Career Service’s Presentation on Professional Etiquette

 Earlier this week, I attended a presentation by Career Services for Public Allies. The presentation was over new hire etiquette and what to expect from the first couple days on the job at their nonprofit. That meant everything from defining what we mean by business casual to how to properly use a greeting when communicating through email. The presentation lasted about an hour and a half and at the end of the program, the Career Services Rep asked us to perform an exercise in which we wrote down our legacy. 

This was perhaps the most humbling exercise I’ve been a part of. As you may or may not already know depending if you read my first entry, Public Allies prides itself on the motto Everyone Leads. What that means is that we accept anyone into the program that exhibits real potential and willingness to learn from the invaluable experience Public Allies offers. Naturally, our class is made up of diverse individuals from varying age groups, educational attainment, experiences, religious beliefs, political backgrounds, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity.

As I read through Ally’s submissions, I noticed a correlation between those of us with higher educational and professional attainment and the length of our legacies. And what was most impressive was that those individuals with less experience and less educational background actually articulated more authentic and impactful legacies.

Some specific examples I remember were:

“He Cared”

“She loved to live, and lived to love”

Not to pass judgment and more of a humbling reflection on the exercise, we still have much to learn about our sense of humanity.

Limiting yourself to specific experiences or boxing yourself in expensive jargon only limits your longevity and hides your true legacy. Think back at the legacies of modern revolutionaries, from Gandhi, Dr. King Jr., to Muhamed Bauazizi in Tunisia. All had very simple legacies that impacted their worlds completely.

In summary, from crafting legacies to sprucing up dinner etiquette career services truly does have a lot to offer. If anyone is interested in attending the 5 dollar dinner etiquette course in November at the Hyatt let me know!

QUICK FACT: Career Services and events are open to ASU alumni up to two years after graduation!