Social Etiquette
At some point, you will most likely eat meals in a classier restaurant than your typical fast-food venue. Business deals, job interviews, and just plain relationship-building between colleagues take place in restaurants where servers serve meals. How you carry yourself and perform when you eat out communicates a level of social awareness and etiquette that reveals more about you than your job qualifications. Learn to eat out by reading books or watching videos on etiquette, or by taking a class on business manners.
- Practice “common courtesy” behaviors. Hold a door open for the person behind you. Allow someone with mobility issues to have your seat. Offer to help carry something for an overburdened person. Courtesy extends beyond age and gender and impresses those who observe, hear about, and benefit from your gestures.
- Respond with an answer—yes or no—when asked to RSVP. When someone is thoughtful enough to invite you, be considerate enough to respond. Planning and expense considerations depend on knowing how many people will participate.
- Wear your name tag on the right side of your jacket or shirt. When you shake hands, your body turns slightly to the left and the person opposite you can better see your name.
- Produce a quality work product. Use clean, unwrinkled paper. Present a neat and consistent visual layout. Triple-check your calculations and active web links (URLs). Your work product is a direct reflection of the value you place on everything else you do.
- Take initiative and start something positive. When you see a problem or encounter a challenge, develop a solution and take the initiative to implement it without asking first. Live by the adage, “Beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission.”
- Volunteer to give presentations. When you are in front of the room presenting you are deemed “the expert” in your audience’s eyes. You become the “go-to” person and learn a lot as you prepare, which puts you ahead of your peers.