To meet our verification criteria and build trust with students and education partners, Handshake requires a complete and detailed user and employer profile.
A fully completed profile not only speeds up the verification process but also increases the likelihood that your selected schools will approve your company. It also helps differentiate your organization from others and makes it easier to attract top talent.
If you have not yet created an account, refer to How to Create an Employer Account on Handshake.
Follow the guidelines below to expedite the verification process and ensure a positive Handshake experience.
Signing up
All employers must provide specific user and company information to join Handshake.
Handshake requires that employer users register their account with their company email address if they have one.
Example: If your website domain is abccompany.com, your email should end in the same domain, such as johndoe@abccompany.com. This will accelerate the validation process and ensure a successful experience on Handshake.
Employers that do not have an email address matching their web domain are strongly advised to register with an email address that ends in the web domain their company actively uses.
The following tips can help accelerate the verification process:
- If you are an independent or small business without a business email, include the email used to register your Handshake account on your website or social webpage, such as a Facebook Business page.
- For employers without an email address that matches their website domain, add either the email used to sign up for Handshake or an email ending with the same domain as your company's website to your company website.
- Example: If your web domain is abccompany.com and your email is johndoe@abccompany.us, and your company uses info@abccompany.us for external inquiries, place your email or info@abccompany.us on the company website to help facilitate the verification process.
- Tip: If you are unable to include the email address on your company website but have social media business pages (such as LinkedIn, Instagram, or a Facebook Business page) linked on your company website, consider including the email on any of those pages.
If you are unable to sign up with a company-issued email, or your company uses a generic email domain, visit Registering for an Employer Account with a Generic Email Address
If you will be using Handshake to post personal-type jobs, visit Posting Personal, Babysitter, Household, or Caretaker Jobs.
To ensure the authenticity of employer accounts, those who register with an email address that differs from their company's web domain may be asked to provide additional documentation for verification purposes. This documentation may include, but is not limited to, one or more of the following:
- Proof of personal identity (such as a driver's license or passport)
- Proof of affiliation with the company (such as a business license)
- Evidence of the company on public platforms (such as OpenCorporates)
Profile (details)
Handshake requires that all employer users complete the following fields during account registration:
- First name
- Last name
- Job title
- Types of candidates you are looking for
- Phone number
Company (details)
Handshake requires that all employer users complete the following fields when creating a new company profile:
- Company name
- Industry
- Website
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Description
- Talk about who your company is and what it does. Example: "The ABC Law Firm is a personal injury and workers' compensation firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. We represent victims of truck accidents, car accidents, slips and falls, workplace injuries and more."
- Note: Handshake cannot accept incomplete company descriptions, such as "law firm" or "beauty parlor."
-
Address
- Note: Enter a full address or city, state, and country.
- Company size
For guided steps on creating a new company profile, visit How to Create a New Company Profile.
All employers creating a new company profile must also complete verification, which includes providing their business registration number and a photo of their government-issued ID. Read more about our Employer Validation.
Website
Handshake requires that employer users register with a valid website. A valid website is an official company website that is functional, complete, and accurately represents the company.
Handshake also accepts the following web pages:
- Yelp
- Etsy
- Depop
- Youtube (bands, musicians, podcast)
- Indeed
Employers who wish to post personal jobs on Handshake may use the following web pages:
- Facebook (personal page)
- Linkedin (personal page)
For additional information, refer to Posting Personal, Babysitter, Household, or Caretaker Jobs.
User profile
A well-curated user profile is accurate, precise, and includes your contact information. Add your alma mater, professional experience, and achievements to enhance your credibility.
Profile (sections)
You can edit the following sections of your Handshake profile to reflect your professional experience:
- Summary
- Skills
- Work experience
- Education
- Courses
- Organizations
- Projects
- Languages
To learn more about updating your profile, refer to Employer Account: Update My Profile.
Brand page
Leverage your brand page to share your company's story and highlight what makes your brand unique.
Company (sections)
You can edit the following sections of your Handshake brand page:
- Logo
-
Banner
- Create a logo or banner for free with Canva.com if you don't already have one.
-
Details
- Company name (requires support ticket)
- Industry
- Location
- Company size
- Contact email
- Website URL
- About
- Subpages (only available to Essentials and Enterprise customers with an Advanced Brand Page)
- Work life
- Testimonials
- People
- Gallery (only available to Essentials and Enterprise customers with an Advanced Brand Page)
Learn more about Customizing your Brand Page.