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May 16, 2022

Handshake Hacks to Help You Succeed

A Guide for Your First Days on Handshake to Help You Get Hired.

Posted in: Announcements, Career, Featured News, Red Hawk News

Handshake graphic

Handshake is now available for all students! To help you get started, we’ve outlined five steps to take during your first five days on Handshake. These Handshake hacks will put you on track to landing your next opportunity!

An account has already been generated for you. Log into Handshake using your NetID and Password.

Day 1: Fill Out Your Profile

Don’t skip the most important step of getting started on Handshake – completing your profile. Students who complete their profiles are five times more likely to be contacted by a recruiter on Handshake. Additionally, the information in your profile helps you receive the most relevant job recommendations and helps employers find you in their candidate searches. Learn More about Completing Your Handshake Profile.

Day 2: Upload Your Resume

Your resume is often a potential employer’s first impression of you. As such, your resume should showcase your goals, strengths and accomplishments. The career advisors in your college or school can help you identify improvement areas in your resumes’ format, presentation, relevance and content to ensure its job search ready. Before you start applying to jobs in Handshake, upload your resume for review and receive personalized feedback! Learn How to Upload Documents in Handshake. 

Day 3: Explore and Save Jobs

As you are awaiting feedback on your resume, start exploring jobs and internships.  Hundreds of jobs have already been posted!  Here are a few jobs and internships that may pique your interest:

As you’re viewing jobs on Handshake, save the ones that catch your eye. This will store them on your dashboard and in the Saved tab on the job search page – helping you quickly find them when you’re ready to apply. You’ll receive important notifications about saved jobs, including reminders to apply before the deadline!

Day 4: See Who’s Hiring and Follow Employers

More than 500,000 companies hire college students and recent grads on Handshake. No matter what industry you want to work in – from tech to finance to education and more – there are so many potential places for you to find your next job or internship.

There are three main reasons to follow the employers you like on Handshake:

  1. You’ll receive notifications when they post new jobs and events, or are attending a virtual career fair at Montclair State University.
  2. Your job recommendations will improve and become even more relevant as you follow more employers.
  3. When an employer views your profile, they can see that you follow them. Showing mutual interest in their organization could help you receive a message or virtual event invitation.

To follow an employer, click the Follow button at the top of their page. Learn How to See Who’s Hiring!

Day 5: Register for a Virtual Recruiting Event

Virtual recruiting events are taking center stage this year, giving you an opportunity to meet employers through your device. Employers are inviting Montclair State students to join virtual information sessions. This is also a good reason to follow employers you’re interested in—because you’ll be notified when they’re attending virtual fairs and events on Handshake. Also be sure to check your email and log in often to see newly added events!
Learn More about Events on Handshake!

Don’t Lose Your Momentum

In Week 2 of Handshake, apply to jobs and internships!

Once your resume has been approved, spend some time going through your saved jobs and new recommendations, and start applying!

Because you’ve filled out your profile and uploaded your resume, you’ll be able to apply to many jobs on Handshake in just a few clicks. Learn How to Apply for Jobs on Handshake.

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