Applicants gain edge through etiquette

By Blanca Torres
Baltimore Sun

During her tenure as a training manager for Bank of America, Brooke Hodges deliberately took job candidates to lunch and watched.

Did the men pull out chairs for women? Did the candidates say "please" and "thank you"? Did they put their napkins on their laps? Did they wait for everyone to be served before eating?

A business or interview meal can be stressful enough without taking etiquette into account.

Manners at the dining table, even in today's relaxed society, are still an important part of making a good impression on a potential employer or business associate.

"It is not only respect, but courtesy," said Hodges, the bank's senior vice president for community affairs. "I think it's a matter of perception. People do business with people. If someone's not showing common courtesy to other people, you're not necessarily going to entrust your financial resources to that person."

Manners and etiquette are not material employees will learn in school, but give workers the extra "polish" they need to succeed, said Marianne Gillette, director of product development for restaurants at McCormick and Co. Inc., based in Sparks, Md.

At least once a year, she hires instructors to teach her staff about table manners. The training makes employees more confident, professional and comfortable with clients, Gillette said.

"I don't want to hear that anyone on my staff goes out to see a customer and says, 'I didn't know what to say; I didn't know how to act,' " Gillette said. "It helps with leadership development such as projecting a positive attitude and a professional image. It's hard to be confident if you don't know the rules of engagement."