Standing out, in group interviews?

Some companies, rather than interview one candidate over lunch or dinner, will interview a group of candidates.

So you just got asked to a group interview, how should you prepare?

But beware the group interview.  While you may be tempted to distinguish yourself from those other losers, by wowing the interviewers with your superior wit, intellect, and experience -- don't do it.  One thing interviewers look for in a group interview is how well you get along with others.  So attempts to play "I can top that story..." or crush your fellow candidates like a bug, may be frowned upon.

What's a person of your superior wit, intellect, and experience to do?

Greet and shake hands with the other candidates as well as the interviewers.

Be convivial -- chat with the other candidates before the interview begins.
Listen intently when others are speaking.
Direct answers to interview questions to the interviewer, but also look around and make eye contact with everyone else.

Don't get drawn into arguments. Maintain your composure.
If there is a very quiet, shy candidate, invite that person into the discussion.
Don't join others behaving badly: if several candidates are ordering the most expensive items on the menu, over-imbibing, hitting on the wait staff or texting under the table, don't join them.  Also skip the side-whispers, eye rolls and other evil alliances.

As with any interview, follow up with a letter to your interviewers thanking them for the dinner and the opportunity, as well as re-emphasizing some of your good qualities and continued interest in working for their organization.

Provided by: Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/

The online application said not to call...

CALL THEM ANYWAYS!

"The online application said not to call." "I don't want to bug the person."

Asking someone how your applications process is not the worst thing you could do!

It's kind of you to think that way, because etiquette is about consideration for the other person. But unless you are applying for a position where you are expected to sit around waiting for the phone to ring, you should make the call.

How we behave in the interview (or sales) process is an indication of how we will behave in the job. So make the call! 

Show them you are a self-starter with initiative -- not someone they will have to light a fire under. Same goes for sales or account representatives -- will you be the person who checks in with the client to see how the product or service is working? Or will you disappear?

Credit to the Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/ for providing this information.

Not the forks again!

Forks you may recognize:  Fork #2 is a Dinner Fork and Fork #3 is a Salad Fork.  In this map, the main course will come before the salad, so the salad fork is pictured closer to the plate.  That is a European tradition often used in very formal meals.  Most of the time you will see those two forks reversed, with the Dinner Fork closest to the plate.  Sometimes both Dinner and Salad Forks will be exactly the same size, so again, start with the fork on the outside.

Above the plate is the Dessert Fork. (Yay!)  Don't despair if you don't see a Dessert Fork when you are seated at the table.  Sometimes the Dessert Fork arrives on the plate with dessert.

What is that funky, curvy fork to the far left? Fork #1 is a Fish Fork. Its shape is instrumental in helping separate the fish on your plate from the bones.  (I know some find it disturbing when your third course is looking back at you, but that's the way of it.)

Our last fork, tiny little Fork #8 is the first fork in the meal.  It's a Seafood Fork, also known as a Cocktail Fork. You may see this resting in the bowl of your Soup Spoon when the First Course is a Seafood Course, such as shrimp cocktail or scallops.  Notice this fork has three prongs.  A similar fork with two prongs is an Escargot Fork.

For you fork snobs, there is also a Lobster Fork, Oyster Fork, Fruit Fork, Strawberry Fork, Pastry Fork and Ice Cream Fork (which we have mentioned before looks a lot like its hillbilly cousin, the "Spork.")  Now that you are in the know, keep it under wraps from anyone about to go crazy with a Bridal Registry.

This tip was provided by: the Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/

Oregon Tech's Etiquette Dinner

Business Etiquette Dinner

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

5:30-7:30pm, Mt. Mazama

If you’ve ever sat down to a formal meal and wondered “What are all of those forks for?” or “Is this topic appropriate to bring up?” The Career Services Business Etiquette Dinner will answer these questions and put you at ease.  The dinner is a fun, non-threatening way to learn business etiquette skills while enjoying a full-course meal!

Some of the topics that will be covered are: appropriate ordering, correct silverware usage, appropriate topics for mealtime discussion, and many other aspects to teach students how to successfully conduct oneself in one of the more delicate aspects of the employment process.

It’s not just dinner… this is business. Professional dining skills are an essential part of an executive’s basic “wardrobe.”

The Business Etiquette Dinner is for Oregon Tech students only. Tickets are $10 and will be sold online (credit only). Participants will enjoy a catered, five-course meal and receive tips on how to handle social networking events from table hosts.

Please reserve your seat by Friday, February 8

and come dressed in business attire! 

For reservations go to

www.myinterfase.com/oit/student

and click on Career Events

or call Career Services at 885-1020

career@oit.edu

For more information on this event, please contact Jan Goodyear at Jan.Goodyear@oit.edu or call 541.885.1023.

AHHHHHH-CHOOOOOOOO

There is a lot of that going around. The state of Oregon is at a record high for flu diagnoses!   Here are some rules of the fungal jungle:

Always carry tissues, because you may not sneeze into or blow your nose on your napkin at the table.  Can't remember to carry tissues?  Leave yourself a reminder on your cell phone.

If you are at a table with food and you have to sneeze or cough, try to get up and walk away (or dive) from the table.  Sometimes there is not time -- it just sneaks up on you and wham!  There it is. In that case, try to sneeze or cough down, away from the table, away from the food and into your tissue.  (Some will say, "Sneeze into your elbow," but if you are wedged in with people on either side, you might miss and hit your neighbor. And if you have ever been on the receiving end of that, it's hard not to scream.)

In any case, excuse yourself from the table and go wash your hands (in the restroom, not the kitchen or wet bar sink.) If the sneezing or coughing continues, you may have to excuse yourself from the meeting, party or event.

Not all who are sneezing, coughing or blowing their nose is viral.  Some people have food allergies or sensitivities to dusty or dry conditions.  The polite thing to do when someone sneezes, is to not recoil in horror.

Stay healthy. stay warm, the worst is almost behind us!






Tip provided by: Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/ 

Executive Management Manners

Are you faced with the challenges of being a younger manager with older employees reporting to you?

Recognizing that the older employees may feel resentment, hostility or have fears of being replaced, Ms. Baldrige advises that the younger manager set his/her style of management at the first staff meeting by doing the following:

Greet and shake hands with every employee present, asking each person their name and job title.

Read carefully beforehand the employee bios, so that he can profess admiration for the impressive background and job skills of the people he or she will now manage.  One should memorize interesting tidbits about them, to prove when he meets them how well he did his homework. 

Such as, "You're the one with nine children, aren't you?  Wonderful!  I'd like to see a picture of them some day."  "You must be the one who transferred from Indianapolis.  How do you like Denver in comparison?"  "You won the company sales championship last year, didn't you?  Great!"

Explain to workers that they really need one another in order to work as a team, to bring increased profits.

Demonstrate why they are qualified to be in the new lead position. You should talk about their background and expertise, and how they expect to utilize it.

End with a vigorous affirmation of how pleased they are to be in the new job, how much they admire the team already in place, and how successful they know they will all be.

This tip was provided by the Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/ 

What to do about the knife...

You are attending a business lunch in with your work colleges...

"Would you like to hold onto your knife?" asked the server.

It always seems like a strange question. There you are holding a knife dripping with salad dressing and you are not quite sure what to do with it.  At a high-end restaurant you usually get a knife with your salad and another knife with the main course.  But some restaurants, in order to cut costs, cut back on the number of eating utensils.

Here are your options:

1. Give up the knife and ask for a new one.

2. Place your knife, blade in, horizontally across the top of your bread plate, if you have one.  Or prop it up on a spoon that is already resting on the table. 

3. If there are no other options, you may have to set the knife on the table itself.  (If you are worried your knife might pick up bacteria from the table, you need to read The Wall Street Journal's article this morning about what kind of bacteria is already on your cell phone.  Sometimes you just need a good pre-Halloween scream.)

What happens if your knife falls on the floor?  Wait for the serving staff to pick it up and hopefully, bring you a new one.

Etiquette Tip of the Week thanks to Culture and Manners Institute at http://www.cultureandmanners.com/