Dinner to help Fairfield University students gain a competitive edge | Press Releases

Image: Competitive Edge dinner What: "Do You Have What it Takes to Survive a Business Dinner?" Part of Fairfield University's "Gaining That Competitive Edge in Today's Marketplace" seminar series, this annual mock business dinner offers over 90 undergraduate juniors, seniors, and graduate students lessons in manners, personal style, mixing and mingling. Fairfield University's Charles F. Dolan School of Business and Charter Oak Insurance and Financial Services are sponsoring the event.

When: Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 5:30 p.m.

Where: Dolan School of Business Dining Room, on the Fairfield University campus.

Image: Competitive Edge dinner Why: Don Gibson, Ph.D., dean of the Dolan School of Business, said the Competitive Edge seminars help prepare the University's students for internships and their careers. "In this increasingly competitive job market, we see it as vital to provide students with lessons in interpersonal and social skills," he said. "A skill set in professional interaction skills and diplomacy can make or break a job interview, and are key to every business leader's career growth."

Background on Speaker : Author Ann Marie Sabath, president and founder of At Ease Inc., a New York City-based business protocol and social skills training firm, will spend the evening putting students through the paces of a formal dinner. Along the way, she will give students a crash course in domestic and international etiquette, and select some of them to role-play tricky situations. She will also speak about dressing for success, bad body language, and what not to order at restaurants.

On the agenda:

What are the first three words you use when speaking to recruiters?
How do you tame a wayward pea or unruly cuisine?
How can you eliminate 'like,' 'yah,' and 'but' from your business vocabulary?
An overview of email and voicemail etiquette

It is free and open only to Fairfield University students. Registration required by October 5 at www.surveymonkey.com/s/compedgedinner or at the Dolan School, Room 1125.

Images: top) Chris Gaspar '13 is taught about the fine art of introductions by Ann Marie Sabath, president and founder of At Ease Inc., a business protocol and social skills training firm; bottom) Another student is put through the paces of a 'Competitive Edge' mock business dinner.