This spring semester, students will have the opportunity to attend Binghamton University’s job and internship fairs from home.

The career fairs will be completely virtual, similar to those held during the fall 2020 semester. The Virtual Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Fair was held on March 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Virtual Job and Internship Fair will be on March 18 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both fairs are open to all students.

The upcoming fair, like the Virtual STEM Fair, will be held on hireBING — also known as Handshake. Students can register for fair events here [https://careertools.binghamton.edu/channels/preparing-for-the-job-and-internship-fair/].

The virtual STEM fair was focused on STEM firms, including Epic, City Year and CollabraLink. The STEM fair was open to students of all majors, as employers are still looking for students interested in other fields, such as human resources, marketing and finance.

GEICO, Teach for America and NBT Bank will be some of the major employers represented at the Virtual Job and Internship Fair. Students can find a full list of employers and companies attending on Handshake.

Alissa Strong, senior assistant director of technology innovation and marketing at the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, said students of any major or class can benefit from attending the fair.

“It’s a great way to expand their network and hone their interviewing skills, so when they are in the job market, they are well prepared for postgraduate career success,” Strong said.

In an effort to make this semester’s fairs run more efficiently, Strong said the Center is using Handshake’s new filter option for events.

“Students can now more easily filter sessions based on relevance, interest or timing of day,” Strong said. “Positive feedback was received from both employers and students on the new fair platform from post-fair surveys, which were conducted during the fall semester, resulting in minor updates to the platform.”

For students who plan on attending the fair, Strong suggested they update their GPA, year and major on their Handshake profile. Since individual meetings and events will be held virtually, Strong also recommended that students research the companies and employers they are meeting with beforehand.

At this semester’s fair, students will attend employer events virtually without having to wait in lines, like they would if it was in-person. Some employers will also be hosting group information presentations, along with one-on-one meetings.

Gabriel Dubinsky, a first-year graduate student in the 4+1 program studying computer engineering, believed online event registration has advantages.

“I think that being able to schedule appointments with the specific employers you want to see is definitely easier than roaming around the whole fair and waiting in lines to meet with people,” Dubinsky said.

According to Logan Blakeslee, a sophomore majoring in history, job and internship fairs are a good student resource for career building, yet he sees a downside to the event’s complete virtualization.

“However, keeping them online reduces interest and interaction,” Blakeslee said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but I hope students can still find the opportunities they are looking for.”