In order to gain experience beyond the classroom, students headed to Hilton Coliseum and the Scheman Building to meet and mingle with potential employers at the fall Engineering Career Fair.

While elbow room and walking space were hard to come by due to the throngs of attendees, excellent professional opportunities were not.

With more than 280 companies in attendance at the Tuesday’s career fair, students could meet numerous representatives spanning industries correlating with every engineering major offered at Iowa State.

Doug Leiby, representative from Lincoln Electric, explained what Lincoln looks for in potential hires.

“We like to see a lot of co-ops and internships,” Leiby said. “If somebody has a 4.0 but they don’t have any co-ops or internships, it’s not going to impress us as much as someone who maybe has a 3.5 but has good hands-on experience. We’re looking for a balance.”

Similar statements can be made for most companies in most industries, as practical, hands-on experience is continuing to rise in significance for students’ education.

“[The students] have been top-notch,” said Kirk Huss, ISU alumnus and representative for G4S, an international security company. Huss also said G4S is glad to be at the fair due to the convenience factor for both employers and students.

“We can get in front of a lot of students in a short amount of time,” Huss said.

One of the students who met with several employers was Steven Shudy, senior in aerospace engineering. Shudy said that standing in line to meet with employers was “kind of a stressful experience” but well worth the wait.

“The employers were very nice and very responsive; you could ask some questions, [and] they would answer,” Shudy said. “Research who’s coming, which companies you want to go with. I pick out companies ahead of time, and if I don’t know exactly what they do, then I do a little research so I have a little background knowledge.”

While some students are seasoned veterans in hobnobbing with industry professionals or landing that coveted internship, for some, it was their first career fair. This was the case for Aaron Carter, freshman in engineering. 

“[Attending the career fair] was certainly a worthwhile experience. I did not come in with high expectations, but getting my feet wet and seeing what everything’s all about will help me for fairs in the future,” Carter said.

Carter recommended fellow freshmen “should definitely check out” the upcoming fair in the spring semester, which will be on Feb. 12, 2013, also at Hilton Coliseum and in the Scheman Building.