Connecting Employers and Students Through Handshake

As the leading online job recruiting platform for students and recent graduates, Handshake offers a direct way for companies to source early-career talent. Let’s look at how to use this free resource to its full potential through optimized job postings.

What is Handshake?

Handshake is a career network connecting millions of college students, alumni and employers. The platform aims to:

– Ease talent sourcing by centralizing opportunities across colleges and universities.

– Provide structured career exploration and job search tools for students of all majors and experiences.

– Give companies direct access to diverse student pipelines with built-in recruiting tools and analytics.

Unlike traditional job boards, Handshake focuses exclusively on students and recent alumni looking to make their first professional move within just a few years of graduating.

Setting Up Your Company Profile

Before posting jobs, it’s important to establish a professional company profile on Handshake. This involves:

– Completing your company name, website URL, headquarters location and short description.

– Uploading your logo to make your profile visually appealing.

– Adding basics like industry, company size and employee benefits.

– Supplying job functions, backgrounds and locations you typically recruit for.

Having a polished, accurate profile builds your employer brand and allows students to learn more about your organization before applying to roles.

Building Your First Job Posting

To create a new job listing:

1. Click “Post a Job” and provide title, location and workload/employment type details.

2. Write a compelling job description highlighting responsibilities, qualifications and career growth potential.

3. Specify any relevant majors, classes, skills, internships or portfolio requirements.

4. Choose start and end dates for how long to advertise (30-180 days).

5. Select how active you want the job status and preferences for anonymity/notifications.

6. Review, then publish your first posting to reach qualified Handshake members.

Consistently formatted, high-quality descriptions attract the right candidates.

Optimizing for Maximum Exposure

To boost jobs in search rankings:

– Use relevant keywords, company name and location liberally throughout copy.

– Include internship, part-time or hourly positions where applicable.

– Promote new posts through your employer social profiles.

– Check regularly for messages and reviews sent within Handshake.

– Consider highlighting niche roles through sponsored content promotion options.

– Verify and refresh listings regularly instead of letting them expire in 30 days.

Give your opportunities the greatest chances of matching with top students through focused optimization tactics.

Tracking Applications and Outreach

The Employer Dashboard provides user-friendly tools for:

– Monitoring applications and resume views on all active and expired jobs.

– Filtering and reviewing qualified candidates using customized screens.

– Reaching out directly within Handshake via built-in messaging.

– Scheduling interviews, tracking next steps and moving applications through the pipeline.

– Exporting candidate lists, contact info and resumes for your broader sourcing.

Detailed analytics allow tailored outreach approaches scaled to your specific recruiting needs.

In summary, Handshake streamlines identifying and cultivating top student talent through optimized job postings and candidate engagement tools. With strategic usage, it’s a must-have sourcing resource for forward-thinking employers.