An estimated 860 students gathered Wednesday in the University Union Ballroom to attend Sacramento State’s 25th bi-annual job fair.

Event Coordinator Shari Gonzalez said the fair, which ran from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., was supposed to act as a follow-up opportunity for students.

“While this is a follow-up of November’s fair, it is aimed at a different group of students,” Gonzalez said. “With this one we’re trying to target undergraduates by offering them experiential opportunities. With the November career fair, we were trying to help students, who were on the verge of graduating, find entry-level positions that matched their majors.”

This semester’s fair, which is being referred to as an internship, co-op, and job fair, included part-time and full-time job opportunities, as well as paid and unpaid internships, for nearly 70 privately owned and commercial companies, Gonzalez said.

Those in attendance included representatives from Chevron, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Franklin Templeton Investments, Liberty Mutual, National Park Services and many more.

Many students, including sophomore international communications major Kate Jones, were surprised at just how large the event was.

“It’s the best job fair I’ve ever been to,” Jones said. “I was really surprised at how many companies were involved and how excited everyone was.”

Chevron IT Recruiter Suzanne Diers said that the opportunity for business representatives to meet hundreds of students face to face, in one day, is one that can’t be missed.

“Chevron is looking to fill positions in the IT department,” Diers said. “We currently have both full-time positions and summer internships.”

Diers went on to say Chevron, like most other businesses at the event, have pre-set requirements for applicants.

“We are looking for someone that is a U.S. citizen with a minimum grade point average of at least a 3.1,” Diers said. “We also look for prior experience in most cases.”

SBM Human Resources Representative Adriana Renteria said that she can’t see why any company wouldn’t want to be involved.

“This was SBM’s first time at a Sacramento State job fair,” Renteria said. “We really enjoyed talking to the students . . . the turnout was amazing. We’ll definitely be back next year.”

Ashley Evans can be reached at [email protected]