How to Send a Student a Message

Please Read First:

• New employers with a Trust Score of N/A or lower than 80 will not be able to message students. This is to ensure that students are contacted by established employers via Handshake. You can read more about this here: Why Can't I Message Students?
  • Note: we enable employers with a Trust Score of N/A or lower than 80 to message students that have applied to a posted position - for more information, see Messaging Applicants.
• Companies can contact up to 100 students per recruiting season. Recruiting seasons happen twice a year: the first is from January 1st - June 30th and then second season is from July 1st - December 31st. 

To message a student

1. Click on Search Students in the left navigation bar and use the filters on the left of the page to narrow down your search results as desired. Learn more about how to best utilize the Search Students in About Using Search Students Feature.

2. Click on the small conversation bubble icon next to the student's name you'd like to message.

3. This will immediately bring up a popup message box for you to craft your message.

• We recommend adding a subject line as well as text in the body of your message. 
• Pro-tip: add your signature in the body of the message 

4. Once your message has been crafted, click on Send, in the lower-right corner of the message popup box.  

More ways to message students

You can also message a student in Handshake directly from their profile. Here's how:

1. Click directly on the student's name from the search results. This will take you directly to the student's profile.

2. From here, click on Send a Message under the Actions section towards the right of their profile page.

3. The same message screen from above will appear. 

• We recommend adding a subject line as well as text in the body of your message. 
• Pro-tip: add your signature in the body of the message 

4. Once your message has been crafted, click on Send, in the lower-right corner of the message popup box.    

Viewing and responding to messages

1. To view your sent messages click the Messages (conversation bubble) icon located in the top search bar, in the upper-right of the screen.

2. This will load your inbox. From here, you may click on a message to read and respond to the student. 

3. To view Sent, Favorited, or Archived messages, click on Inbox and click the desired choice from the drop down menu. 

Best practices when messaging students

• {Company name} - Job Opening in {location}
• {Company name} - Full Time Opportunities
• {Company name} - Full Time ______ - Still Hiring!
• {Job Opening Title} Still Hiring

For additional best practices, see Messaging Best Practices.