CU Succeed teaches business etiquette

Succeed

Kaylee Jones

A&E Editor

Complications arose as the CU Succeed workshop presented its thirteenth lecture of the Spring 2013 semester entitled “Business Etiquette 101.” However, Taylor Thompson, Cameron’s Coordinator of Diversity Affairs, made the call that ensured refreshments would be available for the workshop.

After a brief visit from Daniel Ghrayyeb, General Manager of Sodexo, cookies were stocked, soda was chilled, and the lecture could begin.

The workshop, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., was held in the Centennial Room in North Shepler tower. The scheduled speaker, Wendy Locke, Cameron’s Employer Relations Coordinator, was not able to attend due to recent orders from her doctor to stay on bed rest until she has her baby.

Angie Best, Career Services Coordinator at Cameron, stepped in to fill the void, presenting a 30-minute lecture advising students how best to act in the work environment.

“We [Career Service] wanted to do a business etiquette 101 workshop to give students some practical knowledge of not only how to handle themselves to get a job, but how to handle themselves after a job,” Best explained.

She expressed the relevance of the workshop for students, continuing: “I think etiquette is very important in the business world. It really doesn’t matter what your skill set is, if you can’t work with people and people don’t want to work with you, you’re probably not going to have a job.”

The atmosphere became more casual as the realization dawned that the turnout for the workshop would be a total of one student.

Best popped a can of Dr. Pepper and began, highlighting the importance of making a good first impression, practicing appropriate communication and limiting cell phone usage in the work place.

“You only get one chance to make a first impression, “Best said,” and if you don’t do that well, it’s going to affect the rest of your relationship with whoever that person is professionally.”

After cautioning against the all-too-well-known “reply all” error committed too often in the workplace, Best incorporated humor into the presentation, educating the group on the concept of “prairie dogging.” In other words, “prairie dogging” is when coworkers in a cubicle populated workplace stick their heads over the wall too often, invading the space of those around them.

Best closed, asking for questions, as Thompson handed out a survey inquiring on the effectiveness of the CU Succeed Workshop series. The survey included topic suggestions, which Thompson explained are key in developing the criteria for the future workshops.

“We definitely want to provide workshops that our students are going to think are beneficial for them. They can always contact our office to propose different topics, or even if they have a professor or someone in the community that they know speaks really well on a specific topic,” Thompson said. “They can give us that person’s information and we can contact them.”

For students interested in learning more, the Department of Career Services is located in Suite 225 in the School of Business. Walk-ins are welcome, but students can call or email to set up an appointment for assistance.

Leave a Reply