Resources
for Students
An internship experience
can help you determine your
career path, focus your degree
program, and ease your
transition from the workplace
to the classroom.
Resources For Students
Business Etiquette
Don't discount the importance of professional behavior when honing your interview and job skills. The way you conduct yourself during an interview, as an intern, and on the job can make the difference in how well you come across, how well you fit in, and how far you go in your chosen profession. Once on the job, you can take cues from the behavior of your peers, and you can ask, when uncertain, about the practices unique to your employment situation. But until then, make sure you're well versed in basic business etiquette. Adopting these conventions as your own will facilitate your transition into the working world and mark you as a professional.
Standard Tips:
- Be punctual for interviews, meetings, and especially the first day. Timeliness is expected, and should be considered mandatory
- Notify your employer as soon as possible if you will be late or absent from work.
- Dress appropriately. When in doubt, dress for business: suit, dress, shirt and tie, etc. You can always dress down later or as office policy dictates.
- Use appropriate language, which typically does not include slang -- and never includes profanity.
- Be courteous and considerate. Use proper forms of address; knock before entering someone's office; thank people when they assist you, no matter how menial the task; and say "excuse me" when you absolutely must take a call in someone's presence.
- Return calls and requests for information promptly, within 24 hours at a maximum.
- Keep personal business to a minimum by limiting personal conversations, calls, and visits during working hours.
- Respect the chain of command. Use the proper channels to take an issue to a higher level. Don't go over or around another employee to their supervisor or manager, speak with your own supervisor or manager instead.
- Give two weeks notice via memo when you plan to leave. Continue to conduct yourself in a professional manner throughout the full two-week period. Use common sense. Put your favorite joke on your answering machine after you've landed the job, not while waiting for the call. Education, skills, and experience can help you get a job. A professional manner can help you succeed.
Consult the following resources for additional tips on becoming a professional:
Some links on the web that we think are pretty cool. They include job, internship, cover letter, and resume information.
Baldridge, Letitia. Letitia Baldridge's New Complete Guide to Executive Manners. New York:Rawson Associates, 1993.
DuPont, M. Kay. Business Etiquette and Professionalism. Los Altos: Crisp Publications, 1990.
Young Stewart, Marjabelle, and Marian Faux. Executive Etiquette in the New Workplace. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.
Click here for an annotated bibliography.