Nearly 50 federal, state, county and city employers came out to Sacramento State looking to hire spring graduates at the Government Agency Career Fair today.

More than 500 students showed up for the fair, said Beth Merritt Miller, director of the career center and academic advising.

“The employers thought it was a good turn out and a steady flow of traffic,” Miller said.

Graduating senior business major Jessica Foley said the job fair was very beneficial and that there was a good variety of employers.

“All the representatives were really friendly and informative,” Foley said.

Blake Morillas, a graduating senior in health administration at Chico State, had attended other career fairs recently and said the event was worth the drive to Sacramento.

“A lot of departments are hiring,” Morillas said. “We’re supposedly in this budget crisis, but they’re actively recruiting everybody.”

Positions available varied widely from employer to employer.

The County of Sacramento Municipal Services Agency was looking for graduates to become entry-level civil engineers, said Mark Galimba, senior personnel analyst.

Stanford University wanted to hire graduates for its police department and in-house administrative personnel. Robert Contreas, a recruiter for the university, said students with degrees in any field, not necessarily criminal justice, could apply.

For students not graduating this semester, government agencies also promoted internship positions available throughout the year.

The office of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sought candidates for its executive internship positions.

“We’re looking for anyone who can read, write and think critically,” said David Richey, senior constituent affairs representative for the office of the governor. “Beyond the initial political science and government major types, we’re looking for people with a more technical background.”

Miller said this was the second Government Agency Career Fair at Sac State. New to this fair was a federal employer panel and a state employer panel. Each panel explained how to apply for positions and answered employment questions.

The next Government Agency Career Fair will be held in fall 2008. The fair will only be held annually thereafter, Miller said.

Leonard Low can be reached at [email protected].