Employers Can Find New Talent and Recent Grads on Handshake
Goal Five of Aspire’s Economic Development Strategic Plan is about magnifying and delivering robust education and workforce endeavors through strategies that involve partnership development with universities and colleges like Franklin College, Ivy Tech Community College and the University of Indianapolis.
Social media platforms now serve as professional networking and workforce development tools for employers. One such networking platform, Handshake, has emerged as a leading professional relationship builder for students and recent graduates.
Handshake’s function has been compared to professional networking sites like LinkedIn, however Handshake has been particularly targeted towards the recruitment of Generation Z and younger talent pipelines.
“The company has been around since 2014 and has built its profile in part as a more inclusive version of LinkedIn aimed at people only starting out in the job market,” wrote Ingrid Lunden in Tech Crunch.
Identifying its widespread use in colleges and universities, Aspire’s school to work specialist, Jennifer Hollingshead has been promoting awareness of Handshake to employers looking for a pool of talent to choose from.
“Over 30+ Indiana colleges use Handshake to promote job and internship opportunities to their students,” said Hollingshead. “It’s an effective way for employers to connect with job seekers.”
Franklin College’s employer page on their website recommends using Handshake to post job and internship listings. Employers, students and recent graduates can go to joinhandshake.com to create accounts and find or post job opportunities and internships.
Career centers at colleges and universities like The Stephen F. Fry Professional Edge Center at the University of Indianapolis partner with Handshake to help students “find additional resources with tips on résumé development, thank-you letter writing, and other career-focused information.”
The Walter Center for Career Achievement at Indiana University also utilizes Handshake for their students, with their website stating, “Unlike other job and career websites, employers on Handshake are looking specifically for Indiana University students, offering more opportunities for students and new college grads than any other job platform.”
Handshake matches students and recent graduates with employers and job opportunities that line up with their interests, studies, and experience. Conversely, students are presented as potential candidates to employers who are looking for particular qualities, skills, backgrounds, and experience.
Innovative social networking sites like Handshake are indispensable to modern workforce development strategies, and Aspire’s school to work efforts will continue to include getting employers online and connected to where the newest talent pools are.