UI business and law students learn the art of etiquette

A lot of potential hazards lurk at the formal dining table.

That cherry tomato can quickly roll off your salad plate and onto your lap. Don't even think about taking a bite until everyone at your table has food. And why, for crying out loud, are there so many different utensils?

University of Iowa MBA students and law students took a course in table manners Friday at the annual “etiquette dinner” sponsored by the Tippie College of Business. During a four-course meal in the ballroom of the Sheraton Hotel, about 80 students heard the dos and don'ts of formal business dining.

Skills and education get students the job, Deanna Hurst, Tippie College human resources director, said. But a lot of times when it's a competitive pool, and all else is equal between two candidates, who gets that edge? That's when table manners can come into play, Hurst said.

“It's meant to polish the edge a little bit,” Hurst said.

In between their soup and salad courses, Hurst coached the students to take eating breaks by putting their silverware in the correct “resting” positions, and to exercise common sense and courtesy, which she said are two main components of etiquette.

“The dining experience on a formal level is much slower,” she said. “And remember, is this about the food or is this about building the relationship? It's about building the relationship.”

First-year law student Rachel Toenjes, 22, said she expects to face some formal dinners in the second-round interview stage for summer law job placements.

“I don't want committing a faux pas to keep me from getting a good summer position,” the Shell Rock native said. “This is a good environment for practice, because you can watch what other people are doing without feeling like you're gawking.”

Dinner is a much different affair in Sachindra Kumar's native India. The 26-year-old first-year MBA student said Indian dinners are informal and people use their hands a lot to eat, and occasionally spoons.

Kumar said he learned good tips during the etiquette dinner, such as knowing your drinking glasses are on the right and your bread plate is on the left, and you should use silverware from the outside-in at your place setting.

“We don't use the fork and knife a lot,” he said. “This is a completely new experience for me.”

It's common in business hiring for students to go through a dinner or two with executives during the process, Colleen Downie, assistant dean for the Tippie MBA program, said. And sometimes potential job candidates are being judged on their “cultural fit” in addition to etiquette and decorum, she said.