financial zen

The College Journal has a great snippet about those job fairs on college campuses:

WHAT TO DO:

• Dress for success - wear that suit and tie. Dress like it *is* an interview - you’re putting in factime and you want to be remembered to be known as “the kids that was dressed up” and not “the idiot in flip-flops.” You are one of hundreds (or thousands) that is applying for a chance at a job - they’re sizing you up.
• DO RESEARCH. Don’t approach a company and know nothing about it - and ask questions to the recruiter - do not try to fake it!

So as this article from Graduating Engineer says (emphasis mine):

Take your suit out of the closet and make sure it’s wrinkle free. Buff up your comfortable, suitable shoes. (No athletic shoes, please). Go to the event dressed as though you were going to an interview. In fact, that’s what you’re doing—going to preliminary interviews. Companies send their human resources and management staff to these events, so they are screening prospective hires.

Make sure your resume is up-to-date and free of grammar and spelling errors. - and don’t bring your backpack.
Plan your time at the event beforehand by getting a list of the companies that will be present. - HAVE A PLAN!
You should also write and rehearse a short speech about yourself. Be prepared to talk about yourself - you are selling yourself to these people.

There is a lot of preparation you can be doing to prepare for your future career - you want to put the best foot forward (and if you’re a freshman, you may even land yourself an internship, or at least get face time with people you *want* to remember you).

Why should you do this?

Do you really think you have a chance of landing a good job “just because?”

I’ve met people who are convinced they will land a six-figure salary when they graduate with _insert_major_here_ because they read an article, or some web site says people in their career make xyz, etc. It’s even worse when you meet someone that has no job experience - yet they think they’re prime material for the next CEO position because they’re fraternity is associated with Robert Redford (Notorious frats and what’s associated with them are not always a great thing to try and name drop).

Prepare. Intern. Study - it’ll pay off in the future.