Planning an event, fair, or special campaign requires a targeted approach to maximise reach and engagement.
Whether you're promoting a career fair, an industry event, or a community initiative, crafting a well-structured campaign can help you attract the right audience and achieve your goals.
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Access campaigns
Click Campaigns from the left navigation bar in Handshake, then click the black button Create campaign in the upper-right corner of the page.
Create a campaign
Select a campaign type to proceed.
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Job: Promote jobs posted in Handshake, your applicant tracking system, or CRM.
- To create a job campaign, refer to Campaigns: Create a job Campaign.
- Event: Invite candidates to RSVP to events such as info session, tech talks, and conferences.
- Career fair: Invite candidates to sign up to your in-person or virtual fair.
- Other: Promote your brand without tagging a job, career fair, or event.
Expand the relevant header below to learn how to choose your campaign type and customise its details.
Event
Select event (select one)
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Posted on Handshake
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Event
- Select the event from the displayed list or search for it directly in the dropdown.
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Event
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Campaign name
- Enter the name of the campaign in the text box.
- Note: Candidates will not be shown the name of the campaign.
- Enter the name of the campaign in the text box.
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Posted externally
- Best practice: Events posted on Handshake get higher campaign engagement and more attendees. Post event on Handshake instead.
- Enter the following information:
- Event title
- External URL
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Location
- Check the box if This event is virtual (no location).
- Start date
- Start time
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Campaign name
- Note: Candidates will not be shown the name of the campaign.
Career fair
Select career fair (select one)
- In person
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Virtual
- Select the career fair from the displayed list or search for it directly in the dropdown.
- Note: Only the career fairs you are registered for will appear on the list.
- Campaign name
- Enter the name of the campaign in the text box.
- Note: Candidates will not be shown the name of the campaign.
Other
Note: If you select this option, you won't be able to tag a specific job, event, or fair hosted on Handshake.
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Campaign name
- Enter the name of the campaign in the text box.
- Note: Candidates will not be shown the name of the campaign.
- Enter the name of the campaign in the text box.
The next steps are to define an audience, write a message and follow-up, and schedule your campaign.
Define audience
Select an audience for your campaign. You can choose to:
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Create new segment
- Based on the job description, create a new segment using our recommended segment filters.
- Audiences are generated based on the requirements within the job description.
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Use existing segment
- Choose from a segment you've created before.
Create new segment
Select or remove selected filters to adjust your audience as desired.
Note: As filters are added or removed, the estimated audience on the sidebar refreshes its value.
You can adjust the following filters:
- Degree type
- Graduation year
- Course groups
- Courses
- Location
- Add up to 5 locations. Location includes candidates who live in or are interested in the location.
- Underrepresented groups
- Note: Campaigns can't be sent using only filters for underrepresented groups. Additional candidate filters will be needed.
Institutions
- Lists
- All institutions
- Institution type
Skills and interests
- Skill group
- Skills
Experience
- Achievements
- Extracurriculars and organisations
Segment name
After your audience is adjusted, enter a preferred name for this segment in the Segment name field.
Note: The segment name must be at least 5 characters long.
Customise maximum audience size
The current audience size (5,000) is optimised for maximum engagement. However, you can override this setting by specifying a different number.
To do so, enter your desired number in the Maximum audience size field.
Customise audience exclusions
We exclude candidates who have received a campaign from you in the past two days or have muted you.
To exclude specific audiences, customise the filters below as needed:
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Applied to a job
- In the last 1 month
- In the last 3 months
- In the last 6 months
- In the last 12 months
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Received a message
- In the last 1 month
- In the last 3 months
- In the last 6 months
- In the last 12 months
- From
- Any teammate
- You
- From
- Employer labels
Check the box for Not seeking job opportunities if you want to exclude these candidates from the campaign.
Once your settings are customised, click the black button Continue in the lower-right corner of the page.
Use an existing segment
To use an existing segment for your campaign, select Use existing segment at the top of the page.
From here, choose the segment from the Segment dropdown.
Customise maximum audience size
The current audience size (5,000) is optimised for maximum engagement. However, you can override this setting by specifying a different number.
To do so, enter your desired number in the Maximum audience size field.
Customise audience exclusions
We exclude candidates who have received a campaign from you in the past two days or have muted you.
To exclude specific audiences, customise the filters below as needed:
-
Applied to a job
- In the last 1 month
- In the last 3 months
- In the last 6 months
- In the last 12 months
-
Received a message
- In the last 1 month
- In the last 3 months
- In the last 6 months
- In the last 12 months
- From
- Any teammate
- You
- From
- Employer labels
Check the box for Not seeking job opportunities if you want to exclude these candidates from the campaign.
Once your settings are customised, click the black button Continue in the lower-right corner of the page.
Write message
Campaigns are delivered to candidates as emails and in-app messages, provided they have enabled notifications.
Subject line
This will be used in the email notification.
Message
Candidates get a lot of campaigns—the best ones are concise, personalised,
and feel like a conversation. Try to use bullet points and avoid jargon.
- Compose your message in the text box and format it as desired.
- To insert the job link in the message, click the grey-colored text Insert job apply link below the text box.
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To use a message template, click the blue-colored text Use template above
the text box.
- In the pop-up modal, select a template, then click the black button Use template.
- To save your message as a new template, click the blue-colored text Save as template.
Add follow-up message (optional)
Automatically follow up with candidates you sent the campaign to with a short message.
If you want to add a follow-up message, toggle the Add follow-up message button.
Select which students you want to send a follow-up message to from the Send follow-up to dropdown.
- Students who have not applied to this job
- Students who did not read the first message
- Students who received the first message
Check the box for Exclude students who replied to this campaign and/or Exclude original job posting attachment if you want to exclude these students or job attachment.
When you are ready to compose your follow-up message, complete the following fields:
- Follow-up subject line
- Follow-up message
Preview messages
To preview your campaign and/or follow-up message, click the white button Preview messages.
In the pop-up modal, review your message(s). Click the black button Campaign to view your campaign message, and click the white button Follow-up to view your follow-up message.
To exit the preview, click the X in upper-right corner of the modal.
When ready, click the black button Continue in the lower-right corner of the page.
Schedule delivery
To schedule your campaign delivery:
- Toggle the button next to Customise start time.
- You can set a specific start time for your campaign. If not customised, the campaign will begin sending shortly after activation.
The following campaign settings are available:
- Customise start time
- Follow-up message start time (section only displays if a follow-up message was added)
You can customise the campaign's send time, as well as the follow-up message based on:
Exact date
Click the calendar icon in the Date field and select the date. Then choose the desired time from from the dropdown in the Time field.
Note: If dynamic targeting is turned on, the campaign's send time must be sent on an exact date.
Based on event type (event, career fair, other)
Select the number of weeks or days in advance of the application deadline that the campaign should be sent from the Date dropdown.
Once your settings are customised, click the black button Continue in the lower-right corner of the page.
Review campaign
Review the campaign details.
- To edit the campaign, click the blue 'Edit' hyperlink to the right of the section that needs changes.
- To preview your message(s), click the grey button Preview.
- To launch the campaign, click the black button Launch campaign in the lower-right corner.
Now that you've created a campaign, discover how to Manage a Campaign.