If you've found an event you'd like to attend, follow the steps below to complete your registration in Handshake.
For more information on finding events, refer to Discover Events & Fairs in Handshake.
Register for an event
1. On the event details page, review the event information before registering. Depending on the event, you may also find the following sections:
- What you'll get out of it: A description of what you can expect from the event
- About the employer: Details about the attending employer, including company information and whether they hire from your school
- Attachments: Downloadable files added by your school
- Similar events: Related events you may be interested in
If you have questions about the event or open roles, use the Have a question? section on the right side of the page or at the bottom.
If the event has specific qualifications and your profile does not meet them, the message "Sorry, you're not qualified for this event" will appear on the page. If you believe you should qualify, contact your school's career center. Their contact information is listed below the message.
Time-slotted events
Some events are set up as time-slotted events, meaning you don't just register for the overall event — you also need to reserve a specific time to meet with an employer or attend a session, similar to how fair sessions work. These are common for things like office hours, mock interviews, or career fairs that offer 1:1 or group sessions with employer representatives.
If an event has time slots available, you'll see a Book your time slots option on the event details page in addition to the standard Register button.
To select and confirm a time slot:
- Browse the available times and click your preferred time slot.
- If the time is grayed out, it means that time overlaps with another session or event you've already registered for. You'll need to cancel the conflicting reservation before you can select that slot.
- You can book one 1:1 session per host. If you'd like a different time with the same host, cancel your existing session first, then select a new time.
- You cannot swap time slots with other students.
- Sessions that are full will no longer be an option — if a session is listed, it still has availability.
2. Click Register in the upper-right corner of the page to complete your registration.
- If the event has reached its registration limit:
- If your school created the event and has enabled a waitlist, the Register button will be replaced by Join Waitlist. If a spot opens up, you will receive an email confirming your registration.
- If your school created the event but has not enabled a waitlist, or if an employer created the event, the Register button will no longer be available and the event will be marked as full.
If the event requires external registration, the Register button will display an arrow icon indicating you will be taken to an external site.
After registering externally, return to Handshake and select Yes or No in the pop-up to confirm whether you completed your registration.
3. Once registered, "You're registered!" will appear with a green checkmark in the upper-right corner of the page, along with the number of days until the event starts.
To join a virtual event when it's time, refer to How to Attend a Virtual Event via Handshake.
4. The event will be added to your Registered events in Handshake. To access it, click the white Registered button with the calendar icon at the top of the Events page.
5. A confirmation email will be sent to the email address on your Handshake account with the following details:
From: handshake@notifications.joinhandshake.com
Subject: "You're registered for [Event Name]"
Content: "Confirming you're registered for [Event Name] on [Day of Week], [Month Day]. We'll send you a reminder when this event gets closer.
[View event details button]"
Privacy settings for virtual events
If the event is hosted virtually and your Handshake profile is set to Private or Employers, a pop-up may appear asking you to update your privacy settings:
- If the event uses Handshake video, update your privacy to Community.
- If the event uses an external video provider (such as Zoom), update your privacy to Employers or Community.
For more information, refer to Profile Privacy Options in Handshake.
If you can no longer attend an event you've registered for, or would like to remove yourself from a waitlist, refer to Leave an Event.