How Can I Get Approved By Institutions?

When signing up for Handshake, you will need to be approved at each institution you'd like to recruit from.

Each institution partnered with Handshake is independently responsible for approving and declining employer requests to connect, and institutions have different deciding factors when selecting which employers to connect with.

Employers that provide current and accurate company information are more likely to be approved. 

• Register your Handshake account with your corporate email (if available)
  • Employers using generic email addresses should refer to Registering for an Employer Account
• Complete your company profile thoroughly to help establish transparency between your company and institutions.
  • Learn How to Edit Your Company Profile Settings

After completing your company profile, you'll be able to discover new institutions to connect with and easily manage your connections. For additional details, refer to Institution Network Management.

As soon as you request to connect with institutions on Handshake, your request is automatically sent to each Career Centre. It typically takes 1–5 business days for an institution to approve an employer's request. However, the approval time depends solely on the institution's process.

Your request will remain in a Pending status until the institution determines to approve or decline. Learn more About "Pending" Status at an Institution and How to Check This Status.

If you have any specific questions about a institution's decision, reach out to their Career Services team.

Note: your Handshake connection status with an institution can only be changed by the Career Centre at that institution.

To contact the Career Centre, search for and click on the name of the institution in the search bar, located at the top of the page. 

Their contact information will be located on the left side of their profile page.