Handshake Open Messaging

Please note: Premium features are for Handshake Premium accounts only. For more information, please check out this resource.

Cast a wider net and improve your odds of finding the right talent by engaging candidates from any school in the country—and not just Handshake partner schools.

Handshake Open Basics

What is the Handshake Open Network?

Students at 4-year accredited schools in the U.S. that have not partnered directly with Handshake. All student emails must be “.edu”, and are validated before account creation.

In the future, it will include community colleges, boot camps, internationalization, and beyond!

Who has access to the Open Network?

Permissions work a bit differently for Handshake Open, since we don’t have school partners to moderate our employer community. 

Right now there is a set list of employers who can message Open Students, based on their past interest and high Trust Score. Please contact your customer success manager if you would like to be added to this list.

Handshake Open Functionality

1. Create Lists with Open Schools

Once you have access to the Open Network, you’ll see Handshake Open Schools show up in “Your Employer’s Schools” tab. You can filter them out with one click:

Or add them to your School Lists, like you would any other school:

2. Campaign to Open Students

By default, Open Students will automatically appear as a part of your Segments. You can filter them out with one click:

Or include them in your Segments and Campaigns. You can also choose a specific Open School, or add a List including Open Schools:

3. Search & Message Open Students

Open Students will appear in Student Search normally. You can filter them out with one click:

Or include these students normally. Note - Open Student profiles are all validated by their .edu email, but their academic data is not. Students are responsible for entering their own major, graduation date, GPA, etc.

4. Include Open Schools in your Job Postings

Finally, you can post your jobs to the Open Network to cast a wider net. If you’ve selected “Add All Schools” for your jobs, simply leave the “include the Open Network” box checked: