Each semester, the colleges at Iowa State hold Career Fairs to enable their students to receive the best opportunities available.

The Colleges of Business, Liberal Arts and Sciences and Human Sciences hold their own Career fair, as does the College Engineering . The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences holds its own Career Fair as well.

As one of the world’s top leaders in institutions of agriculture, Iowa State’s Agriculture and Life Sciences College is known for providing knowledge and leadership in science, research and education. Ranked as the No. 5 agricultural education program out of 80 universities in the nation in a 2009 study by Ohio State University, our very own College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is one to be proud of.

The Agriculture and Life Sciences Career Fair matches the prestige of its school.

The Ag Career Day for 2012 is Oct. 16. With more than 200 companies set to make appearances at the fair, agriculture students will have a plethora of opportunities to meet with potential employers to vie for an interview for an internship or job.

Last fall, the Agriculture and Life Sciences Career Fair saw more than 1400 students with approximately 160 employers. With more employers showing up this year, we can hope to see more students in attendance this fall.

Each semester the importance of attending the Career Fairs is instilled in our minds, over and over.

Whether you’re looking for an internship, a job after graduation or just networking possibilities, the career fairs hold endless benefits for a student.

Freshmen and sophomores may not realize the importance of attending the Career Fairs just yet. At this stage, underclassmen aren’t necessarily on the prowl to score a big internship or worried about what they’re going to do after they graduate. However, attending the Career Fair is still important as ever.

Attending the Career Fair this early on, without the intense pressure of needing to make a really great impression on a potential employer to score that internship you need to graduate, can give you the chance to get some practice in before it is absolutely crucial.

You can get interview practice and also a chance to talk to potential employers to figure out what they are looking for. The few years of extra practice can help give you a leg up on the competition when you return to the Career Fair looking for an internship or career.

Of course, attending the Career Fair as an upperclassmen can be key to securing that internship you need to graduate or your dream job after you graduate. After the career fair, hundreds of students score interviews the next few days following the Career Fair.

So whether you’re just looking to get a little extra practice or you’re in need of securing an internship or job, get into your best clothes and attend the Career Fair. What do you possibly have to lose?