Program serves up much more than food for thought
Oct. 22, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Using the desert fork during the fish course of a meal or leaving your napkin on the table while you step out to make a phone call could damage months of high-powered business negotiations.
To help Western Michigan University graduates avoid social snafus that might hamper them on the job, WMU's Career & Student Employment Services will conduct its fourth annual Etiquette Dinner business seminar Thursday, Oct 25. This year's presentation, called "Business Etiquette: Making a GREAT Impression," will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Fetzer Center.
Each fall, about 100 students typically turn out for the program, which provides participants with bread and butter information about proper business etiquette in social situations.
The seminar portion of the 2001 event will feature Becky Ploeg, West Michigan market team relations leader for Target Corp., the recipient of WMU's 2000-01 Employer of the Year award. Following the seminar, students will sit down to a formal dinner, where they will be able to practice their newly learned skills while dining with employer representatives from Target and the event's nine other co-sponsors.
The students are expected to dress in business attire and, not having expense accounts just yet, to pay a $6 fee to attend the program. Participants meeting those modest requirements will not only learn the rules of proper business etiquette, but also have a chance to socialize and network with employers who represent a wide variety of career fields.
For more information, contact Anne P. Coristine, the Career & Student Employment Services' career advisor for WMU's Haworth College of Business, by phone at (616) 387-2745 or by e-mail at <ann.coristine@wmich.edu>.
Media contact: Jeanne Baron, 616 387-8400, jeanne.baron@wmich.edu