"University fairs offer many opportunities," Kim Meerbothe knows. As a personnel officer, she looks after students who are doing an internship or writing a thesis at Schunk, among other things. She is therefore the ideal contact person for career planning and career entry. She will not only provide valuable tips here, but also in person this year - at Schunk's university trade fair booth.

Before you stumble aimlessly across your first university fair, here's the first tip: Set goals for your day at the fair. To do this, ask yourself the following questions:

• Why do you want to attend the fair?
• What do you want to accomplish on the day of the fair?
• What would you like to learn about?
• What information are you missing on a particular topic?
• Where can you get the answers to your questions?

The homepage of the university fair and the fair catalog offer valuable help and initial orientation. Here you will find information about the program and schedule of the fair as well as about the exhibitors and their offers. Use these sources. Make a note of interesting companies and questions that the homepage and fair catalog do not answer.

Now you have a good basis for planning your day at the fair and visiting specifically the exhibitors and events that will help you get ahead.

But please note: Plan realistically and don't take on too much. Companies notice when you rush from one exhibitor to the next and can't really stay on task.

The day of the fair is finally here. You are well prepared, your hairstyle is in place. Now you just have to take the last hurdle: Go to the booth and make contact. For many students, however, this is not so easy. They are often very shy about taking the first step and approaching company representatives.

But don't forget: that's exactly why the exhibitors are there. They are pleased about your interest and are looking forward to meeting you. So don't hesitate and approach your contacts with confidence.

Here, too, a little preparation can't hurt. If you have already prepared a few sentences about your self-presentation (what you are studying, where you want to go), they will feel more confident and it will be easier to start the interview. And then it's just a matter of being open and showing interest. The rest will take care of itself.

Our pro-tip for the particularly shy: Sometimes it helps to stand next to other booth visitors who have already made the first move. Then you can casually interject a question or two without the focus being directly on you.

There is usually no dress code for university fairs. Some of you may drop by between lectures. So costume or suit stay in the closet. You won't do yourself any favors at a fair if you wear uncomfortable shoes. A well-groomed appearance, on the other hand, certainly does no harm.

Have you ever heard of the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO)? It is the reason why you should leave your application documents at home. Because: Companies are not allowed to accept your application documents at the fair for precisely these data protection reasons. So it's better to find out about the application procedure of the respective company during the fair interview and then submit your documents in the correct way. At Schunk, this works via our online application system.

The only exception where you may be able to use your application documents: If the university fair offers an application check. You should take advantage of this offer. In this case, you will usually be told in advance whether you should bring your application documents in paper form or digitally for the check.

The day at the trade fair is over, and in the best case you have made a lot of contacts and collected useful information. You should now make use of this yield - and do so promptly, before your valuable contacts come to nothing again. For example, you have heard about an interesting internship or a thesis? Then apply quickly and be sure to refer to your fair contact.

We wish you every success on your next university fair visit!