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Messaging Applicants

Jennifer
  • Updated

You can contact your applicants directly in Handshake or via external email to share job opportunities, provide information about your organization, or promote events such as career fairs.

Your ability to message applicants depends on your employer account type, whether you created the job, and how long the job has been closed.

  • Basic employers: Owners and Recruiters can message applicants only for jobs they have personally created. Jobs posted by other teammates will appear on your list, but are view-only. 

    • After a job you personally created closes, you can continue messaging applicants for 30 days. Messaging beyond this period requires an eligible paid plan.

    • To message applicants for jobs you did not create, you must upgrade to an eligible paid plan.

  • On-campus employers, Plus, Pro, Essentials and Enterprise (formerly TES) customers: All users, except Representatives, can access and message applicants for both their own jobs and those posted by teammates indefinitely, provided they have the appropriate permissions.

 

 

Topics:

 

 

Access job or interview 

Click Jobs or Interviews from the left navigation bar, select the job or interview where you want to message applicants, then click the Applicants tab.

 

 

Filter applicants 

You can use filters to narrow your list of applicants based on criteria such as application status, education, and engagement. 

The filters available vary based on both the type of page you’re viewing (job or on-campus interview) and your Handshake account type.

Jobs

All employers 

  • Application status
    • Applied
    • Interviewing
    • Rejected
    • Hired
  • Matching qualifications
    • Latest graduation date
    • Minimum GPA
    • Majors
    • Work authorization
      • Note: When applied, candidates who meet your criteria or choose not to disclose their status will appear.
  • Application date range
  • Engagement
    • Employer invited candidate to apply
  • Education
    • Skills
    • Majors
    • Schools
  • Profile Attributes
    • Labels
    • Not labels 

 

*Plus employers

In addition to the filters above:

  • Sourced by 
  • Screening questions

 

*Essentials and Enterprise

  • Screening questions (Enterprise only)
  • Candidate applied through

 

 

On-campus interviews

Filters for on-campus interviews differ slightly and do not vary by account type. 

Available filters include:

  • Scheduling
  • Status
  • Label / Not Labels
  • Employer Division
  • Job Applied For
  • Job Type / Employment Type
  • Skills
  • Majors / Individual Majors

 

 

Message applicants in Handshake 

Jobs 

1. From the Applicants tab, select the checkbox next to each applicant you want to message.

  • To select all applicants, check the box in the upper-left corner of the table header.

2. Click the More dropdown, then select Message.

Message.png

3. In the message window, compose your message. Use the formatting toolbar to add links, format text, or insert a saved template.

 

4. When you're ready, click Send in the lower-right corner of the window.

Message box.png

 

 

On-campus interview 

1. From the Applicants tab, check the box next to each applicant you want to message.

 

2. Click the hyperlinked text Message Applicants above the applicant table.

 

3. Compose your message in the message window. 

  • Use the formatting toolbar at the top to add links and format text.
  • To insert a saved message, click Insert Template. To save your message for future use, click Save to Template.

 

4. When you're ready, click the button Send in the lower-left corner.

 

Message applicanta.png

 

5. In the pop-up modal, review your message, then click Confirm to send.

For details on the student experience, refer to Receiving Employer Messages in Handshake.

 

Confirmation modal.png

 

 

 

Message applicants outside of Handshake

To email applicants outside of Handshake, export their data as a CSV file.

Jobs

1. Check the box next to each applicant you want to export.

Tip: To export all applicants, skip this step. Handshake will include all applicants by default.

 

2. Click the More dropdown above the applicant table, then select Applicant data (CSV) from the dropdown. 

Download applicant data csv.png

 

 

On-Campus Interviews

1. Check the box next to each applicant you want to export.

Tip: To export all applicants, skip this step. Handshake will include all applicants by default.

2. Click the Export CSV button above the applicant table.

Export CSV.png

 

3. A pop-up will appear indicating the download is building. This may take longer for larger applicant pools.

  • You will also receive the CSV file via email. You can close the window if you prefer not to wait.

download building.png

 

4. Once ready, click the hyperlinked text Your download is ready. Click here to retrieve the file to access the CSV.

Tip: Use Chrome or Firefox for the best experience. If you're having trouble downloading, clear your cache, close all Handshake tabs, and try again in a new browser window.

your download is ready.png

The exported CSV file includes the following fields:

  • Application ID
  • Application Date
  • Application Status
  • Student ID
  • First Name / Last Name
  • Email
  • Fully Qualified? (TRUE/FALSE)
  • School Year
  • School / Primary College
  • Graduation Date
  • Majors
  • Applied To ID / Type / Name
  • Job Applied For
  • Employer ID / Name / Division
  • Document IDs

Use the email addresses provided to message applicants outside of Handshake as needed.