Get Started with Handshake
Here are five steps you can take to jump-start your Handshake experience!
Don’t try to do it all in one day! Instead, kick off your career future with a simple challenge, spread out into small steps over 10 days. That means less than two weeks to full Handshake mastery!
We can’t wait to help you find your next job, internship, or professional opportunity!
Step 1: Activate Your Handshake Profile
Go to Handshake
- Search for Hennepin Technical College
- Sign in using your starID and password
- You will be prompted to setup an account
- Select I'm a Student or Alumni to proceed with your account creation
- Set your privacy level: Community, Employers, or Private. You can read more about these options here. If you choose Employers or Community privacy level, keep in mind the more information you add to your profile, the easier it will be for employers to find you and make more thorough decisions about whether or not you might be a good fit for their job opportunities.
Additional Resources:
- If you're an alum and need to set your password, please refer to Log In as an Alum: Set your Handshake Password.
- If you've created an account, and you're not seeing the confirmation email, refer to Troubleshooting Missing Confirmation Email for additional steps.
- Once you've created your account, check out The Student On-boarding Experience for more information!
Step 2: Upload a Resume
You'll likely want to have a public resume available in Handshake for employers and the Career Development Services team to see.
Did you know that you can upload your resume and your Handshake profile will auto-pull tons of information? Save yourself the effort of writing information multiple times; upload your resume before adding anything else to your profile! Then you’ll only have to fill in any blanks.
To learn more about how to upload a document, refer to How to Upload a New Document. Once you've uploaded a resume, you can use it to fill in your profile — refer to Build Profile from Resume for more information.
Step 3: Create Your Profile
There will be details in your profile that has been pre-loaded based on information from your student record. Check to be sure all pre-loaded information is correct, especially your major and GPA (if included); if you find any errors, contact SLCD@HennepinTech.edu to correct it, as Handshake is unable to change any of your profile data.
Add Experience to Your Profile
Add any volunteering, internships, or work that you’ve already completed to your profile. This allows prospective employers to see your previous (or current) responsibilities.
Fill Out Past Courses and Special Skills
Pull up your academic record and fill out specific courses, skills, and talents that could be relevant to your future career. This will help give prospective employers a better idea of the special stuff you have to offer their organization!
Add a Headshot
This isn’t a must for landing a job, but a photo can help put a face to your name — this is particularly useful if you’ve made a connection with a recruiter on campus at a career fair or event.
For more information on filling out your profile, refer to How to Drive Profile Completion.
Step 4: Explore Handshake!
Use your home page, the top search bar, and filters to look for companies and jobs you're interested in learning more about or applying to. Remember, you can always save your searches in Handshake, so finding relevant employers and jobs will be easy.
Complete Your Job Preferences
That means selecting desired locations where you’d like to work, preferred job roles, and your ideal job type: part-time, full-time, internship, or on-campus
Additional Resources:
Your homepage will include various resources:
- Jobs: explore active job and internship postings
- Employers: discover employers approved to connect with the Hennepin Technical College community and connect with other students and alumni (dependent on your profile privacy).
- Career Paths: explore job roles and job role groups
- Events: discover events and fairs hosted both by approved employers or your school
- Career Center: The Career Development link will be found on the homepage and also next to your account icon in the upper-right corner. Use these links to connect with Career Development staff via Appointments, complete a First Destination Survey, take a survey, or check out additional resources.
Step 5: Follow Jobs and Employers
When you follow an employer or a job, you can begin filtering based on companies you follow. You'll also receive alerts when the job application window is closing or when an employer is attending an event or fair.
Follow Interesting Employers
Explore different organizations and companies on Handshake and follow them for updates. Often, recruiters check who is following them — it can help you get on their radar and ensure you get first alerts for new opportunities!
Message Peers with Professional Experience You Admire
Use Handshake to build connections by messaging peers. Reach out to alumni from your school, people who have previously held internships you’re interested in, and more.
Ask Questions
There are so many knowledgeable folks on Handshake — hit them with some of your questions about specific career paths, organizations, or opportunities!
Apply to Jobs that Interest You
This is self explanatory. Now that you’re a Handshake super-user, make sure to apply for jobs and internships!