Handshake

On This Page:

Handshake is the University of Minnesota’s free search database for jobs, internships, and volunteer positions. You’ll find thousands of opportunities here—local, national, and international—along with information on career events, on-campus interviews, and more. It is truly an amazing resource. 

As a student or graduate of the University, you have access to Handshake for life! Which is quite a benefit—because, on a typical day, you’ll find thousands of postings for jobs, internships, and volunteer positions on Handshake, making it the destination to identify your next opportunity.

Watch the video tutorials for using Handshake, including logging in, completing your profile, searching for jobs, and more.

Getting Started on Handshake

Log In

Go to Handshake and click on the “Student & Alumni Login Information” option. On the page that follows, click on “Student & Alumni Login.” Finally, click on the “University of Minnesota Student & Alumni Login” button. The next screen will then ask you to sign in with your U of M Internet ID and password.

The very first time you log in to Handshake, you will be prompted to review the brief Handshake Student User Agreement. It’s important that you actually read this document! By completing your initial login to Handshake you are agreeing to this document’s terms—which include promises you make to honor all of your employment-related commitments (like, for example, showing up for the on-campus interviews you schedule using Handshake). 

Not honoring these commitments may cost you the privilege of using Handshake. So you want to understand what you’re agreeing to do (and not do, as the case may be).

Complete Your Profile

Once you’re logged into Handshake, you can answer some questions about your background and career interests to create your profile, which will help customize your Handshake experience.

You’ll be able to specify the educational institutions you’ve attended, key courses you’ve taken, work experiences you’ve had, organizations you’ve been involved with, and even projects you’ve completed. You’ll also be able to add key skills that you possess—including the Core Career Competencies that signify your career readiness as a CLA student.

Your profile will ultimately be a sort of snapshot of who you are, what you’ve done, what you’re interested in, and what you have to offer to a prospective employer. It will also help Handshake customize the content it presents to you.

Upload Your Resume

To use Handshake to apply for opportunities (jobs/internships/volunteer positions) or to sign up for on-campus interviews, you will first need to upload a copy of your resume.

Note: The first time you do this, you will need to have your résumé approved by CLA Career Services, a process that typically takes about two business days.

To upload your resume (assuming you’re already logged in to Handshake—if not you’ll have to log in first):

  1. Click on your name in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and choose the “Documents” option from the drop-down menu.
  2. Follow the instructions on the next screen to upload your resume as a PDF file, Microsoft Word document, or RTF document.

(Note: Once you have at least one document—in this case, your resume—uploaded to your Handshake profile, clicking on the “Documents” submenu under your name will take you to a “Documents” page, where you can manage all of your document uploads: resumes, cover letters, transcripts, and others. You can then add or delete documents as necessary.)

Set Your Notification Preferences

You can receive notifications about your applications and interviews, as well as career fairs and other events, through email, push notifications, or within the Handshake system.

To set your notification preferences (assuming you’re already logged in to Handshake—if not you’ll have to log in first):

  1. Click on your name in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and choose the “Notifications” option.
  2. On the screen that comes up, click on “Edit Notification Preferences.”
  3. Select your various preferences on the screen that follows. (Note: They will be saved automatically).

The Many Great Things You Can Do On Handshake

Once you’ve completed your profile (although it’s always a work in progress!) and uploaded your resume, you’ll be able to take advantage of the many other tools Handshake has to offer. 

Search for Jobs, Internships, and Volunteer Opportunities

Simply click on the “Jobs” tab at the top of the Handshake page and then wait for all the listings to load. You can then use handy search boxes and filters to refine (by geography, for example, or by keyword) what’s presented to you. You can even save these customized searches so that you don’t have to set up filters every time you’re on Handshake.

Search for On-Campus Interviews

Click on the “Jobs” tab at the top of the Handshake page, and on the page that follows click on the “On-Campus Interviews” tab. There you’ll find a list of upcoming on-campus interviews at the University. 

To see which ones will be taking place in CLA, refine this full list by clicking on the “Career Center” option in the white column on the left-hand side of the page, then selecting “College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Career Services.”

Search for Career Events

Find out about job/career fairs, information sessions, and other events by clicking on the “Events” tab at the top of the Handshake page. On the page that follows, you can click on the “Event Search” tab to search for upcoming events and/or the “Fair Search” tab to search for upcoming job/career fairs.

Use Research, Interviewing, and Job Search Tools

Go to the “Career Center” tab at the top of the page, select “Resources” from the drop-down menu, and you’ll land on a page that offers four excellent resources you can use not only in your job/internship search efforts but also in your career exploration activities:

  • Candid Career, which offers videos featuring informational interviews with U of M alumni and other professionals (along with hundreds of additional videos on job search-related topics).
  • GoinGlobal, which offers career and employment information for major cities in the United States (“U.S. City Guides” option) as well as countries around the world (“Country Guides” option).
  • InterviewStream, which allows you to do practice interviews through your own computer, at your convenience. (Note: You’ll need a computer with a webcam and microphone.)
  • Maroon and Gold Network, an initiative of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association that allows you to get career-related advice from U of M alumni around the world who have volunteered to share it.

Where to Find Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The “Students & Alumni” section of Handshake offers "Frequently Asked Questions" that will help you with common Handshake questions/issues, such as:

  • Registering and logging in.
  • Uploading your resume and other documents.
  • Searching for opportunities (jobs, internships, volunteer positions).
  • Searching for on-campus interviews and career events.

You can also use the “Help Center” at the very bottom of every Handshake page (once you’re logged in), which takes you to an extensive collection of helpful tutorials.