You finish college absolutely crammed with knowledge. You have embraced the new technology and memorized the classics. You can discuss Shakespeare, solve advanced math problems, diagram the circulatory system and outline key events leading up to the Civil War. In French.

Then you find a job in your chosen field and report to work.

The first day you are asked to fill out a ream of forms. How many deductions do you want to claim on your W-4? How much of your salary do you want to invest in your 401(k)? Do you want the HMO or PPO health insurance plan? Did you remember to bring a voided check to set up your direct deposit?

That evening, your boss asks you to join him and the company's top client for a business dinner. You're still trying to figure out why you have 44 forks, knives and spoons around your plate when he asks you to choose the wine. Suddenly you realize that maybe you don't know everything after all.

So if college didn't prepare you for these real-world situations, where can you obtain that knowledge? A new book, "Life after School. Explained," answers many of those questions and more.

The publisher, Cap & Compass, is a small company started in 1999 by Jesse and Nicole Vickey, several years after they graduated from Duke University. It was a time when they had to learn many of those life skills through trial and error.

"I worked on Wall Street in sales and trading. What I had learned in college got me the job and was a big help, but I found there were other things I needed to know that hadn't been covered in school," Jesse Vickey said. "I just learned as I went, often by making mistakes. As I talked to friends and family about some of them, I found out their experiences were similar. So Nicole and I thought this might be a good service to offer."

He had been wanting to start a business of his own, so after researching several areas that most new graduates face as they enter the work world, the Vickeys formed Cap & Compass to provide seminars for graduating seniors.

"We developed a series of seminars covering several basic items - finding an apartment, business attire, dinner etiquette, money management and tax information, that sort of thing," Vickey said.

But remembering how boring many of the seminars were they had attended as students, they wanted to be sure their talks wouldn't put people to sleep. So they hired comedian Andy Ferguson, a graduate of Wake Forest, to help write the text for the seminars and present them.

"He was excellent," said Suzette Zompetti, assistant director of student activities at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. She arranged for the seminars there in February, the only Georgia university to have them so far, after learning about them at a regional conference.

"They are not presented in the form of a regular lecture. They are very interactive and fun, get the students laughing and asking questions," Zompetti said. "And they present good information. We had 35 or 40 students attend the seminars here, and they said they were really beneficial. We'll definitely try to have them again, at least once a year, though we'll probably try to move them to the spring next time. I think we'll get a better response then when seniors are getting ready to graduate."

Looking to expand

Vickey said Cap & Compass conducted 65 seminars this school year at 20 colleges and conventions in the eastern half of the U.S.

"We hope to expand to the West Coast next year. We're beginning to get more inquiries as what we have to offer spreads by word of mouth to the student activity people on campuses," he said.

The book, which was published in February, grew out of the seminars.

"We just took the topics we were covering in the seminars and put them in print," Vickey said. "We use many of the same anecdotes and stories from the lectures as illustrations in the book."

The 170-page book has six chapters. The first five cover the subject matter of the five seminars offered.

"Avoid Looking Stupid at Dinner" explains the etiquette of business dinners, including ordering wine and drinks, which silverware to use when, deciphering the menu, dealing with the restaurant staff and, most importantly, following the lead of the host.

"Love Your Money" covers checking and savings accounts, CDs, money market funds, stocks and mutual funds. It also discusses loans and credit cards.

"Getting Your Apartment" describes how to find decent neighborhoods and apartments, dealing with landlords, negotiating rents, leases and other living space issues.

"Translating Day 1 at Work" covers W-4 forms, 401(k's), health insurance and business attire, including describing what is and is not business casual.

"The Least You Need to Know About Taxes" adds information about withholding, deductions, tax brackets and learning how to fill out your tax forms.

The final chapter, "Odds and Ends," is a bonus, answering questions that students have asked during the seminars - moving, auto insurance, buying and leasing cars, rental cars and engagement rings.

Vickey said the seminars and books are the first two parts of what he envisions as a three-part company.

"The third part we're researching now is to offer specific information about major cities where graduates are going to find jobs," he said. "We already offer some specific information on finding apartments in New York, Boston, Washington and Atlanta, but we want to expand that to more cities and also add information on local agencies, where to get driver's licenses, how to register cars, registering to vote, that sort of thing."