This guide walks you through the different ways you can log in or create an account, whether your school is partnered with Handshake or not.
Registering an Account with a School Connection
If your school is partnered with Handshake, you can log in using your school’s credentials or create your own Handshake credentials using your .edu email address.
1. Join Through the Invitation Email (for School Partners)
If your school partners with Handshake, you’ll receive an invitation email from your Career Services Center with a link to claim your account. Click the link to log in and complete your account setup.
If you didn’t receive the email or want to log in directly, go to the Handshake login page and enter your email address.
2. Select Your School
From the dropdown menu, select your school. Schools are listed alphabetically.
Note: Only the first 25 schools appear in the dropdown. If your school isn’t listed, search for it by name. If it still doesn’t show, your school may be in the process of integrating with Handshake. For more details, check out School Not Found on Handshake.
3. Log In/Create Handshake Credentials
Once your school is selected, you’ll receive the following options:
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School’s Single Sign-On (SSO): Log in with your school credentials.
- Tip: If you don’t remember your school login details, try using the same username and password you use for other school systems, like your student portal.
- .edu Email Address: Set a unique password for Handshake.
If your school hasn’t created an account for you yet, you’ll be prompted to set up and verify your own. To begin, select “I'm a Student or Alumni” to start the account creation process.
If you're not receiving the confirmation email, refer to Troubleshooting Missing Confirmation Email.
To learn more about verifying your phone number, refer to Phone Number Verification for Students on Handshake.
After your account is verified, you’ll be guided through an onboarding experience. For more information learn more about this, check out The Student Onboarding Experience.
Important: If you created your own account to connect with a school, you'll either be automatically approved based on your email domain, or need to wait for a manual approval by your Career Services center. If you have any questions about your pending connection, you'll need to reach out to your school's Career Center.
Registering without a School Affiliation
If your school isn’t partnered with Handshake, you can still create an account and use Handshake’s features.
1. Create an Account Without School Affiliation
Go to go to the Handshake login page and enter your email, then click the "Continue without a school" link to proceed with the registration process.
Note: If you choose this option, you will not have access to all the features available to students affiliated with a school, such as school-specific job postings and events.
2. Choose Your Login Method
You can sign up using one of the following methods:
- Continue with Email: Create a password to log in with your email.
- Sign in with Google or Apple: Skip the email/password setup by logging in with your Google or Apple account. Click the Sign in with Google or Sign in with Apple button on the registration page, follow the prompts, and your account will be automatically created.
By continuing, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and you'll start getting emails from us. Unsubscribe any time.
3. Add your information
Once you’ve selected your login method, fill in your personal details to complete the account creation:
- First name
- Last name
- Email address
- Password
- Re-enter Password
Note: Password must be between 8 and 50 characters and contain at least 2 of the following categories: letters, numbers, and special characters.
Click the Create Account button to proceed.
4. Verify Your Email
Check your inbox for a confirmation email. Click the "Confirm Email" link to verify your address. If you're not receiving the confirmation email, refer to Troubleshooting Missing Confirmation Email.
5. Verify Your Phone Number
To keep our community safe, Handshake requires phone verification. For more details on this process, refer to Phone Number Verification for Students on Handshake.
6. Choose your profile visibility
Select your preferred visibility setting to determine how your profile appears on Handshake. For more information on each of the options, refer to Profile Privacy Options in Handshake.
How to Log In After Creating Your Account
Once your account is set up, you can log in using one of the following methods:
-
If you registered with your school: You can log in using your your school’s Single Sign-On (SSO), your Handshake credentials, or your Apple/Google login.
- Note: Your school's SSO is different from Handshake credentials. If you've been logging in via SSO or no longer have access to it, you can create a Handshake-specific password. For instructions, refer to How to Set Up Handshake Login Credentials (if you're unable to use Single Sign On)
- If you registered without your school: You can log in using your Handshake credentials or Apple/Google login.
To use Apple or Google login, the email associated with that account must match the email on your Handshake profile.
If you’ve created a password and need to reset it, click Forgot your password? on the login page and follow the prompts. For more details, refer to Reset the Password for a Student Account in Handshake.
Logging in with Apple or Google FAQ's
- Social login methods (Apple and Google) both require an email address to connect or authenticate to an existing account. Apple must share your email unless it’s already been linked. Google always shares your email by default.
- If your Apple ID is tied to an outdated or inaccessible email address, you may not be able to complete sign-up or log in. You'll need to use a current, accessible email.
- If Apple does not resend name or email data—both required to complete sign-up—the process may fail.
- Handshake requires users to share their email when signing up with Apple. The “Hide My Email” option is not supported, as we need the email to create and link your account.
- You can remove Sign in with Apple from your Handshake account by going to your Apple ID settings, selecting Sign in with Apple, finding Handshake, and choosing to stop using your Apple ID with the app. This must be done through your Apple ID settings, as disconnection is not currently managed within Handshake. For step-by-step instructions, check out Apple's Support page.
- To manage your Google account connection, you can refer to Google's Support article.