On Monday night, Nov. 10, the UNCC student organization SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) held its 5th annual Etiquette and Networking Dinner in the SAC Salons. The five course semi-formal dinner was held to bring executives from the Charlotte area and students together for a night of networking, while also giving them a crash course in dinner etiquette.
SIFE has been a student organization for seven years, and does community work on campus as well as in local schools, teaching others about finance and business. The dinner, in its fifth year, has been a great success for the group as they have had a growing number of interested students and executives register each year. During this year’s event, there were 36 executives and 98 students who attended.
The executives who attended the event were from a range of businesses, some small and some national, each with their own area of expertise. Large corporations such a Bank of America and Target, as well as Technologies, were all in attendance, ready to dispense their advice and network with students who will soon enter the workforce.
Joseph Rinaldi, a finance manager at Bank of America, was very excited to be a part of the event. Rinaldi, a founding member of SIFE and current alumnus, thought that the event was crucial to those students who needed to brush up on their networking skills. “This is a very good opportunity for all students, no matter what their major,” said Rinaldi, “and can help them build on their interviewing and networking skills.”
The Etiquette and Networking Dinner does help build skills, but it also gives students that bit of preparation they need before going to an interview or meeting a potential employer. Students as young as 18 took advantage of the opportunity, as it is never too early to practice your networking skills. Kara Allgood, a freshman at UNCC, is undecided in her major but feels it necessary to attend these types of events. “I joined SIFE because I knew I would need these skills when I graduate,” said Allgood, “and I also like the community service work they do with children in schools.”
The atmosphere of the event was classy and elegant, as each executive and student had on nametags with corresponding table numbers, which made for easy organization and a more comfortable setting. It was obvious that a lot of work went into planning the event, as that seemed to be the overall theme of the evening: that nothing great can be accomplished without diligent preparation.
In fact, preparation was a key theme in the presentations of the evening, given by Andrew Lipson, director at Compass Group, and Dr. Cheryl Kane, a faculty member at UNCC. During the first presentation, given by Lipson, a crash course on dinner etiquette was given while the courses were being served, so that the students were able to not only learn, but implement the table skills they had been taught. Lipson stressed preparation, as he mentioned several times that before one goes for an interview at a restaurant, they should check the menu online and choose a meal beforehand, make arrangements in case of an emergency to be called at the restaurant, not on the cell phone, as well as checking the parking and traffic for the restaurant and to give yourself enough time to make it to the interview early.
“By preparing yourselves for the interview before you go, you will make yourself look professional and courteous,” said Lipson, “as well as showing your potential employer that you can make decisions and plan ahead.”
The second presentation, given by Kane, gave the executives and students who sat together during the meal a chance to have a question and answer portion. This allowed the students to practice their interviewing skills, as well as giving the executives a chance to dispense their valuable life experiences in the work place. Called “speed-networking,” Kane would ask the executives a question and give them a few minutes to respond, while doing the same for the students.
Vernon Menard, the owner of the small business, Choice Translating, felt as if the speed-networking really gave the students a good opportunity to feel how it is to be interviewed. “I really enjoyed the question and answer portion,” said Menard, “and felt like it really gave the students the feeling of being in an actual interview. It was very educational for them.”
At the end of the meal, a business fashion show was held by the Alpha Kappa Psi, the coed business fraternity at UNCC. In conjunction with Dillards, the fraternity put on a fashion show to teach students how to dress for the corporate workplace, as well as showing them the differences between business professional and business casual.
Overall, the night was an educational experience for the students at UNCC. Learning about networking and interviewing skills is vital when going on an interview, and SIFE and Alpha Kappa Psi gave the students a taste of what the real world is like.
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