When signing up for Handshake, you will have the opportunity to select which schools you'd like to connect with. We recommend selecting 10-20 schools to begin with, as you can always go back and add more by following the steps here: How do I add a school on Handshake?
Schools will see your request to connect with them and either approve or decline your request. Your request will stay in Pending until they determine to approve or decline. You might also see an In Progress status, which means the school is in the process of determining whether to approve or decline.
If you have any specific questions in regards to a school's decision, you will need to reach out to the Career Services Center at that University to inquire. This is because each school is independently responsible for approving, declining, and giving roles to their employers, and every school has different deciding factors when selecting which employers to connect with.
You can get the contact information of any University by searching for and clicking on the name of the College in the topmost blue search bar. The information will be located on the left side of their profile page.
We find that the more information that an employer provides when they first register and create their company, the more success they will have in getting approvals.
Here's some tips we recommend to help increase your chances of getting approved by schools on Handshake:
- Register for your Handshake account using a work-related email with a matching domain. (Read this article on what to do if you only have a generic email domain)
- Make sure your website is functioning and matches the company you'll be recruiting for
- If you're creating a new company, enter in as much information as possible, which helps establish transparency between your company and schools. (Click here to find out how to create a company on Handshake)
- Request to connect with 10-20 schools when initially signing up. If you select too many at once before establishing a presence on Handshake, you may damage your Trust Score. (Learn more here on how to increase your Trust Score)