What is Handshake?
Handshake is a career services platform created for students and alumni to use in their career development. It also houses resources that can be used at any time and shows a list of all the career events Toppel is hosting.
Handshake is used by over 200,000 employers, including all Fortune 500 companies! Thousands of internship and job opportunities are posted on Handshake by employers specifically looking to hire students.
All UM students have a Handshake account that is automatically created for them when they enroll at the U. All you have to do is log in to Handshake to activate your account. Handshake will then recommend certain positions to you based on your profile, allowing for easy searching. Completing and updating your profile will provide Handshake with a better idea of which job and internship listings you may be interested in.
Here are some of the awesome things you can do with Handshake:
- Register for industry meet-ups, career fairs, & info sessions
- Upload your resume for an online critique
- Research thousands of employers
- Apply for jobs & internships
Resources on Handshake
Handshake has a page where you can find the free resource library available to UM students and alumni. To access it, click on the “Career Center” tab and go to “Resources.” These online resources can help you search for jobs and internships, give you access to online news articles and websites, help you create professional business cards, and more! Check out some of these popular resources.
Register for Events
Toppel hosts career development events to help you enter or prepare for the workforce, such as Job & Internship Expo and EPIC. All attendees must RSVP through Handshake. To find events, log in, select the “Events” tab at the top. This will show every event Toppel has planned in chronological order. If you would like to find an event specific to your major, career path, or you want to see events with a specific employer, use the “Event Search” or "Fairs Search" function below the banner and enter your filters on the right side. Once you find an event you would like to attend, click the title to learn more, and select the green RSVP button to register.
Networking on Handshake
Conduct Company Research
Employers have their own Handshake profiles! On these profiles, organizations will have information about themselves, listings for jobs and internships, and any events they are hosting will appear on this page as well. Any reviews that previous interns and employees have written will also appear on the employer profiles to allow Handshake users to gain a better understanding of what it is like to work for them.
Q&A
Do you have a question about your job/internship search? Is there anything you want to know about working for an employer that may not be discussed in the reviews on their profile? Handshake offers students the ability to ask other Handshake users any question or answer a question another user has posed.
Message Other Students
Peer messaging is now available on Handshake! Students and alumni who have their profiles publicly available can send messages to each other, even if they attend another college or university.
Benefits of Peer Messaging:
- Identify students and alumni with a similar background to you
- Ask a follow up question to a published Review or Q&A
- Reach out for advice related to professional experience
How to Make the Most of Handshake
Handshake has numerous tools and capabilities that will help launch you into your next career development opportunity. Below are the top five ways to use it to your advantage:
