Handshake’s Sponsored Content feature allows you to boost your content visibility by targeting specific student audiences.
This article provides an overview of key details, the sponsorship process, and available targeting options.
Sponsored Content is available exclusively to Premium partners with the paid Brand Bundle package. For more information, please check out this resource.
What is sponsored content?
Sponsored content appears in a dedicated “promoted slot” in the student feed. These slots give your posts priority visibility and can be targeted to specific groups based on defined criteria. Promoted posts are prioritized by audience match and engagement, helping you reach the most relevant students.
Key details
- Employers can sponsor content posted on behalf of their company or on behalf of individual employees.
Sponsored content appears in exclusive promoted slots. Each post can be customized with multiple targeting filters.
You can sponsor videos, images, text, or links.
You may have access to 1 or 3 sponsored posts at a time, depending on your purchased package.
Sponsored posts should stay live for at least 2 weeks. Content can be rotated on a biweekly basis.
Changes to content will be implemented within 2 business days after your request is submitted.
After the promotion ends, you can choose to remove the post from the feed or keep it as organic content.
There’s no limit on the number of organic (non-sponsored) posts you can upload.
Sponsoring content
Log in to Handshake, navigate to the Feed, and create your content as usual.
Every other Monday, you’ll get an automated email asking which posts you'd like to sponsor and for what audience.
Reply to the email with your selected posts and targeting criteria by Wednesday of the same week.
Handshake will update the content within 2 business days of your submission and will send a confirmation email once the update is complete.
Targeting criteria
You can tailor your sponsored content to specific audiences using the following seven criteria:
1. Major Group
Examples include:
Computer Science
Business & HR
Engineering
Arts & Design
Health Professions
2. School Year
Includes:
Freshman through Postdoctoral
Certificate and Accelerated Master’s programs
Alumni
3. School
Use the School Lists feature in Handshake:
Create a list of schools to target.
- Use unique lists for each sponsored post, if necessary.
Learn more about Creating and Managing School Lists.
4. Location
You can target by:
Current location (typically the physical location of the student’s school.)
Location preference (desired future locations from their profiles)
Note: Targeting includes candidates within a 50-mile radius of the selected city.
5. Demographics
Examples:
Black or African American
Hispanic or Latine
Asian or Pacific Islander
LGBTQIA+
Women/female-identifying
Veterans
Indigenous or Native American
6. Industry Interests
Examples:
Technology
Education
Financial Services
Healthcare
Arts & Entertainment
7. Job Role Interests
Target based on student interests in specific job roles.
🔗 For a comprehensive list of job roles, refer to the file “Job Role Groups in Handshake 2.2.21.xlsx” in the Help Center article About Job Roles and Job Role Groups (Employers).
Tips for success
Video performs best. Use it whenever possible.
Keep posts live for at least 2 weeks for maximum visibility.
- Reply to the biweekly sponsorship email by Wednesday to guarantee timely updates.