Are you creating a Handshake account for an on campus department or office? Follow the steps below to complete sign up.
Before you begin, confirm that you qualify as an on campus employer by reviewing Who Qualifies as an On-Campus Employer?.
Before you start
Use an institutional email address, such as one ending in .edu, when creating your account.
Confirm whether your institution uses the Company or the Divisions model, as this will determine how you connect to your school’s profile.
Check with your institution's career center for preferred naming conventions before creating a new company profile.
If you already have a career services account in Handshake, you can create an employer account with the same email address and switch between both account views without logging out.
Sign up
Create an account
1. Go to https://app.joinhandshake.com/employer_registrations/new and enter the following information:
- First name
- Last name
- Work email
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Password (create new password)
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Your password must:
- Contain at least eight characters
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Include characters from at least two of the following categories:
Alphabetic (e.g., a-z, A-Z)
Numeric (i.e. 0–9)
Special characters (e.g.,!@#$%^&*()_+|~-=\`{}[]:";'<>?,./)
- Note: Passwords are not encrypted.
- Tip: Click the show password icon to confirm that you have entered your password correctly.
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Your password must:
2. Review the Terms and Privacy Policy. By clicking Create account, you agree to Handshake's Terms of Service and confirm that you have read the Privacy Policy.
Note: There is no checkbox for agreement; your consent is implied when you click Create account.
3. When finished, click the black Create account button in the lower-right corner.
4. To verify your email address on Handshake, click the verification link in the email sent to you.
Notes:
- Email verification links are active for 12 hours after they’re sent.
- If you realize the email address was misspelled, you will need to create a new account using the correct email. Then, contact our support team so we can delete the account associated with the incorrect address.
If you don't receive a confirmation email, check out Troubleshooting a Missing Confirmation Email.
5. Complete your profile by providing the following information:
- User profile photo (optional)
- Types of candidates you're looking for
- Phone number
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Education history (optional)
- School Name
- Graduation Year
- If your school is not listed, check the box for School not listed.
- To add another school, click Add another school.
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Third-Party Recruiter Status
- Are you a third-party recruiter working on behalf of another company? (select Yes or No)
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According to Handshake, a third-party recruiter is:
- An employer who is hiring or posting jobs for a company other than the one they work for.
- An employer who is hiring or posting jobs, but another company provides the pay/salary.
- An employer who is hiring or posting jobs for both the company they work for and another company.
- If yes, job postings created by third parties must represent a single company. The job description must clearly state the company's name and indicate that you are a third-party firm recruiting on its behalf. Additionally, you may not disclose any student information to another party without the student's written consent.
- Review our Third Party Recruiting Policies, then check the box to agree.
- Note: If you need to update your third-party recruiter status after completing your profile during onboarding, contact our Support team.
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According to Handshake, a third-party recruiter is:
- Are you a third-party recruiter working on behalf of another company? (select Yes or No)
6. When finished, click the black Continue button in the lower-right corner.
- If you can't complete registration, click your name in the upper right corner and select Log out. While your information will not be saved, you will return to the same page when you log back in.
Join your company (school) or create a new company profile
After completing your user profile, you will be prompted to join or create a company profile.
Your connection options depend on whether your school uses the Divisions model or the Company model for on-campus employment.
If your school uses the Divisions model
Your school has one central company profile for all on campus employment.
If you signed up using your institutional email address, only the school’s main company profile will be listed.
To connect:
Confirm the company listed is your school’s main profile.
Click Request to join.
After your request is approved, the profile owner can create a division for your department or unit.
You can then use that division when posting jobs, hosting events, or registering for career fairs.
If your school uses the Company model
Your school may have multiple company profiles for different departments or offices.
To connect:
Use the search field to locate the company profile for your department or unit.
Select the correct company.
Click Request to join.
If your department is not listed
If no matching company profile exists, you may create a new one. Learn How to Create a New Company Profile.
Tip: Before creating a new profile, check with your school’s career center to make sure one has not already been created.
Verify your new company profile (if created)
If you created a new company profile, you must complete company verification before accessing your account.
Submit the required information to begin the review process. Your submission will be reviewed by Handshake’s Trust and Safety team.
You will receive an email notification once verification is complete. For more details about the review process, refer to Employer Validation.
Designate as an on-campus employer
Once your account is validated or you have joined your school's existing profile, confirm that the company profile is designated as an on-campus employer and associated with your school.
On-campus employers are Basic employers by default, but identifying as an on-campus employer unlocks additional functionality not available to Basic employers. If you skip this step, your account will be limited to standard Basic employer access.
Learn more about Identifying as an On-Campus Employer on Handshake.
Configure school permissions
To manage which schools can post jobs or edit your profile on your behalf:
1. Click your name in the upper right corner and select Company Settings from the dropdown.
2. Click Global Settings in the left sidebar.
3. Scroll to the School permissions section.
Allow schools to post and edit jobs on your behalf
4. In the field labeled Select which schools can post and edit jobs on your behalf, search for and select one or more schools. Each selected school will appear as a tag below the field.
Allow schools to manage your profile
5. In the field labeled Select which schools can manage your profile, search for and select one or more schools.
6. Click the black Submit button in the lower right corner to save your changes.
Notes:
Schools where you are designated as an on campus employer cannot be removed from School permissions.
If a school has declined your connection request submitted through a job, it cannot be added to School permissions.
Engage with early talent
Once your account and settings are configured, you can:
Post jobs to your associated school
Post jobs to other schools on Handshake
Register for career fairs
Create events
If you want to host an event at a school but do not have an approved job posting, contact the school directly to request proactive approval.
For help finding a school’s contact information, review How to Contact a School.
Need a Career Services account?
If you also need a Career Services account, contact your institution’s career services office. Career Services accounts cannot be self-registered in Handshake and must be created by someone at the institution.
Additional resources
- Requested to join the wrong company? Refer to Canceling a Request to Join the Wrong Company.
- If you've automatically connected to the wrong company, refer to Leaving a Company in Handshake.
- If you've created a new company profile, check out Employer Owners & Admin Tools.
- Explore your Employer Account User Settings.
- Learn How to Post a Job.
- Learn more about Registering for a Fair (Employers).
- Ready to host your first event? Discover How to Create an Event.
- These resources are geared towards on campus employers specifically. These articles live in the section on-campus workflows are available here. generic/link to section