Best dressed: TTU business students make the right impression
If the meal cinches the hiring deal, then TTU business college graduates must be among the best prepared anywhere. The Tennessee Tech University College of Business Board of Trustees hosts an etiquette dinner for business students on March 25, part of a week-long schedule of special activities for the college’s Professional Development Week.
In addition to the expected coaching business students receive at TTU about business attire, interviews and seminars presented by established business executives, the College of Business Student-to-Career Program takes things one step further: an actual formal dinner with titans of industry.
The Board of Trustees is made up of about 200 business leaders from throughout the nation who are TTU graduates and work in every industry imaginable, from banking and finance to politics.
It’s all part of an extensive program of out-of-class activities aimed at the success of College of Business graduates, said Amy Jo Carpenter, program manager.
“We surveyed graduates of the last 10 years and asked ‘What did you NOT get while at Tech. And they said, ‘We need polish.’ They were prepared as far as book learning,” she said. “Having a good resume and a 4.0 GPA isn’t enough. You’ve got to be dynamic not just to get hired, but to stay on.”
The Student-to-Career Program began five years ago and since has grown to include four main activities:
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Ticket 2 Ride: The Ticket 2 Ride charter bus was booked to capacity this February.: College of Business students receive resumé coaching, business cards, a leather portfolio and a ticket to ride aboard a charter bus to the Nashville Career Fair each February. Before going, students research 10 employers (out of more than 100 attending the fair) for whom they’d like to work and are ready with questions when they hit the fair floor. “Employers have started to anticipate TTU College of Business students because they are so prepared,” Carpenter said.
- Business Professional Clothes Closet: The TTU College of Business Professional Clothes Closet provides interview/work appropriate clothing to students who don’t already have such clothing. Carpenter said the average cost for buying a high quality full suit, shoes, etc. for men or women can run up to $2,800, a daunting sum for a student. The closet needs donations of suits and accessories for men and women, and details regarding donations are available at www.tntech.edu/cob/bpc.
- Professional Development Week, March 22-26: College of Business students and the entire TTU campus are invited to attend a week-long series of events covering professional development, written and oral communication lead by successful graduates and business professionals from around the state. This is required for business students going into upper division courses. See a schedule of events and roster of speakers here: www.tntech.edu/cob
- Etiquette Dinner: Scheduled for 5:30 p.m. March 25 in the Tech Pride Room of Roaden University Center, students will put what they’ve learned to use. “A lot of interviews are conducted over a meal. There will be at least two members of the Board of Trustees at each table, who will literally interview them as they dine,” Carpenter said.
Together, the events prepare College of Business students to enter the working world in an increasingly competitive job environment.
“When a business owner hires you, he or she is entrusting to you the most important asset they have: their business. One bad hire can bring down a company,” Carpenter said. “These programs prepare students in a way classroom work just can’t. These are the people that employers will invest in.”
