Employers can engage with students by registering for career fairs on Handshake, whether in person or virtual. Participating in career fairs strengthens your talent pipeline and enhances your visibility with students across campuses.
Note: Only schools can create and host career fairs on Handshake; employers cannot host fairs.
Create a new fair registration
You must be logged in to your Handshake employer account to register for a fair.
You can create a new registration in one of two ways:
- From an invitation email: If a school invited you to register, log in to your Handshake account and click the Register link in the email to go directly to the form.
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From Handshake:
- Click Fairs from the left navigation bar.
- Find the fair you want to attend.
- Need help finding fairs? Learn more in How to Search for a Career Fair.
Click the name of the fair to open the fair’s page.
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Click the black Register button in the upper-right corner.
If you do not see the option to register or encounter any issues, refer to Resolving issues Registering for a Career Fair.
You will be directed to the New Registration page to complete your registration form.
Registration form
At the top of the form page, a message from the school hosting the fair may appear. This message may include reminders, instructions, or deadlines specific to the event.
Registration date and format
The fair date, time, and format appear at the top of this section.
Example: Tuesday, Feb 24, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm PST (In person)
Registration type
Select one registration type.
Each option is defined by the school and may include booth size, number of representatives allowed, and price.
Some registration types include an option to not attend this part of the fair. This is common for multi-day fairs when you are only attending certain dates.
Representatives
This section appears only if you are attending this part of the fair.
- If you select We will not attend this part of the fair in the registration type options, the Representatives section will not appear.
Total representatives count for session
Enter the total number of representatives who will attend this session of the fair.
Names of representatives attending this session
Select the team members who will attend from your contacts list.
If the contact you’re looking for isn’t listed, click Create it here to add a new contact. Learn How to Create an External Contact.
Add-on items for this date and time
Some fairs offer optional add-ons that apply to a specific date and time.
For each available add-on, the following details are listed:
- Description
- Price
- Quantity available
Enter the quantity you want to request. Availability is limited and managed by the school.
General add-on items
General add-ons apply to your entire fair registration rather than a specific session.
If available, enter the quantity you want for each item.
Basic information
Employer description
This field is pre-filled with your company description.
Character limits may vary by school. The remaining character count appears below the field.
Edit this description to match the fair’s requirements or fit within character limits if needed.
Tip: If you reach the character limit, remove extra spacing or shorten the description by focusing on your mission, the roles you’re hiring for, and what makes your company unique.
Schedule owner
This field is automatically filled with the name of the person completing the registration form.
If someone else should manage this registration, select a different schedule owner from the dropdown.
Which division of the organization are you registering?
Note: Divisions are supported for in-person fairs only.
Use the dropdown to select a division if you are registering a specific part of your organization or leave this field blank to register your entire company.
To register multiple divisions, submit a separate registration for each division. Learn How to Register Multiple Divisions for a Career Fair.
If the division you need isn’t listed, click the here link in the form to create a new division.
Open roles
Are there role(s) you want to fill posted on Handshake?
Select one option. The fields that appear below will change based on your selection.
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Yes
- A Jobs on Handshake dropdown appears. Use it to select the open jobs you want to promote at the fair. If no jobs are available to select, make sure the role is active and posted on Handshake.
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No
- A Job Titles field appears. Enter the titles of the roles you’re hiring for.
- I’m not hiring for a specific role right now
Jobs are only visible to students if they are posted at the school hosting the fair.
Work authorization and eligibility
Answer each question by selecting Yes or No based on your hiring requirements:
- Would you sponsor a work visa for the right candidate?
- Are you willing to hire candidates that are temporarily authorized to work for a defined period in their field of study? (e.g. for a job / internship under OPT/CPT)
Your responses help schools and students understand eligibility.
Looking for
Select all options that apply.
Employment types
Examples include:
- Full-time
- Part-time
Job types
Examples include:
- Job
- Internship
- On-campus student employment
- Cooperative education
- Experiential learning
- Volunteer
- Fellowship
- Graduate school
School years
Select the student levels you want to recruit, such as:
- Freshman
- Sophomore
- Junior
- Senior
- Graduate students
- Alumni
Major groups
If you want to target specific majors, click the green Select Major Groups button and choose from the available options.
Payment
Payment method
If required by the school, select a payment method (manual invoice or credit card, depending on the school)
Billing address
Enter the billing address associated with this registration.
Refund policy
If the school does not allow refunds, you must confirm that you have read and agree to the refund policy before submitting your registration.
Extra questions
Some schools include additional questions as part of fair registration.These questions are created by the host school and vary by fair.
Answer each question using the available options. Question types and formats are determined by the school and may include Yes or No selections or multiple-choice options.
If the school has provided special instructions for these questions, they appear at the top of the section.
For help or clarification about any extra questions, contact the career fair point of contact listed by the school.
Submit registration
When all required fields are complete:
- Review your information.
- Click the blue Create Registration button in the lower-right corner.
After you submit your registration, the host school will review it.
Once your registration is approved:
- Your registration status updates.
- You can submit payment, if payment is required by the school.
Learn more in Understanding Career Fair Registration Approval.
If you need to cancel your registration, refer to Canceling a Career Fair Registration.
After submitting a virtual fair registration
If you registered for a virtual fair, a pop-up modal appears with the message “Almost done! Schedule setup needed.”
The modal explains the next steps:
- Wait for school approval. You’ll be notified by email once the school reviews your registration.
- Set up a schedule. A link in the modal directs you to instructions for creating schedules.
Your registration is not considered complete until you have set up at least one schedule.
To continue:
- Review the information in the modal.
- Click I understand in the lower-right corner of the pop-up.
Career fair notifications
Employers receive notifications related to their fair participation, including:
- Comments on a registration
- Registration approvals
- Career fair reminders before the event
- Candidate cancellations for 1-on-1 sessions (virtual fairs)
- Reminder that 1-on-1 qualifications will be turned off before a virtual fair
- Reminders to create a schedule before student registration opens (virtual fairs)
To receive these notifications, your notification preferences must be enabled in your account settings. For instructions, visit Default Notification Preferences (Employers).