The lines of job-seeking students snaking around the booths of nonprofit and government employers Tuesday afternoon showed heightened interest in such agencies as a weak economy and world events have prompted students to reconsider their post-graduation plans.

With many profit-driven companies reducing employees or simply not hiring in the weakened economy, about 500 students came to Norris University Center to look at lines of work they may not have considered previously.

The fair allowed job- and internship-hunting Northwestern students like Katie Del Ciello to connect with service-oriented organizations.

Del Ciello, a Weinberg senior, said she had been interested in AmeriCorps and other national service organizations before Sept. 11, but that she felt the an even stronger pull afterwards.

“I think many other people feel the same way,” she said.

Sponsored jointly by the Northwestern Community Development Corps and University Career Services, the Martin Luther King Jr. Public Interest Job & Internship Fair had its best turnout ever Tuesday, said Brett Boettcher, assistant director of career services.

Boettcher estimated this year’s turnout was more than double that of the previous year.

“We printed about 400 fliers, and those were gone by the first hour,” said Laurie Jaeckel, co-chairwoman of NCDC.

Recruiters from 52 companies and organizations such as the American Red Cross and the U.S. Department of State set up booths in the Louis Room.

“We want to connect employers with students interested in non-profit or government jobs,” Jaeckel said. “This is also a great opportunity to introduce people to these fields.”

The large number of government agencies and charities present drew seniors like political science major Charles Sheehan.

Sheehan spoke with representatives from the State Department, the Urban Institute and Friends of Nancy Kaszak, a candidate for Congress in the 5th Congressional District of Illinois.

“I spent about an hour and a half here talking to people,” Sheehan said.

He said the fair was a helpful start in his job search because it correlated well to his interests in politics and international relations.

Some students said that the nonprofit and public sectors seem less affected by the current economic downturn.

“The (organizations) I spoke to seemed pretty eager to get people to join them, and they had a number of job openings,” Del Ciello said.

On Thursday, another job fair — the Career Expo 2002 — also will be held at Norris, but will host more for-profit corporate recruiters.

Some students at Tuesday’s public interest event said they were more interested in the upcoming Thursday fair.

“I came to see how a job fair looked like, so I can prepare for Thursday, ” said Susan Chou, a McCormick junior. “Sort of like a rehearsal.”

Chou also said Thursday’s fair seemed more diverse, and also more relevant for engineering majors like herself.

The large turnout Tuesday indicated that competition for jobs and internships with public interest companies could be stiff in the wake of Sept. 11 and a weakened economy, other students said.

“There is only a fixed number of government jobs, and more people will be applying for them this year,” Sheehan said.