Joining the corporate world in 2024 can be a disorienting experience, whether you are a new business owner or somebody entering the private sector for the first time.
The coronavirus pandemic indelibly changed the working landscape, and divorced many from experiencing the business world first hand.
This removal from corporate norms can become especially stark when it comes time to attend your first corporate event. Networking dinners, exhibitions and conferences are essential to business across industries, and knowing how to appear and behave at them especially so. What are some etiquette standards you should know?
‘Dress Codes’ and Fashion Etiquette
First and foremost, it is important to address the topic of dress. Business attire is a well-heeled topic, and one which has been more or less settled for decades – though, of course, there are varying degrees to which certain industries or outfits subscribe to standards set. Many offices across the country have adopted more lax dress codes for staff, allowing business-casual or even full-casual attire for comfort and ease. Indeed, your own enterprise might have a forgiving approach to dress; what, though, of corporate events and exhibitions.
Fashion etiquette at events will again depend on the industry and organisations in question. However, corporate events tend to lean towards smarter forms of dress expectations. Networking dinners and socials will often be ‘black-tie events’, requiring tuxedo dress of invitees; exhibitions and corporate conferences will have no specific expectations, but the social contract between attendees will be such that smart attire is expected and respected.
As a new employee, or newly-minted CEO of a start-up, you may not have the requisite funds to buy tailored garments for such events. Luckily, there are inexpensive alternatives which enable you to look the part without ‘paying the part’. Tuxedos and cocktail dresses can be rented as opposed to purchased, while made-to-measure (MTM) tailoring offers cheaper access to well-fitting suits than bespoke alternatives. A second hand Omega watch completes the look, rounding you out as an executive figure that belongs.
Professional Language and Behaviour
Of course, the expectations of attendees at corporate events extend beyond notions of dress alone. There are also agreed-upon social etiquette standards which you must assimilate to if you hope to succeed in your business aims for attending such events. With regard to language, a formal and professional approach to conversation will serve will in first introductions. Behaviourally speaking, a calm and measured approach is best.
General Tips for Attendance
In order to make the best impression you can at a corporate event, you should ensure you are not stepping on the toes of other attendees. Wilfully injecting yourself into others’ conversations without proper introduction can lead your peers to come away with a sour first impression. The single best thing you can do for your presence at a corporate event is to bring business cards. These are excellent for enabling entry into conversations, and for ensuring you can keep connections made after the fact.
