Hilton Coliseum was full of students and alumni dressed in their best business casual to network or obtain an internship, co-op or a full time position Tuesday for the spring Business, Industry and Technology Career Fair.

Over 140 companies attended the career fair, including major companies like Caterpillar, Enterprise and Kum & Go. Although the spring career fair isn’t as large as the fall career fair, around 1,800 students on average attend. 

Sailaja Sripathi, a graduate student in management and information systems, attended the career fair to find a full time job. Sripathi encourages freshman to attend the career fair when possible.

“It is always a good way to build relations,” Sripathi said. “This way in the coming years, when you want an internship, it will be easier.”

While some like Sripathi are looking for full time jobs, others were looking for internships or co-ops.

Madison Smith, a senior in supply chain management, was attending to get an internship or co-op.

“I want to get an internship or co-op so that I can gain some experience within the Supply Chain Management industry,” Smith said.

The career fair is also open to Iowa State graduates. Nathan Fowler graduated from Iowa State in 2012 with his bachelor’s in chemical engineering. He attended the fair looking for a full time position in software engineering.

A lot of students attend the career fair purely to gain experience in talking to employers.

Joey Koenen, a sophomore in management and information systems, didn’t come into the career fair looking for an internship or co-op.

“I’m here to learn more about companies in general,” Koenen said. “I also want to learn what companies within my major do as a whole.”

Following the career fair, many companies will go through all the resumes they received and pick those that stand out or match their requirements.

Some companies hold interviews on campus in the days following the career fair, and will contact those stand-out applicants.