I am heavily involved in the recruiting for the company, we go all over the country and visit Universities to meet students and find the talent. My colleagues and I always find it very funny to speak to students, at the same time we feel slightly sorry for them since many of them seem to have missed the point of these recruiting events. This advice is also relevant for people interested in other jobs than consulting, this should really be “common sense” among students.

So let me tell you, we are there to get to know YOU, that means:

1. Show us your personality, don´t be shy. All firms hire people with personalities that fit the “mold” (i.e. we are looking for a certain type of people). This is not something that a student should even try to emulate. Since you will be spending more time with your colleagues than you do with your family, girlfriend or friends it is extremely important that you “fit in” and that you enjoy the jokes and atmosphere that comes from the people you work with. Apart from that, we can spot pretty quickly who is faking it and who is the real thing.
2. Tell us about your life without trying to impress us. We will look at your CV, and everyone that works at these firms are already the best in every school year and have done loads of incredibly cool stuff. Most often than not, if a student tries to impress with her/his past experiences it just comes across as insecure and petty. Tell us your story without trying to brag about it, it is impressive than it shall impress without you having to consciously make an effort to impress.
3. Share a laugh with us. Don´t be one of those stiff students who try to make an incredible impression and just stands there asking awkward questions. Us consultants are people too, we like to laugh, hang out with friends and watch stupid movies like you do. And you will be more memorable if you actually make us have a good time/conversation.
4. Take our contact details. There is nothing better than to have a person on the inside. Show interest, take our business card and contact us after the event. Almost everyone that is successful enjoys helping other people as much as their time allows. Make up a question after the event, email us, network and you might get a recommendation from an inside person which will catapult you to the interviews quicker than you have time to so “Ooh”.

For the next event you attend, try to go there and relax, have fun with the company representatives and I promise you that they will remember you much more clearly than the “intelligent” person who stood in the group quiet.