Binghamton University’s Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development has made changes to the campus hiring process, eliciting responses from students and faculty members alike.

An idea that has been in the works since 2017 has been put into action this semester: All on-campus jobs are required to be posted on HireBING by Handshake, BU’s student employment online recruiting database.

In an email, Alissa Strong, senior assistant director of technology innovation and marketing at the Fleishman Center, wrote that offices that typically received few applications are now hearing from more students because the new system makes it easier for students to find job openings.

“[We’ve seen a] 97-percent increase in overall HireBING student job postings in the 2018-19 academic year when compared to the previous year,” Strong said. “On-campus postings increased by 60 percent, and off-campus postings increased by 241 percent.”

The new process is the result of a collaboration of several offices on campus. According to a public statement from the Fleishman Center, the student employment team is a committee of departments campus-wide working together to make on-campus employment an easier, more transparent process for BU students.

Russell Berger, a worker at the Appalachian Collegiate Center in Mountainview College and a sophomore majoring in physics, said he had begun working at the University before the new system was implemented, but he sees the benefits in applying through HireBING.

“I think having more than one choice is always a good option, so looking at all the available jobs on campus would be very helpful,” Berger said. “I personally just applied only to this job, but it’s definitely useful to have more than one plan in case it doesn’t work out.”

However, it isn’t just students that are seeing the benefits of the new system. Holly Brown, assistant director of staff development and operations for Campus Recreational Services, said she has seen an increase in the amount of applications her office has received. According to Brown, the new policy is making the student employment process more accessible and easier for prospects and employers alike.

“Campus Recreation hires more than 150 students every year to fill a variety of positions,” Brown said. “HireBING has streamlined the student employment process on campus, which makes it easier for us to better recruit students and fill open positions. We’ve experienced an increase in the number of applicants for all of our positions since using HireBING.”

Offices experiencing an increase in applicants have been able to see the different skill sets that BU students have to offer, according to Randy Kellar, human resources manager for Binghamton University Dining Services (BUDS). He said he has already witnessed applicants with varying levels of skill now applying for jobs more often than they did in previous years.

“Binghamton University Dining Services likes being able to partner with the University and post all of our student jobs in one location,” Keller said. “We have received applications with different skill sets than we have previously, which has been helpful finding student employees.”