Dinner: The first opportunity to impress the boss with all that knowledge from four years of hard work. It is your time to shine. But first, which fork is for the salad?
Such a conundrum can be answered with a bit of training in dinner etiquette.
Etiquette is the appropriate behavior for a social or business setting, made popular by author Emily Post with the publication of her book "Etiquette" in 1922.
For graduates getting ready to step into the professional world, a few tips can be the difference between interviewing for a job and actually getting it.
"This is often the first time you are going to meet someone at your job, and first impressions are so important," Megan Bensette, a communication senior, said.
Bensette, a member of Senior Class Council, attended its annual etiquette dinner put on in conjunction with the MSU Alumni Association and MSU Federal Credit Union. About 205 students attended the event held March 15 at Kellogg Center.
Seniors paid $10 for the course, which included a complete three-course dinner and a presentation on how to conduct themselves during a formal dinner.
"Our mission is to support seniors, to provide them with information on what to do in the future after they graduate, and this is a situation many people will find themselves in," Bensette said.
Among the tips were how to balance food while shaking hands and name tag placement. Bensette said she learned to place a name tag on the right side. Since most people shake with their right hand, the eye naturally follows the hand they are shaking up to the face.
When introducing people, always introduce the person with the highest position first.
Jonathan Oltersdorf, the career development chair of Senior Class Council, said this year's turnout was the biggest yet. All attendees had to dress in formal wear for the sit-down meal.
"The most important thing to me was just how to handle yourself during a dinner interview, just to feel more comfortable with that kind of environment," he said. "At some point in your life, you are going to be in a situation like that, so any extra practice you can get."
Oltersdorf, a marketing senior, said overall feedback was positive.
"Everyone enjoyed it — it was just a good learning experience," he said.
Caroline Pinn Gornick, a native of Germany and a graduate of the American School of Protocol in Atlanta, Ga., founded the Michigan School of Etiquette to teach people of all ages the importance of etiquette and manners.
The school offers business seminars to teach students everything from the proper physical image for a business setting to communication skills, as well as dining etiquette for a business dinner.
"It is important to stand out in a crowd," she said. "Etiquette in general, it is a very important thing — you want the advantage, you want the edge."
Among the biggest mistakes people make at business dinners is ordering the wrong types of food, which can be a set-up for disaster.
"They order things they should not be ordering because they don't know how to eat them. You never order spaghetti for example because it is too messy. They just lack a general knowledge about how to eat a business dinner," Gornick said.
When eating during a business dinner, Gornick recommends a few key tips if a class is unavailable. First of all, take your napkin off the table after the host. Next, use silverware from the outside in. Finally, when someone asks for salt or pepper, Gornick said to pass both together because they are complementary.
"They are married," she said.
Another key tip to remember is to never to order alcohol, even if the boss does, especially if the meal is an interview.
Gornick said it makes you appear too casual, and the ordering of alcohol is often a test of the interviewee's conduct.
As for good manners, Gornick said the traditional behaviors of etiquette are making a comeback.
"It is coming back," she said. "The reason is that we are living in a very casual way. Twenty years ago people would never have thought of wearing jeans to work. People are recognizing that it is not OK to be too casual."
Not to worry, Gornick said these behaviors are not automatically instilled in the mind, that is why learning is essential.
"Take a business etiquette class because this is learned behavior — it is nothing you are born with," she said. "You need to have a corporate edge in order to be successful."
Bensette said she is glad she is prepared, so that she can project a positive image when meeting with clients and employers in the future.
"Why learn the hard way when you can learn about it before you go out into the real world?" she said.
