Create an Employer User Account, Join a Company, and Connect with Schools

Are you ready to join Handshake and streamline your hiring process? Review our best practices, then follow the steps below to create your account and get started. 

Sign up 

1. Visit https://app.joinhandshake.com/employer_registrations/new and enter the following information: 

• First name 
• Last name
• Work email 
  • If you enter a personal email, a yellow banner will display 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" displays in a yellow banner. 
  • If you don’t have a work email, you can proceed with your personal email.
• Password (create new password) 
  • Passwords on Handshake must:
    • Contain eight characters, or more
    • Contain characters from two of the following three character classes:
      • Alphabetic (e.g., a-z, A-Z)
      • Numeric (i.e. 0–9)
      • Punctuation and other characters (e.g.,!@#$%^&*()_+|~-=\`{}[]:";'<>?,./)
  • Note: Passwords are not encrypted.

2. Review Handshake’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, then check the box to agree.

• To receive marketing messages, including promotions and special offers from Handshake, check the additional box.

3. When finished, click the black button Create account in the lower-right corner. 

4. Verify your email address on Handshake by clicking the link in the email we sent you.

Note: Email verification links remain active for 12 hours after they are sent.

If you don't receive a confirmation email, check out Troubleshooting a Missing Confirmation Email. 

5. Complete your profile by providing the following information:

• User profile photo (optional)
• Location (select a country)
• Types of candidates you're 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)
    • According to Handshake, a third-party recruiter is:
      • An employer who is hiring or posting jobs for a company other than the one they work for.
      • An employer who is hiring or posting jobs, but another company provides the pay/salary.
      • An employer who is hiring or posting jobs for both the company they work for and another company.
        • If yes, job postings created by third parties must represent a single company. The job description must clearly state the company's name and indicate that you are a third-party firm recruiting on its behalf. Additionally, you may not disclose any student information to another party without the student's written consent.
        • Review our Third Party Recruiting Policies, then check the box to agree. 

6. When finished, click the black button Continue in the lower-right corner. 

• If you can't complete registration, click your name in the upper right corner and select Log out. While your information will not be saved, you will return to the same page when you log back in.

Connect with your company

Upon completing your profile, you will be prompted to create or join your company profile on Handshake.

Company is listed 

• If your email domain is recognized and your company already has a profile, click the button Request to join. 
  • If your company is listed and you belong to a division, request to join. Once connected, contact the profile owner to add your division.
    If your company is listed but you need to create a profile for a different location (franchise), click the button Choose Another Company. If the option is not available, submit a ticket to our Support team. 
• If the incorrect company appears, click the button Choose Another Company to search for your company. 

Once you request to join your company profile, the profile owner will review and approve your request. Handshake will notify you via email once your request is approved.

Note: If the company profile owner has enabled auto-approval, you may gain immediate access to your account. 

Company is not listed 

• If your company email domain isn’t recognized or you’re using a generic email (e.g., Gmail), enter your company name in the search bar.
  • As you type, a dropdown may display company profiles associated with your email domain.
    •  If your company appears, select it and click the black button Request to join. 
  • If your company is not listed, enter its name in the search bar, click '+ Create a new company [COMPANY NAME], then click the black button Create company. Learn more about How to Create a New Company Profile. 

Validate your account 

If you've created a new company profile, your account will be manually reviewed and validated by our Trust and Safety team.

After your account has been validated, you will receive an email notification. You will then be able to access your account. Learn more about our Employer Validation.

Connect with schools

After your employer's account has been validated, or you have connected with your existing company profile, you can begin to connect with schools by posting jobs to any school in Handshake. Learn How to Post a Job.

If you do not have a job to post and instead want to post an event to a particular school, contact the school directly and ask to be proactively approved. To locate a school's contact information in Handshake, refer to How to Contact a School.

Additional resources

• Requested to join the wrong company? Refer to Canceling a Request to Join the Wrong Company.
• If you've automatically connected to the wrong company, refer to Leaving a Company in Handshake.
• If you've created a new company profile, check out Employer Owners & Admin Tools.
• Explore your Employer Account User Settings.
• Learn How to Post a Job.
• Learn more about Registering for a Fair (Employers).
• Ready to host your first event? Check out How to Request an Event.