Using Handshake and Your Career Center Effectively

What Handshake Does

Handshake is the job and internship platform most US colleges use to connect students with employers. Your school licenses an account for you, employers post openings targeted at your school, and your career center runs events and appointments through the same system. It works like a private job board built around your school's network instead of the open internet.

Setting Up a Strong Profile

Fill out every section: major, graduation date, GPA if you choose to share it, skills, work authorization, and career interests. Employers search Handshake by these fields to find candidates, so an incomplete profile keeps you out of searches you would otherwise match. Upload a current resume as a PDF and keep your profile visible to employers rather than hidden.

Handshake also lets you follow specific employers and set alerts by job title, location, or industry. Turn these on early in the semester so new postings reach you instead of you searching from scratch each week.

Finding Jobs and Internships

Use the filters for your school, class year, and work authorization status to cut out postings you do not qualify for. Many listings on Handshake are school-specific or invite-only, meaning you will not find them on general job boards. Check the platform on a set schedule, weekly at minimum during recruiting season, since postings close fast for competitive roles.

Career Fairs and Employer Events

Career fairs, info sessions, and employer office hours all get listed as events inside Handshake. Register as soon as a fair opens for signups, since some employers cap how many students they will meet with or require a resume upload before the event. Read the list of attending employers ahead of time and prepare two or three specific questions for the ones you care about most.

Booking Career Center Appointments

Your school's career center runs its appointment calendar through Handshake too. Search for available slots under services like resume review, mock interview, or career coaching, and book directly instead of walking in or emailing.

• Resume and cover letter review, usually available with quick turnaround before application deadlines

• Mock interviews, including behavioral and sometimes technical or case formats

• One-on-one career coaching for choosing a major-to-career path or planning a job search timeline

• Employer-specific prep sessions before major recruiting events or career fairs

Messaging Employers Directly

Handshake lets you message recruiters directly on some job postings, and many employers list a recruiter's name and photo. Use this for a short, specific note, confirming your interest and asking one real question, not a generic hello. Recruiters manage a high volume of messages, so a note tied to a specific posting or event gets more attention than a broad introduction.

Common Handshake Mistakes

• Leaving your profile marked as not visible to employers, which removes you from search results entirely

• Uploading an outdated resume and forgetting to swap it before a new application round

• Ignoring your school's private, unlisted postings because you only check the general search

• Waiting until the week of a career fair to research which employers are attending

Getting the Most from Career Center Staff

Go in with a specific goal for each appointment rather than a general help me find a job request. Bring a job posting you are targeting, a draft resume, or a list of interview questions you are unsure how to answer. Staff can give sharper feedback when they know exactly what you need.

Come back more than once. A single resume review before your first application round is a start, but returning after a few rejections, or before a final round interview, gets you feedback tailored to where you actually are in the process. Internship-to-offer conversion rates hit a five-year high in 2024-25 , and a strong application built with career center feedback puts you in a better position to be one of the students who converts.