Elie Tamo came to the Engineering Career Fair on Wednesday with a plan.

The University of Iowa (UI) electrical engineering major ran his resume and the list of 150 employers attending the fair through an AI engine to identify his best matches.

The plan worked.

Tamo arrived with a shortlist of 13 employers to visit, leading to several promising conversations and second-day interviews with Collins Aerospace and ESCO Group. Many employers remain on campus for an additional day to conduct interviews for internships and full-time positions.

"Compared to last year, there have been so many more companies looking for electrical engineers," the Schaumburg, Illinois, native said. "My goal is to land an internship with a high opportunity of leading to a full-time job."

With nearly 800 students and 150 employers in attendance, the Engineering Career Fair serves as one of the College of Engineering's largest connections to industry. The event helps students explore career paths, secure internships and full-time positions, and build relationships with employers seeking engineering talent.

That's exactly what happened for Noah Weigel.

A previous career fair connection helped the 2025 UI mechanical engineering graduate secure his first job after college. This year, he returned as a representative of West Plains Engineering, a building design firm with an office in Cedar Rapids, to recruit engineering interns.

His advice to students was simple.

"The goal is to get your foot in the door, and the more people you can talk to, the more chances you have to find a meaningful connection," Weigel said.

For employers, the fair provides direct access to students seeking internships and full-time positions while helping companies build relationships with future engineering talent.

Carly Wagner, who earned a civil engineering degree from Iowa in 2019, also returned to the fair as an employer representative. She was recruiting civil and environmental engineering students for Houston Engineering, which recently opened an office in Iowa City.

Wagner said she was impressed by both the size and variety of employers represented at this year's fair, noting how much it has grown since her time as a student.

"It's a great place for students to learn what's available and for employers to connect with talented future engineers," Wagner said.