Future job hunters had their prey laid out for them at an event in Storke Plaza Wednesday afternoon.

The Business Economics Association and the Latino Business Association presented its eighth annual Career Fair. The BEA and LBA invited businesses and government agencies, including Cox Communications, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, J. D. Power and Associates, Target and the United States Navy and Air Force to come and distribute information.

LBA president Katherine Juarez, a senior sociology major, said the fair aimed to help UCSB students find internships, jobs or careers. Juarez said previous business fairs on campus had been on a relatively smaller scale.

“In the past, we have had individual work fairs, but this year is the first that the LBA and BEA have worked together,” she said.

Juarez said the BEA and LBA invited some businesses to participate in the fair, while others, like J. D. Power and Associates, contacted Counseling and Career Services about participating, Juarez said.

Rachael Franco of the Target Distribution Center in Bakersfield said the fair would help the company find future leaders.

“We do not have any college affiliations which would allow us to attend job fairs and find high potential individuals for executive-level positions,” Franco said. “We thought we would get some great candidates from UCSB.”

Companies distributed information for students about positions available to them after graduating with a four-year degree. Brian Dunn, representative for J. D. Power and Associates, a market research organization, said that by participating in the fair, the company gets its name in the minds of the graduating students.

Visitors to the job fair received information about what the company recommends to prepare for a career in that field. J. D. Power and Associates recommends a social science degree such as psychology, sociology or anthropology, Dunn said.

The business fair helped some students who had few plans for after graduation. Junior business economics major Amanda Lewis, who will be graduating in spring, came to the fair with the hope of trying to get an idea for a job after graduation.

“I think I’m going to visit the web sites and check out the specific jobs offered. I talked to the [Robinsons] May Company a lot, and they recruit after college, so that’s nice,” Lewis said.

Juarez said the weather helped make this year’s business fair a success.

“Luckily, it didn’t rain, and we had a big turnout,” Juarez said.