With more companies setting up job interviews where a meal may be included, ASU West Career Services offered a free, three-course dinner providing students and alumni with useful tips and information on dining etiquette.
More than 100 students attended the dinner, the largest student turnout for the West Campus event, Career Services Specialist Sr. Sarah McDermott said.
“Whether it be an internship lunch mixer or a meeting with a client over dinner, dining etiquette has the power to make or break your interview,” she said. “Everything you say and how you present yourself will be evaluated.”
The etiquette dinner is sponsored by ASU Career Services, which provides students with the skills they need to carry themselves in a confident and positive way.
Polytechnic campus holds the dinner every semester and the Downtown campus and West campus alternate semesters, said McDermott.
“The primary purpose of the etiquette dinner is for students to walk away feeling confident in conducting themselves in a professional dining experience,” McDermott said. “This is something students need to be aware of when preparing for graduation.”
The etiquette dinner addressed tips such as which way to pass the bread, knowing which fork to use with a meal, and what topics are appropriate to talk about during a professional dinner.
Kitty McGrath, the former executive director of ASU Career Services on the Tempe campus, instructed the etiquette dinner.
McGrath provided students with a variety of tips and tricks to walk away with, said McDermott.
“Conversation is the single most important thing you want to accomplish at an interview,” McGrath said. “What you don’t want is for faux pas in your manners to keep you from the good impression you are going for.”
Dining etiquette and presenting themselves professionally are skills that will help students network more easily in a dining room atmosphere, English senior Stella Balderrama-Howard said.
“It’s amazing the number of tips you learn,” she said. “I am very grateful to ASU and Career Services for sponsoring this event.”
Reach the reporter at gqolson@asu.edu
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