How to milk the milkround

Why's that? Because if you make a strong impression (for the right reasons) on banking staff at networking events, they'll clock you for the future. "Bankers and recruiters will always pass on details of students who make a particularly good impression," says Alison Trauttmansdorf, head of recruitment at Goldman Sachs' investment banking division.

Natalie Hildon, campus marketing director at Merrill Lynch, confirms the networking advantage: "If you make a great impression with one of our people during a networking event, they may invite you to remain in email or telephone contact with them afterwards," she says.

How do you get to be best buddies with a recruiter or banker after five minutes' conversation in a noisy room? Here's our advice:

DO:

Come prepared (with questions)

"The best candidates are interested, enthusiastic, and ready with a stock of good questions," says Brian Hood, head of graduate recruitment at Citi.

"A well-planned approach will pay dividends at a networking event," says Trauttmansdorf at Goldman Sachs. "Figure out which areas of the bank you might be interested in and prepare some questions in advance," she says. "This is an opportunity to show you have thought constructively about a career in banking and to introduce yourself to the business."

The general consensus seems to be that preparation is all about asking the right questions.

"They [networking events and milkround presentations] are an ideal opportunity to demonstrate your enthusiasm and show your awareness of our industry by asking insightful questions, for example, regarding the key current trends facing the investment banking industry," says Lucy Evans, graduate resourcing advisor at ABN Amro.

"Networking events can be excellent opportunities to ask senior bankers about strategic issues," agrees Trauttmansdorf. "You might want to ask their opinion about the future of derivatives in emerging markets, or the potential of the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China."

If you are unsure whether banking is for you, use your proximity to bankers as an opportunity to question them about their own career choices. Examples might include: "Why did you choose investment banking? How has your career path developed? What is the most rewarding part of your job?" If you want to drill down into the differences between particular roles, you'll need to ask what they entail.

"You might want to ask what's really involved in the role you would like to apply for" says Evans at ABN Amro. "This is your chance to find out first-hand what the role really involves and whether this suits your careers aspirations."

Join in

Needless to say, if you've gone to the hassle of thinking of up a load of questions about the Russian banking system, you might as well ask them. There is no point attending a networking event if you end up skulking on the fringes like a shrinking violet: success is all about pro-activity.

And now a word on what you most definitely should not be doing ...

DON'T:

Monopolise the conversation

"A lot of people will want to ask questions and it's important not to steal the show," says Trauttmansdorf. "You need to be seen as fair and considerate to your fellow students."

More to the point, don't identify the most senior banker in the room and stick to him (or maybe even her) to the detriment of everyone else. Hood at Citi says the worst performers at networking events tend to stick to a single banking representative. Abbas Jaffer, European head of diversity and graduate recruitment at Morgan Stanley, advises students to talk to as many of the bank's representatives at campus events as you can.

"You will need to demonstrate you have proactively done research into the firm and the financial sector, so try to speak to as many business representatives as possible. This will give you a good a good feel for the industry, and the firm," he says.

Tout your CV

This is frowned upon at networking events, but recruiters say some well-prepared students come equipped with business cards to hand out. Even if you don't have your own business card, it's a good idea to ask for the cards of the bankers you talk to - and to ask if you can follow up with subsequent questions by email.

Try to be too clever or impress senior figures

"Think through, prepare and plan what you want to discuss, so you gain useful insights that can aid your application," stresses Jaffer at Morgan Stanley.

Over-indulge

The drinks may be free, but that doesn't mean you should guzzle all you can. "There is always someone who drinks too much," adds another recruiter. "You need to show you can conduct yourself as you would in a business environment."