Handshake - Overview [UW-Madison]

Handshake is a career services management system that connects students, employers, and career centers on a single platform. The main users of Handshake are career services professionals, current degree-seeking students, and alumni. 

• Students and alumni can find job and internship opportunities, connect with employers, and register for events and career fairs. 
• Career services professionals who receive administrative user access can view and/or manage information on students/alumni, employers, events, and career fairs, as well as receive a test account to see the student/alumni interface. 

Please see DoIT’s Handshake IT Service Page for a more detailed description of Handshake.

For training information and how to get started with Handshake, see Handshake - Getting Started

Basic Functionality

• Students can:
  • Find and apply for jobs, internships, and other career-development opportunities
  • Customize notifications and job recommendations based on career interests to find individualized opportunities
  • Discover and register for UW-Madison hosted career fairs, employer-hosted  recruitment events, on-campus interviews, and career events hosted by campus career centers
  • Receive notifications for application deadlines and upcoming events
  • Connect with fellow students, alumni, and employers
• UW employees/faculty can request a student test account to view the student interface and basic functionality listed above
• All administrative staff users can: 
  • View student profiles, collections, career fairs and events, employers and job postings, and surveys
  • Receive a student test account to view the student interface
    • Note: For UW-Madison alumni/current students who are also administrative staff users, the alumni/student account is their student test account

Advanced Functionality

• Administrative staff users with higher level permissions may be able to manage or create:
  • Student information, profiles, and job applications
  • Collections of jobs, events, and/or employers based on industry or interest
  • Resources for students and targeted emails/messages
  • Career events and fairs
  • Employer information, interview schedules, and job postings
  • Analytics on the above areas (i.e.; student activity in the system, event attendance, job trends, etc.)

• Handshake Documents from Learn@UW KnowledgeBase
• Information about Handshake for students
  • Handshake Help Center for students
• Information about Handshake for staff
  • Handshake Help Center for staff
• Information about Handshake for employers
  • Handshake Help Center for employers