This article explains how to create an employer user account, join or create your company profile, and complete the registration steps needed to access Handshake as an employer.
If you are signing up as an on-campus employer, refer to Signing Up as an On-Campus Employer in Handshake.
Before you begin
- Sign up with your company-issued email address whenever possible. This helps Handshake connect you with the correct company profile.
- If you cannot use a company-issued email, or your company uses a generic email domain, refer to Registering for an Employer Account with a Generic Email Address.
- If you want to post personal jobs, refer to Posting Personal, Babysitter, Household, or Caretaker Jobs.
Sign up
1. Go to https://app.joinhandshake.com/employer_registrations/new.
Note: If you get the error "You do not have permission to complete this action" when opening the registration page, you may already be signed in to a student or career services account. Sign out, then return to the registration page.
2. Enter the following information:
- First name
- Last name
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Work email
- If you enter a personal email address, a yellow banner appears with the message: "It looks like you're using a personal email (@gmail, @yahoo, @hotmail, etc). Please use your work email so we can connect you with your company."
- If you do not have a work email, you can continue with your personal email.
-
Password
- Passwords must contain at least eight characters and include at least two of the following:
- Alphabetic (e.g., a-z, A-Z)
- Numeric (i.e., 0–9)
- Punctuation and other characters
- Passwords must contain at least eight characters and include at least two of the following:
3. Review the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Note: There is no checkbox for agreement; your consent is implied when you click Create account.
4. Click the black Create account button in the lower-right corner.
If you encounter an error after clicking Create account, check the message for next steps:
- "Looks like that email already exists in our system, associated with an early talent account" -- if you want to create an employer account using the same student email address, refer to How to Create an Employer Account Linked to Your Student Account.
- "This email is already associated with a Handshake employer account. Log in instead" -- an employer account already exists for that email address. For steps on logging in, refer to Log in to Handshake as an Employer.
Verify your email address
1. Open the verification email sent to you.
2. Click the verification link.
Notes:
- Verification links stay active for 12 hours.
- If you entered your email address incorrectly, create a new account with the correct email address, then contact Support to delete the account associated with the incorrect address.
If you don't receive a confirmation email, check out Troubleshooting a Missing Confirmation Email.
Complete your profile
1. Enter the required profile information:
- User profile photo (optional)
- Types of candidates you are looking for
- Phone number
-
Education history (optional)
- School name
- Graduation year
- If your school is not listed, check the box for School not listed
- To add another school, click Add another school
-
Third-party recruiter status
- Are you a third-party recruiter working on behalf of another company?
- Select Yes or No
- If you select Yes, review our Third Party Recruiting Guidelines and check the box to agree.
- If you need to update your third-party recruiter status after onboarding, contact Support.
- Are you a third-party recruiter working on behalf of another company?
2. Click the Continue button in the lower-right corner to proceed.
Note: If you can't complete registration, click your name in the upper-right corner and select Log out. Your information will not be saved, but you will return to the same page when you log back in.
Join or create your company profile
After you complete your profile, Handshake prompts you to join an existing company profile or create a new one.
If your company is listed
1. Click the Request to join button.
2. If the wrong company appears, click the Choose Another Company button and search for the correct company.
3. If your company appears but you need a different location or franchise profile, click the Choose Another Company button to create a new company profile instead.
4. After you submit your request to join an existing company profile, the profile owner will review it and decide whether to approve it. Handshake will email you once your request has been approved.
Note: If auto-approval is enabled for the company profile, you may get access right away.
If your company is not listed
1. Enter your company name in the search bar.
2. As you type, Handshake may display company profiles associated with your email domain.
3. If your company appears, select it and click the Request to join button.
4. If your company does not appear, click + Create a new company [Company Name], then click the Create company button.
For more detailed guidance, refer to How to Create a New Company Profile.
Complete verification
If you create a new company profile, Handshake prompts you to complete verification powered by Persona.
Verification includes:
- Identity verification to confirm who you are
- Company verification to confirm your business details
Learn more about our Employer Validation.
Create your first job
If you create a new company profile, Handshake may prompt you to create your first job after you submit your verification information.
1. If you are ready to start a job draft, enter the job title and job description, then click the Continue button.
2. If you are not ready to start a draft, click the Skip button.
3. If you enter job details but are not ready to finish, click the Save as Draft button.
Note: Your job will not post, and you will not have access to the platform, until your verification and review are complete.
What happens next?
After your account is approved or you connect it to an existing company profile, you can sign in to Handshake to post jobs and request approval from schools.