Handshake Newsletter

Incorporating Handshake in the Classroom  
Our goal is to give all students the chance to connect with the job search, networking, and research opportunities available on Handshake. To do so, we need the help of staff and faculty across the U.

Classroom Slide

Consider including these Handshake slides in your classroom presentations or share them with other colleagues/faculty.

• Single slide version
• Three slide version

Add Handshake to the Syllabus

Add the following blurb to your syllabus or require students to log in and complete their profile as an assignment for class:  
 

Handshake is the UMN’s official job/internship portal. Once you fill in your career interests, you’ll get personalized recommendations for jobs and events.

• Activate your account at umn.joinhandshake.com
• Download the Handshake app from Apple or Google Play so you get notifications on the latest jobs, events, and employers
• Learn more: First 5 Days on Handshake (video)

The Employer Profile  
Share the following video and/or text with students who would benefit from knowing more about the employer profile on Handshake!

• Students who have worked there: See a list of students who have worked at the organization and reach out directly through Handshake. Ask about company culture, what a position is truly like, and tips for success. You can filter the list for U of M students and students in your major.
• Reviews: Get the inside scoop from other students who answer the questions What I liked, What I wish were different, and Advice.
• Interviews: Prep for an interview by hearing from others What was the process like? and What's one question you were asked?
• Tips and News: Dig further for your pre-interview research by looking at tips and news from the organization.
• Q&A: See what other students have asked the organization and ask your own questions.
• Public staff list: Message staff who purposely make themselves available for student questions. Handshake has some good tips for why and how to message employers.

About the Data:  

The infographic below is a summarized version of the Who's Hiring dashboard in Handshake. In Handshake, the dashboard also includes:

• a map of active postings
• lists of employers with active postings
• filtering options by industry and region

Feel free to share this with students or colleagues, add it to presentations or include it in follow up emails after meeting with students or employers.

*Data Collected on August 8th, 2023. Industry Growth chart shows year to date, year over year changes in posting numbers by industry in Handshake for the University of Minnesota.

How to Access This Data:
 

Go to Analytics under Data in the left navigation bar. Select the Dashboards tab at the top of the page and find the Who’s Hiring dashboard. Filter by time range, industry, and/or US region.  

*You will need a career services Handshake account with access to Analytics. Connect with your Handshake Superuser about setting up an account.  

Stay tuned! In following newsletters, we will continue to highlight data from Handshake and how to recreate the reports yourself.

Links in This Issue

• Intro to Handshake Student Presentation
• Upcoming Handshake Training Session for Career Coaches: Oct 9, 2023 10AM-11AM
• Request a Staff Handshake Account
• Employer Booth Check-in for Students
• Infographic of Trending Student Interests in Handshake

Intro to Handshake Student Presentation

Advise students using a mock student account. If you're an alum, you already have access to Handshake as a student! Login using your UMN email.
 

Join me (Jess Hoarn) on Monday, October 9, from 10am-11am, for a virtual Handshake session geared toward newer career coaches. I’ll be giving an overview of tips on advising students with Handshake with plenty of time for Q&A. Please RSVP here. I look forward to seeing you there!

Employer Booth Check-in

New this fall, students can check-in with employers at career fairs. Their check-in will be logged in their own Handshake account, and employers will see a list of students who visited their booth. Both students and employers can easily follow-up directly through Handshake. Share this quick video with students or download the promo image.

Image

About the Data

The infographic below combines aspects of the Employer Relations dashboard and a report on most popular locations*. In Handshake, the Employer Relations dashboard also includes:

• top industries and employers by a variety of metrics: student applications, application/job posting ratios, employer postings, career fair session attendance to name a few
• employer approval history

Feel free to share this with students or colleagues, add it to presentations, or include it in follow up emails after meeting with students or employers.

*Data Collected on September 8th, 2023.

How to Access the Data

Employer Relations Dashboard:
Go to Analytics under Data in the left navigation bar. Select the Dashboards tab at the top of the page and find the Employer Relations dashboard. Filter by time range, industry, college, major, school year, and/or job role group.

Popular Locations Report:
*View the report here. Feel free to play around with this report! You won’t mess anything up, because it won’t override our version.

• Go to Analytics under Data in the left navigation bar.
• Select Create Report and Applications for Template type.
• Count of Applications: Under All Fields to the left, expand the Applications section and select Count under Measures by clicking on ‘Count.’
• Filter for Withdrawn? (Yes/No): In the Applications section, hover over Filter for Withdrawn? (Yes/No) and select the three bars that appear to the right. In the ‘Filters’ section in the middle of the page, select Applications Withdrawn? is No.
• Job locations: Go back to All Fields on the left and expand the Job Locations section. Click on ‘City,’ ‘State,’ and ‘Country.’
• (Optional) Filter by college or major: Expand either the Student College (at Application Time) section or the Student Majors section. Hover over Name and select the three bars that appear to the right. Go to the Filters section in the middle of the page and filter for your college or major(s) of interest.

Links in This Issue

• UMN Handshake Media Kit
• Handshake Marketing Toolkit
• Coaching Students with Handshake (Session Recording)
• 5 Handshake Job Searching Tips
• Top Industries at 2023 UMN Fall Career Fairs

Handshake Marketing Toolkit

Promote Handshake with our UMN Handshake media kit, which includes print and digital material such as fliers, postcards, and digital signage. Handshake also has a marketing toolkit for customizable social media content, videos, posters, and flyers. Note: the latter content is generic and not UMN branded.

Recording of Coach Training Session

Watch the recording of the Handshake training session for career coaches to explore tips on advising students with Handshake.

5 Handshake Job Searching Tips

Share these tips with students! You can find additional resources to share on handshake.umn.edu.

*Data Collected on October 16th, 2023.

Pre-built Analytics for Your Fall Fair:

How to Use Pre-built Analytics:

• Option 1: Filter the report for your fair and download the results. Please do not select 'Confirm changes' to any modifications you make to the main report template.
• Option 2: Make a copy of the report by going to Options and Duplicate. Make any modifications you would like and select Confirm Changes to save the report for your unit.

*Make sure to filter the report for your fair.*

• Career Fair Student Registrations and Check Ins
• Career Fair Student Registrations and Check Ins with Booth Check Ins
• Career Fair Employer Registrations
• Career Fair Employer Registration with Book Check Ins
• Career Fair Employer Booth Check Ins with Student Details
• Career Fair Employer Booth Check Ins by Major

How to filter by fair: Filter for your career fair by expanding the Career Fair tab in the Explore section and filtering Name by hovering over Name and selecting the three lines that appear to the right. Then go over to Filters and enter your career fair name.

Tip: Find all pre-built reports by going to Analytics. Under School, in the filters section select either University of Minnesota for reports built by UMN staff or Handshake for Handshake’s pre-built reports.

Links in This Issue

• Reviewing Jobs in Handshake (New Training Slidedeck)
• Handshake Academy
• Handshake Mobile App: Apple Store, Google Play, or QR Code
• Top 10 Student Job Role Interests

Reviewing Jobs in Handshake (New Slidedeck)

Check out this new slidedeck for supervisors who train student employees or staff on reviewing jobs in Handshake.

Handshake Academy

Interested in learning more about Handshake? Handshake’s online training hub, Handshake Academy, offers short courses on navigating the different features of the platform, marketing, maximizing student use of Handshake, supporting employers, and more.

Handshake App Home Feed

Handshake's mobile app now features a social media like home feed with career content from employers, Handshake, career services, and other students. Students will see short form videos, short text/image posts, and blog style articles along with suggested jobs, events, and peer connections.

Students Are More Engaged with the New Home Feed

Students with the App Are More Active on Handshake

Encourage students to download the app! Daily and weekly app usage is 5-12% higher on average for students using the app compared to desktop. Students also perform core activities more frequently on the app, such as searching for jobs and registering for events. Share the links to the Apple Store or Google Play or display the QR code in emails and slide decks.

Mobile app stats were found in Handshake's Mobile Home Feed Beta Information packet and Handshake's Guide to Promoting the Mobile App.

*Data Collected on October 27th, 2023

How to Access This Data

To build this report, go to Analytics, Create Report, and select Students for the template type. Select your dimension and measure in the left side navigation under All Fields. For the dimension, add Career Interests: Job Roles → Name. For measure, add Students → Count. To filter by College and/or Major, hover over College → Name or Major → Name, and select the three horizontal bars that appear to the right. Then go to the Filters section and select your desired college or majors. Select Run.

Links in This Issue

• Employer Messaging Dashboard
• Handshake's Network Trends Reports
• Handshake's Year in Review Report
• Handshake.umn.edu

Employer Messaging in Handshake

Handshake’s research found 82 percent of students and young alumni prefer learning about opportunities through online communication like in-platform messages from a recruiter. They also found that 95 percent of students engage with employers when the message is personalized and proactive. See how our students are engaging with employer messages and take a look at the Employer Messaging Dashboard to filter by industry or major group.

*Data Collected on December 07, 2023.

Connecting with Employers

Handshake also allows students to proactively reach out to employers who have identified themselves as open to messaging. Help your students feel more confident in building connections by showing them how to message employers in Handshake and sharing these messaging tips.

Handshake’s Year in Review: Top Early Talent Trends of 2023

Handshake regularly publishes Network Trends reports, highlighting data they collect across all student and employer activity on their platform. Their most recent year in review report (4 min read) highlights interesting candidate and recruiter trends, such as in-demand skills, trending search terms, and student messaging activity. 

UMN Handshake Website: handshake.umn.edu

Did you know we have a website dedicated to Handshake at the University of Minnesota? It houses resources for students, employers, staff and faculty. Check it out and bookmark it for your work with students or employers!

Links in This Issue

• Handshake Blog
• Peer Messaging in Handshake (video tutorial)

Peer Messaging

Handshake provides avenues for students and alumni to ask each other questions about career-related topics across their network of schools. See how UMN students used this feature in 2023.

*Data Collected on January 03, 2024.

Peer Messaging in Handshake

Handshake Blog

Handshake’s blog is a great source of content for student and employer newsletters, coaching conversations, and professional development. Let students and employers know about it and take a look for yourself! Check out the Career Centers section for best practices, and Network Trends for data from Handshake’s full network.

We Need Your Feedback!

Please take a moment to give us your feedback via a very short survey.


Links in This Issue

• Top Industries Registered for UMN Spring Career Fairs (bar chart)
• Industries Attending UMN Spring Career Fairs (Handshake report)
• Registering for a Career Fair Video
• Handshake Community

Industry Representation at Spring Fairs

Take a look at the current top industries attending UMN career fairs this spring. Access the report for real time updates and filter for a specific career fair. Use the report to create your own graphics for students attending your fairs!

*Data Collected on February 07, 2024. At that time, there were 12 career fairs planned for spring 2024, between January and April, hosted by 9 career centers. Most of the fairs are open to students from any college. Please note this breakdown may change as more employers register. 

Suggested alt text: Bar chart of the top 10 industries at UMN Spring 2024 career fairs.

Find Fairs and Research Attending Employers

Suggested alt text: Thumbnail for Handshake at UMN Highlights: Registering for a Career Fair.

Handshake Community

The Handshake Community is a place to discuss questions and best practices with other career services professionals at the 1400+ other schools using Handshake. Read topic boards or propose your own topic or question. Note: you need to sign in (top right corner) to see the topic board.

Suggested alt text: Handshake's community topic boards.

Links in This Issue

• Handshake by the Numbers: Top 10 Industries Based on Employer Booth Check-ins at UMJF 2024 (Graphic)
• Product Feature: What is Handshake? (Video)
• Resources Highlight: Handshake For Advisors Training Session Recording (Video)

University of Minnesota Job & Internship Fair 2024

*Data disclaimer: All data was pulled on March 06, 2024 and combines data from the in-person and virtual UMJF events. Employer booth check-ins are typically lower than student attendance and do not necessarily catch every student/employer interaction.

What is Handshake?

Help us spread the word about Handshake! Share this short video with students letting them know "What is Handshake?" and how to access the platform.

Handshake for Advisors (Training Session Recording)

This virtual session covered an overview of Handshake and how to use Handshake in your advising. We spent time hands-on in the platform to show you the benefits of Handshake for students. We then discussed the role you can play in helping students access this tool.

Links in This Issue

• Employers by Job Roles Posted (Handshake report)
• What Employers are on Handshake (graphic)
• How Employers are Vetted on Handshake (graphic)
• Job Scam and Phishing Information (webpage)
• Common Warning Signs of Job Scams (graphic)

Take a look at the employers currently posting to Handshake by industry. For a breakdown of employers based on the job roles they’re posting, check out this report (requires a Handshake career services account).

*Data disclaimer: Data was collected on 03-27-2024. Active employers are defined as employers who have posted to Handshake within one year of data collection.

When an employer creates an account on Handshake, they go through a series of validation steps before gaining access to the Handshake platform:

Help Students Identify Scams

Scams are rare on Handshake, given Handshake's thorough vetting procedures. Typically, we hear of scammers contacting students through email, outside of Handshake. It is important for students to know what to look out for, no matter where they are looking for jobs. Share the following infographic with our top tips for avoiding job scams or point students to our job scam info page for more tips and guidance on what to do if they suspect a scam.

This is the last edition of Handshake at UMN until September. Thank you to all our readers! Enjoy your summer!


Links in This Issue

• Student Interest Insights from the Home Feed (graphic)
• Handshake Highlights from Your Career Services Office Assistants (video)
• Handshake Marketing Kit (website)
• Handshake at a Glance (PDF)

New Handshake Feed Gives Insight into Student Interests

Handshake’s new social media style home feed lets us know what topics our students are engaging with most. Students are able to quickly get advice and inspiration from employers, other students, career services, and Handshake staff.

*Data Collected on April 26, 2024.

Handshake Highlights from Your Career Services Office Assistants

Take a look at Handshake highlights from the 2023-2024 school year. The flier includes advising and coaching tips. Print it out and have it in your office to reference during student appointments! Find more Handshake marketing material here.