Innovative recruitment models such as livestreamed job introductions and artificial intelligence-powered job matching have become standard features at job fairs across Tianjin as this year's hiring season gets underway.

At a high-level talent recruitment fair held in February in Binhai New Area, virtual reality corporate panorama systems enabled job seekers to explore company environments, while AI-powered guidance tools helped match candidates with suitable positions more precisely.

The event brought together more than 300 enterprises offering over 8,000 positions across key sectors, including information technology application innovation, artificial intelligence, biomedicine and aerospace.

In addition to on-site recruitment, services such as AI-assisted resume optimization, mock interviews, policy consultation and career guidance were provided.

Online recruitment further expanded access and improved efficiency, according to the Binhai New Area human resources and social security bureau.

Around 1,800 enterprises offered more than 16,000 positions online, attracting nearly 600,000 participants.

Beyond evolving recruitment methods, the fair also highlighted surging demand for talent in future-oriented industries.

As a key hub for the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, Tianjin is seeing a growing demand for professionals in science, technology and innovation-driven fields amid the accelerated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

"Our laboratory urgently needs talent for key technological breakthroughs, with a demand for nearly 100 researchers," said Fang Yu, a human resources manager at a laboratory in Binhai.

He added that this year's recruitment drive focuses on areas such as industrial and basic software, high-performance computing, cybersecurity and software engineering.

At Nankai University's spring career fair for 2026 graduates, many attended online, with its livestreamed job introduction sessions attracting nearly 15,000 views.

"With industries evolving rapidly, our demand for 'new quality talent'is very urgent," said Yan Zeyang, an on-site recruitment director from a Shanghai-based company.

"We particularly value versatile candidates with interdisciplinary thinking who can adapt quickly to the intelligent era."

The shift in talent demand is reshaping the job market. According to the Tianjin Manufacturing New Quality Productivity Talent Demand Catalog (2025), released in December, demand in the new energy, biomedicine and IT industries ranked among the top three, accounting for more than 30 percent of total positions.

More than 30 new job categories, such as AI trainers and integrated circuit packaging engineers, were added compared with the previous year.

Policy support is also reinforcing this trend. Under the spatial coordination plan for the modern capital metropolitan area covering 2023 to 2035, Binhai New Area has been designated a "strategic cooperation functional zone", working in tandem with Beijing's sub-center, Tongzhou, and Xiong'an New Area. The model of "R&D in Beijing, transformation in Tianjin and Hebei" is taking shape.

For job seekers, adaptability is becoming a key advantage. "Balancing economics with programming and statistical analysis during my undergraduate studies has strengthened my interdisciplinary edge," said Ji Yaofei, a digital economics graduate from Nankai University.

Ma Wenlong, a recent graduate from Tianjin University of Technology and Education, echoed this sentiment.

"I'm preparing to compete across fields, exploring different roles while building a diverse skill set," he said.

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn