Please Pass the Etiquette: Interacting with Employers

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Please Pass the Etiquette Interacting with
Employers
"A good beginning makes a good ending." -English
Proverb
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Todays Agenda

• Mind Your Manners Defining Business Etiquette
• Professional Presentation Reality vs. Perception
• Talk the Talk Communicating with Employers
• Elbows Off the Table Dining Etiquette

Good manners will open doors that the best
education cannot. Clarence Thomas (1948 - )
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What is Etiquette?

• Definition
• Manners that are acceptable by a society or
  business (Websters New world Dictionary)
• A set of traditions, based on kindness,
  efficiency, and logic that have evolved over
  time.

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What Constitutes Business Etiquette?

• The gender-neutral application of powerful social
  skills to transact accepted business practices
  with thoughtful consideration that sharpens and
  increases your competitive edge. -The Executive
  Protocol Group
• Without etiquette, you limit your potential, risk
  your image, jeopardize relationships that are
  fundamental to business success.

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Communicating With Employers

• Follow-up
• Email
• Phone/Voice Mail
• Cell Phones
• Face to Face

You can get through life with bad manners, but
it's easier with good manners. Lillian Gish
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Following-Up

• RSVP and follow through
• 6 Degrees of Separation
• Prioritization
• Acknowledge, even if you arent interested

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E-Mail Etiquette

• Don't Be A Novelist
• Too Much Punctuation!!!
• Formatting Is Not Everything
• Salutations
• Signatures
• Grammar and Punctuation

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Phone/Voice Mail

• Speak slowly and clearly
• Answer with your name
• Dont use speakerphone without permission
• Return all calls the same day
• Record a professional voicemail message
• When leaving voicemail, speak slowly and repeat
  contact information

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Cell Phones

• Use cell phones in private
• Limit your distractions
• Turn off when in meetings or interviews
• Check out your connection prior to accepting or
  returning a call

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Dining Etiquette
"The world was my oyster, but I used the wrong
fork." -Oscar Wilde
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Why Meet Over a Meal?

• Social Fit/Etiquette
• Assess Team Orientation
• Project How Well You Might Work With Clients
• Relaxed Environment To Sell The Company
• Get To Know You On A Personal Level

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Openers Pre-Meal Mingle

• Casual conversation
• Mingle and introduce yourself
• Chance to connect with many before a meal
• Note
• Nametags should be worn on the Right hand side

"The mark of a good conversationalist? Pay
attention to what people say!" Larry King
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You May Be Seated...

• Women should be seated first
• Place your Napkin in your lap
• The napkin may be placed on your chair if you
  must leave the table
• Do not spit food out into your napkin
• Be careful not to leave lipstick on the linen
• Use the napkin to blot, not wipe
• Remember
• Solids on the Left
• Liquids on the Right

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The Place Setting
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1st Course Soup and Salad

• Use utensils from outside to inside
• Wait until all are served before eating
• Bread
• Pass to the right
• Break and butter small pieces
• Salad
• Pass dressing to the right
• Cut leaves with a knife if they are large
• Soup
• Stir to cool and scoop away from yourself

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Beverages

• Follow your host
• Alcohol issues
• Over 21?
• No more than 1 even if host has more
• Under 21?
• Not at all

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Seafood Starters

• Shrimp
• With a tail, you may use your fingers
• Without a tail, you should use a fork (2 tined)
• Oysters
• Raw in the shell, swallow whole
• Cooked, use a fork
• Tip - Do not try seafood for the first time at an
  employer event

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Main Course

• Dont order the most expensive menu item
• Cut your food into pieces 1-2 at a time
• Cut with your Dominant hand then put your knife
  down
• Set down utensils between bites
• Salt and Pepper are married
• Place utensils at 420 if you are finished
• Place at an X if you must leave the table

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Dessert To eat or not to eat?

• Follow the cue of your host
• Use the utensils at the top of your plate or the
  fork immediately to the left of your plate
• Place your coffee cup up for coffee
• Never leave your spoon in the cup
• Sugar and cream are married
• Napkin remains in your lap until you are ready to
  leave then fold and place next to your plate

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Sticky Situations

• Spilling Food
• On You
• On the table
• Unwanted Food/Too Hot
• Soiled Silverware
• Dropped Silverware
• Sneezing at the Table
• Food Caught in Teeth

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Pop Quiz

• If you bring a folder or portfolio with you to a
  business meal, it is best to clear a small space
  for it on the table
• True or False

• It is appropriate to place your napkin on your
  lap as soon as you are seated
• True or false

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Pop Quiz

• Since you are the employers guest, it is
  appropriate for you to order first
• True or False

• If you get warm during the meal, in order to stay
  comfortable, it is best to remove your jacket
• True or False

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Pop Quiz

• The number of forks at your place setting is an
  indication of the number of courses you may
  expect to be served
• True or False

• To indicate that you are done with your meal,
  simply make eye contact with the wait staff to
  have your plate removed
• True or False

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Pop Quiz

• To get an idea of the price range in which to
  order, you should ask your host for a few
  suggestions from the menu
• True or False

• If you are at a business lunch and you are not
  yet full, it is expected that you will order
  dessert
• True or False

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Pop Quiz

• When ordering alcohol at a business meal, it is
  best to follow the hosts lead in deciding how to
  approach the situation. Continue to order as
  many beverages as the host.
• True or False

• If you need to excuse yourself during the meal,
  it is appropriate to place your napkin on your
  seat until you return
• True or False

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Pop Quiz

• If you are at a meal with a group, you should use
  the plates near your upper right, if you are
  right handed
• True or False

• If you are with a group and sharing items (bread,
  appetizers), typically you should pass to the
  person on your right
• True or False

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Pop Quiz

• Since Cell phones are so common in business
  today, if you have a cell phone, it is
  appropriate to leave it on during an interview
  lunch
• True or False

• When given a nametag to wear during a business
  function, you should wear it under your right
  shoulder
• True or False

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Pop Quiz

• When interviewing during a meal, you should take
  responsibility for initiating conversation about
  your qualifications. It is appropriate for you
  to direct the conversation and to Sell Yourself
• True or False

• When greeting those who have joined you for an
  interview, you should rise and shake their hands
• True or False

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Final Tips

• Take your cue from the host
• Prepare questions and read the paper
• Connect with everyone and be inclusive
• Remain calm no matter what
• brush up on table manners
• Practice practice practice

A man's manners are a mirror in which he shows
his portrait. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe