Professionalism Week & Etiquette Dinner

A Recap of the Week

During the first week of November, the Center sponsored its second annual Professionalism Week. Three lunch time workshops were offered - each focusing on a specific topic related to professionalism. The finale of the week was the 7th Annual Etiquette Dinner held at the Hotel Murano on Thursday evening.  The dinner was attended by over 100 students and guests, local business leaders and Milgard School of Business faculty and staff.

A brief description of each workshop:

  Professionalism & Workplace Etiquette:  Ruthann Reim McCaffree, personal coach, career advisor and business owner of Career Management Institute  provided recommendations on presenting yourself professionally, methods for integrating into a workplace culture, and strategies for landing the job you want and then managing your career growth.  See 10 Strategies for Managing Your Career.  Mrs. McCaffree recommended three books during her presentation:

• How to Shine at Work by Linda Dominguez
• 60 Seconds & You're Hired by Robin Ryan
• How to Gain the Professional Edge: Achieve the Personal and Professional Image You Want by Susan Morem

Dressing for Success:  Employers notice what you wear and standing out is great, if for the right reasons.  Guest speakers Janie Pierce (Director of Human Resources, Precision Machine Works) and Drew Ebersole (Executive Director, Greater Metro Parks Foundation) provided advice and recommendations on how to dress to impress without losing your own personal style.  These workshops also offered useful tips and tricks on how to stretch your dollar and create stylish outfits on a budget.  Ladies, missed this workshop?  See Janie Pierce's presentation.

Successful Networking Techniques:  Everyone knows networking is important, but how do you do it with skill and finesse?  Where do you "network" and what do you do after making a contact?  Joe Lawless, Executive Director of the Center for Leadership and Social Responsibility shared his advice and more than twenty years of networking experience.  Couldn't attend this presentation?  View the presentation here.

7th Annual Etiquette Dinner 

November 5th was a blustery evening in Tacoma but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of more than 100 UW Tacoma students, faculty and staff who joined several business leaders for the 7th Annual Etiquette Dinner held at the beautiful Hotel Murano.  Keith Gulley, Recruiting Manager for Enterprise Rent-A-Car and presenter for the evening shared his insights on dining etiquette.  Working From the Outside In (and other useful tips) gave attendees tips and tricks to remember table setting placements, what to do with your napkin when you leave the table and the best way to eat difficult foods with grace.  In addition to learning dining etiquette, students learned the importance of "the business meal" and why getting the details right makes a difference to an employer or a client.  

"Whether it's an interview over lunch or a job review in the boss's office, one's attention to detail makes an immediate impression," says the Center's Executive Director Joe Lawless.  "Teaching our students the finer points of dining etiquette equip them with one more tool to develop as socially responsible leaders."

The Center would like to thank our 2009 Table Hosts:  Columbia Bank, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Friends of Annie Wright School, MultiCare, Moss Adams, RSM McGladrey / McGladrey & Pullen, and Target.

Want copies of the 7th Annual Etiquette Dinner?  Visit the Picasa website to download photos.