"Engage."

That's what Star Trek Captain Jean-Luc Picard says when the starship Enterprise starts a journey. It's also the advice experts give to students who visit a company for a job interview.

Companies are looking for students who take an active role in the interview, from demonstrating they have done their homework about the company's mission to asking questions about their potential role in a company and opportunities for advancement.

"It's the day visit that gets you the job offer," said Dr. Ron Webb, manager of doctoral recruiting and university relations at Procter & Gamble. "Every time you're with somebody with the company, you're making an impression. You want to be on your toes, be engaged, realize that opinions are being formed."

In other words, don't sit passively and only speak when you're asked a question.

"It's very important even at that beginning career level to recognize that the on-site visit is really a two-way process," said Dr. Lawrence Friedman, manager of university relations for the Bayer Corp. "You interview the company as well as having them interview you."

In-depth interviews give company employees a chance to evaluate your non-lab skills. They can assess your communication style, your creativity, your initiative and your ability to work well with other team members.

The company is trying to decide whether an individual has the appropriate personality and interpersonal skills for a position. But an applicant also has an obligation to form an opinion of the company.

Do the employees seem happy, Friedman asks? Would you feel comfortable working there? Whom would you work with, and what would your relationship be with other members of your team or division? If you're hired and you're successful, what will you have accomplished during the first year? What mark will you have made on the company?

Think about the questions you want answered before you go to your interview, Webb advises.

"Look me in the eye and ask me what I hate about my job and what I love about it. How long does it take to get promoted? What's the turnover rate?" Webb said. "Be very willing to pick up on what you hear. Be a very active listener."

Not all undergraduates are invited for site visits before receiving a job offer. Debe Deeb Williams of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign said fewer than half the school's undergraduate science majors are invited to a site visit. Instead, students frequently have telephone interviews or on-campus interviews with companies.

When undergraduates are invited to an on-site visit, they are given an itinerary and told what time they should report to the office.

Williams, director of placement and student services at the university's school of chemical sciences, said students often drive or ride Amtrak to the interview, but occasionally a company will pay to fly in an undergraduate for a company visit. She said companies frequently pay students' expenses, but students should clarify whether they will be reimbursed and how that process works.

Students also should request an itinerary before the visit and ask what dress is appropriate. Some undergraduate site visits may include trips to refineries or manufacturing plants where jeans and boots are suitable; visits also might include dinner with a division head that would require more formal dress.

When students drive to a company, Williams recommends that they allow plenty of extra time so they won't be late even if they get lost. She also suggests that students ask beforehand whether they will need to pass through a security gate.

Students should bring the telephone number for their contact person at the company. If something goes wrong, call the contact person immediately to let them know you might be late.

If you decide to pursue a graduate degree before you enter a company, you'll be expected to participate in a technical seminar during your company visit. Graduate students present their original research and answer questions before an audience of scientists and managers.

Procter & Gamble's Webb uses an acronym, CAR, to describe the guidelines that this presentation should follow.

Context: Students need to explain what parts of a project they inherited from other researchers, where they started and why.

Action: Walk your listeners through your experimental program.

Results: Explain what your conclusions mean.

Webb said students must practice their presentation enough to make sure that it fits into the time allotted. If you're supposed to talk for 45 minutes, don't talk for 60 minutes, and don't talk only for 30 minutes.

"If you get a question you can't answer, don't bluff, don't panic," Webb advises. "Deal with it professionally and appropriately."

During the company visit, Williams recommends that students collect business cards so they can write thank-you notes when they return to school. These should be short, hand-written notes thanking people for the opportunity to visit and saying that you look forward to hearing from them.

She said thank-you notes have become so rare that people tend to remember students who take the time to write them.

"Maybe three or six (candidates) will write thank-yous, and those will usually be e-mails," she said. "A thank-you note can never hurt."

Rachel Smolkin is a Washington-area freelance writer. She previously worked as a national reporter in the Washington, D.C. bureau of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Toledo Blade and covered issues such as health care and education. She also worked at Scripps Howard News Service as a national education reporter and as the Washington, D.C. correspondent for The Albuquerque Tribune in New Mexico and the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama.