Employer Work Authorization Workflows

We collect work authorization information directly from the student to increase transparency for employers and improve the application experience for students, so they are not spending time applying and interviewing for a job they cannot get.

Employers also reduce the amount of time they are spending interviewing and reviewing candidates they cannot hire, while gathering more information about applicants without requiring them to disclose their work authorization status.

Topics: 

• Student-facing work authorization options
• Employer-facing work authorization questions
• Job Posting Qualifications Display
  • Applicant selections match employer preferences
  • Applicant selections do not match employer preferences
  • Prefer not to answer these questions
• Job Posting Work Auth Qualification Matrix

Student-facing work authorization options

Students are required to provide a response to the options below by either answering both questions or opting out:

• Select Yes/No for both questions:
  • Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?
  • Will you now or in the future require visa sponsorship?
• Or select (checkbox) Prefer not to answer these questions

These questions are available in the student profile Settings, however, if they have not been answered, this prompt will appear the first time students apply for a job, or if they register for a virtual fair and haven't yet applied to a job in Handshake.

The answers to these questions will drive whether or not a student is fully qualified for a position. 

Note: If the student selects "Prefer not to answer these questions", they will show as FULLY QUALIFIED for the position and be able to view and sign up for virtual fair 1:1 sessions with work authorization requirements. 

Employer-facing work authorization questions

To help better surface opportunities to students, we require you to answer the following question appears in three different scenarios in Handshake:

• Does this job require U.S. work authorization? (Select Yes/No)
  • If you select Yes, you'll also be required to answer the following questions:  
    • Would you sponsor a work visa for the right candidate? (Select Yes/No)
    • Are you willing to hire candidates that are temporarily authorized to work for a defined period in their field of study (e.g. for an internship under OPT/CPT)? (Select Yes/No)

The three scenarios that include this work authorization question are: 

• When registering for an in-person or virtual fair
  • Impact to students: the fair registration response is an indicator only, not a blocker!
• When creating job postings, if you select a location in the United States
  • Impact to students: an indication will display on the job post for each student indicating how the student's selections match your preferences –– all students may apply, regardless of whether or not they match the preferences set! 
• When setting 1:1 schedule qualifications for a virtual fair schedule
  • Impact to students: 1:1 schedule qualification selections act as a blocker, meaning students that do not match qualifications will not be able to view or sign up for sessions!

Job Posting Qualifications Display

When reviewing the applicants list, icons represent available Preferences –– the icon furthest to the right indicates work authorization. Hovering over the icon will display more information about the student work authorization selections.

Applicant selections match employer preferences

When hovering over the work auth icon, if the student has selected answers that match employer preferences, the Student Information will display a green checkmark with "Authorized".

Applicant selections do not match employer preferences

When hovering over the work auth icon, if the student has selected answers that do not match employer preferences, the Student Information will display a red "X" with "Not authorized".

Prefer not to answer these questions

When the employer filters by students who meet all their preferences, or when they filter out students who don't match their Work Authorization preferences, opted out students will still show up.

When hovering over the work auth icon, if "Prefer not to answer these questions" is checked, the Student Information will display a gray "?" with "Unknown".

If the student checks the option "Prefer not to answer these questions", the student will be FULLY QUALIFIED for all positions or virtual fair sessions with work authorization requirements.

Note: Students will always show up as fully qualified for jobs not requiring U.S. sponsorship, regardless of their answers to the work authorization questions.

Job Posting Work Auth Qualification Matrix

In the qualification matrix below (both the image and accessible text version), the upper-most row is the Employer Preference indicated on the job posting, and the Student Selection heading represents the far-left column, with each possible student selection combination listed per row. 

Student qualification outcomes are listed as Fully Qualified or Not fully qualified –– if not fully qualified, the reasoning is listed in italics below.

• Tip: If you'd like to make the matrix image below larger for easier viewing, right click on the image, then choose open image in a new tab!

The same table as displayed in the image –– text version.