A student may create a Handshake account independently using a personal email address when an institution-connected account already exists. During supported account-creation and affiliation flows, Handshake can prevent or automatically merge some duplicate accounts.
If duplicate accounts remain after the student completes sign-up, determine whether one account can be deleted or whether a Support-assisted merge is needed.
For information about account connections, review Understanding the Job Seeker Experience: Connected vs. Not Connected.
How does Handshake prevent or merge duplicate accounts?
What happens during sign-up depends on how the student’s personal email address is associated with the institution-created account:
- If the personal email is already a confirmed additional email address or is used as the account’s institution email, the student is signed in to the existing institution-created account instead of creating another account.
- If the personal email is an unconfirmed additional email address, Handshake displays a claim-account screen after the student submits their sign-up information and before they access Handshake. The student is prompted to verify their institution email address, after which the accounts merge automatically.
- If the institution has not imported the personal email address, the accounts can merge when the student affiliates with the institution and verifies their institution email address.
Automatic merging is only available during account creation. After a student completes sign-up and accesses Handshake, existing duplicate accounts cannot merge automatically.
After an automatic merge:
- The existing institution-created account is retained.
- The account created with the student’s personal email address is merged into the institution-created account and removed.
- The personal email address is added to the retained account as a confirmed email address.
- Sign-in information associated with the personal account, including linked social sign-in methods, is transferred to the retained account.
- Existing information on the institution-created account, such as the student’s name, is not overwritten.
How do I prevent duplicate accounts?
Import additional email addresses
If your institution has a student’s personal, alumni, alternate institution, or alias email address, include it in the additional_email_addresses field through the Importer.
Importing known email addresses helps Handshake connect students with their institution-created accounts and reduce duplicate account creation.
For additional details, review Additional Email Addresses for Students.
Update email addresses for graduating students
If graduating students will lose access to their institution email addresses, update their accounts with a personal or alumni email address. Follow the guidance in Importer: Updating Graduating Students to Alumni.
Students can also add and confirm a personal email address from their account settings. For instructions, refer to Update Your Primary Email Address in Handshake.
How do I resolve accounts that do not merge automatically?
Before requesting a Support-assisted merge, determine whether one of the duplicate accounts can be deleted.
Delete a duplicate account
An account may be eligible for deletion if it does not contain historical data.
- If a pending account has no associated data, you can delete it when the student already has an active account connected to your institution. Let the student know which account they should use.
- If the account created with a personal email has not been used to apply for jobs, the student can contact Handshake Support to request deletion. After deletion, the student can add the personal email address to their institution-connected account.
- If the institution-email account does not have associated data, you can delete it, approve the pending connection request for the personal-email account, and update the username and authentication identifier as needed.
For instructions, review How to Delete a Student Account.
If an account contains historical data, such as appointments, applications, experiences, or First Destination Survey responses, Handshake may prevent its deletion. A message identifies the associated data when deletion is unavailable.
How do I request a Support-assisted merge?
If the duplicate account cannot be deleted, contact Handshake Support to determine whether the accounts qualify for a manual merge.
A Support-assisted merge removes an unconnected duplicate account and transfers eligible information to an existing institution-connected account. It is not a complete merge, and not all information is transferred.
Requirements for the unconnected account
The account must:
- Be pending or rejected for connection to your institution.
- Have accepted Handshake’s Terms of Service.
- Have a confirmed email address or authorized single sign-on.
- Not be blocked or disabled.
- Have job application data associated with it.
Requirements for the institution-connected account
The account must:
- Have accepted Handshake’s Terms of Service.
- Not be blocked or disabled.
- Contain data from at least one of the following areas:
- Career fair or event attendance
- Appointments
- Experiences
- Job applications
- First Destination Surveys
Information transferred during a Support-assisted merge
A successful merge may transfer the following information from the unconnected account:
- Email address
- Job applications
- Documents
- Profile photo
- Custom profile link
After the merge is completed, the unconnected duplicate account is removed.
How do I troubleshoot email address errors?
Why does it say the email address is already associated with another account?
If the message “This email address is already connected to an existing user in Handshake” appears, the email address is already associated with another account.
If you cannot locate the account, contact Support to determine whether it is connected to another institution.
- If the account is not connected to another institution, refer to Processing Student and Alumni Connection Requests.
- If the account is connected to another institution, review Managing Students Already in Handshake but Not Connected to Your Institution.
An email address that is already associated with another Handshake account, including an employer or Career Services account, cannot be added to a student account.
What if the student cannot access their institution email address?
A Career Services user can initiate an institution email change from the student’s account. The student must confirm the change using the verification code sent to the new email address within 48 hours.
For more information, refer to Career Services User Settings: Email Change Request Process.
The email address changes after the student enters the verification code and completes the confirmation process.