker room talk. Protect your client, protect your crew. If there's something going on and somebody doesn't need another information, pass it along to somebody else. Let them answer that information. We're grown adults in this industry. You should say grown men, but there's a lot of women in this industry. We are grown adults in this industry, but yet we gossip, we gossip and we gossip. If you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all.

Speaker 1: 22:02

Another key sign of somebody who's a professional they follow up and they follow through. Update your project manager, update the customer when changes happen, even if it slows things down. You know what. It doesn't take but 30 seconds to pick up a phone and call somebody. It doesn't take 30 seconds but to type a text or send an email. Text and email is probably better when communicating with project managers and customers, because the number one rule of a good installer is document, document, document, document, everything.

Speaker 1: 22:38

Leave every client with good taste in their mouth, leave the job site clean, make sure everything is labeled and make sure that all your communications with that customer was respectful. When I say make sure the job site's clean, that means make sure all the ceiling tiles are closed, make sure there's no fingerprints on the ceiling tiles. Make sure there's no dust from opening up tiles over on top of people's desks. You vacuumed under every faceplate that you've cut out in the wall. There's no cable scraps in the telecom room. You leave it cleaner than the way that you found it.

Speaker 1: 23:11

And what does that do for you? Is it builds trust. It's going to lead to callbacks. It's going to lead to referrals, and you know what? Again, but Chuck, I'm a technician. That means that you're going to be able to go back to the customer and do more work in the future. You are keeping yourself employed, you're keeping your company employed. So let's wrap this all up. You know I've worked with technicians who could fusion splice blindfolded, but they still couldn't keep a job because they lacked professionalism. If you want to grow in this field, get serious about your habits, your ethics, your image and your communications. If you want a roadmap for all this stuff, I only just scratched the surface. If you want a roadmap for this stuff, buy the Bixi. It's A Manual, information, transport Systems, installations, methods Manual. They have a complete, entire section for professionalism, because it's not just about pulling cable, it's about being a professional in everything you do. Until next time, knowledge is power.

Speaker 2: 24:17

Thanks for listening to let's Talk Cabling, the award-winning podcast where knowledge is power and the low-voltage industry connects. If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with your crew. Got questions or ideas for the show? Chuck wants to hear from you. Stay connected, stay informed and always aim for excellence. Until next time, keep those cables clean, your standards high and your future bright. Let's Talk Cabling Empowering the industry, one connection at a time.