Etiquette varies by region. I'm in San Francisco, and I do business development for a living, which means I talk to a lot of people. I'd say these rules are tru

Etiquette varies by region. I'm in San Francisco, and I do business development for a living, which means I talk to a lot of people. I'd say these rules are true for all of the US. It's totally normal to ask where people work. In fact, it's outright good to do. As you meet more people, you'll find odd coincidences, like someone you just met works with a good friend of yours. Things like this will help build your network, and that's a good thing, especially as you look for a job. And don't forget to maintain your network once you've gotten the job! As an example: "Hey, how's it going?"; "What brings you here"; "Oh cool, do you use this at work?"; "What company do you work with?"; and you're there in 4 sentences.