(I found this Dining Etiquette infographic on Pinterest, the source I pinned from was
Daily Dream Decor)
Interviewing over a meal can be a little tricky and difficult. You have to manage your meal and your conversation in a professional manner. Being well versed in dining etiquette will help take some of the pressure off. You don’t want to spend the whole meal worrying about which glass is yours or how to pass the butter instead of focusing on selling yourself as a worthy candidate for the position. So, what exactly is “dining etiquette”? According to Webster’s dictionary et-i-quette can be defined as “the conduct or procedure required by good breeding or prescribed by authority to be observed in social or official life”. So, dining etiquette would be the conduct or procedures expected during dining.
I have learned a lot about dining etiquette over the past 15 years. In my opinion, there are 3 main purposes for dining etiquette:
1. To demonstrate good manners
2. To keep the table clean and tidy
3. To communicate with your server
Here are my Top 10 Dining Etiquette Rules: 1. Always follow the lead of your host.
2. Place wrappers under your plates.
3. Always pass items in their serving dishes.
4. Salt and pepper are a pair, they stay together.
5. Offer to others before helping yourself. Offer to the left and pass to the right.
6. Do not season your food until you have tasted it.
7. Wait until everyone at your table is served before you eat.
8. Use your utensils by eating from the outside towards the plate.
9. At your place setting, remember: Solids to the left, liquids to the right.
10. Never put used utensils back on the table.
The way you place your utensils on your plate communicate with your server whether you are finished with that course or if you are just taking a break from eating. There are many other rules, expectations and nuances for dining etiquette. I won’t go into all of them here but you can visit the Virginia Tech Career Services website to learn more about dining etiquette. These quick rules give you just enough information to prevent you from making an embarrassing mistake at your next interview over a meal. Bon A Petit!
