Employers who already have an employer account are welcome to sign up for a student account as well.
Before you sign up
- Use your .edu email address if possible. If you still have access to your .edu email, use it when signing up. This can make it easier to connect with your school.
- No access to your .edu email? Contact your school's career services office to confirm if you have an alumni account. If not, ask whether they prefer you to use a personal email address instead of a corporate one.
Note: The school may create an account for you using either your .edu or personal email address.
Create or access your student account
Select your current status to follow the correct steps for accessing or creating your student account:
Your school set up your account
If your school created an initial account using your .edu or personal email, you will receive an email invitation from Handshake at handshake@notifications.joinhandshake.com with the subject line "You have been invited to Handshake."
1. Open the email from Handshake and click Confirm My Account.
2. On the Set your password screen, enter your new password in the new password field, confirm it in the confirm new password field, then click Confirm Account.
3. Once your account is confirmed, enter your account email address in the Email field, then click Continue with email.
4. If your school uses SSO, a Welcome to Handshake screen will appear prompting you to continue with your school credentials. Choose one of the following:
Click Continue to [School] SSO to log in using your school credentials.
Click Log in another way to log in with a password or one-time code instead.
5. If you selected Log in another way, or if your school does not use SSO, choose one of the following:
- Click Send one-time code to receive a temporary login code by email.
- Enter your password in the Enter password field, then click Continue with password.
6. Complete The Student Onboarding Experience.
Your school did not set up your account — you need to create one
1. Navigate to https://app.joinhandshake.com/student_account_registrations/new#/email.
Note: If you are currently logged in to an employer account, log out before continuing. To sign out, select your name in the upper-right corner of the page and choose Sign out from the dropdown menu.
2. On the Make career moves screen, enter your email address in the Email address field, then click Next.
3. On the Find your school screen, confirm the school that is pre-selected if you entered a .edu email address, or select your school from the dropdown if you entered a personal email address.
If you cannot find your school or are not an active student, click Continue without a school at the bottom of the screen.
- If your school has specific instructions for creating an account, they will appear in a gray box below the dropdown.
4. Click Next.
5. On the Create a password screen, enter your new password in the New password field and confirm it in the Confirm new password field.
- Your password must be at least 8 characters and include a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters.
6. Click Create account.
7. On the Let's get the basics screen, complete the following fields:
- First name
- Last name
- Major
- Education pursuing
- Graduation month
- Graduation year
- Any additional information requested by your school
8. When finished, click Finish setup.
9. Check your inbox for an email from Handshake and click Confirm email to verify your email address.
10. After confirming your email, you will be redirected to complete The Student Onboarding Experience.
Switching between accounts
You can only switch between employer and student accounts if both are registered with the same email address. Learn more about Switching User Views.