A K-State Handshake: How online networking platform connects job-seeking Wildcats and employers
A K-State graduate living in California is looking at a career change and wants to
move across the U.S. to be closer to family in Massachusetts. How can this Wildcat
start networking and looking for a new job when they’re thousands of miles away?
K-State’s online career services platform, known as Handshake, is all about making
those virtual introductions, connecting students and alumni looking for jobs with
employers who are ready to hire them.
According to Kerri Day Keller ’12, executive director of the K-State Career Center,
Handshake is currently used by over 90% of the colleges and universities in the U.S.,
with more than 750,000 employers active on the platform. During the fall 2022 semester,
over 7,000 K-State students and alumni activated their accounts. In other words, that’s
a lot of potential Wildcat connections!
Keller said that K-State joined Handshake in 2017 and introduced students to the platform
right away. Students can use Handshake to find out about part-time jobs and internships
and to connect with employers who attend campus career fairs.
“There has been great success with utilizing Handshake,” she said. “As we go out and
do presentations for students, I often ask, ‘How many of you have already activated
your account?’ and then hear reports of students getting on-campus jobs or part-time
jobs through Handshake. The idea is that students get comfortable with using Handshake
so that then they are ready to go to the next developmental step of finding an internship.
Once they have found that internship, then they can continue to use Handshake to find
their full-time job.”
Alumni can easily activate a Handshake account (or reactivate their account if they
graduated after 2017). Handshake also provides access to virtual information sessions
hosted by employers across the country. And if you’re interested in working for a
particular company — say, Amazon — you can look them up on Handshake and see if there
are any job opportunities.
Keller said students and alumni are encouraged to fill out their profiles as completely
as possible, including what geographic region they’d like to work in and areas of
interest.
“The more information that you add to your account, and the more you utilize your
account, the better Handshake’s job recommendations will be for you,” she said.
On the employer side, organizations can use Handshake to identify qualified candidates
for open positions, register for career fairs and manage their recruitment activities.
Future goals with the Handshake platform include refining a list of curated employers
for K-State students and alumni and providing increased visibility to employers who
have a history of and a commitment to hiring K Staters.
“We encourage alumni who are hiring talent for their company or their organization,
to utilize Handshake as a way to connect with current students and our other alumni
who might be seeking,” Keller said.
Employers also are welcome to contact DeLon Barbour ’14, employer relations associate
with the K-State Career Center, for more assistance.