Skip to contentSkip to footer
      employer cover photo
      employer logo
      employer logo

      Handshake

      Engaged Employer

      Handshake reviews

      3.1

      43% would recommend to a friend

      (290 total reviews)

      Garrett Lord

      44% approve of CEO

      37% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.2

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.2

      Compensation and benefits

      3.1

      Work/Life balance

      2.8

      Career opportunities

      2.6

      Culture & values

      2.4

      Senior management

      Handshake has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 290 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Handshake employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      290 reviews
      1.0
      Nov 29, 2023

      Don't say you weren't warned

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      You will bond with some genuinely smart, creative, and dedicated people. None of you will have any power or authority to change anything.

      Cons

      If you’re considering working here and thinking all of the negative reviews are dramatic and exaggerating how bad this situation is, I assure you they are underselling it. Four re-orgs, several massive layoff events, including one leadership tried to lie about. Many reviews have mentioned the CEO, an overgrown child who makes people scramble to his whims and gaslights the company. Engineering leadership is a revolving door of hapless and disillusioned execs who leave with a cushy exit package after accomplishing nothing and making their teams miserable. The go to market leadership playbook consists of two simple things: yell at reports, and hire some white man from a larger company with network connections while simultaneously preaching the importance of diversity. Bonus points when one of those white men gets fired for outright racism. The rampant favoritism is real, leadership and their cronies spend their time insulting their reports in group chats that consistently get leaked. 80% of current employees are looking for another job. I’d suggest working pretty much anywhere else.

      avatar
      Handshake Response
      2y
      Thank you very much for sharing your experience. Handshake has gone through a substantial amount of change over the past year, which has been in service of ensuring that we have the right team members and executives in place to accomplish our goals for 2024. We run internal surveys regularly, and take seriously the results from those surveys through conversations at the leadership level, with our managers, and individually between HR Business Partners and the teams they support. We conduct appropriate follow-ups to any instances of harassment or behavior that isn’t aligned to our Code of Conduct, and strive to be a workplace where employees feel comfortable having open and honest conversations with their managers, executives, and the People Team.
      5.0
      Nov 28, 2023

      Lots of opportunity, lots of (complex) work

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Completely dominating position in the market we're in, but still a ton of opportunity left. Really strong university partnerships and the beginnings of success in Europe as well. Really smart coworkers and they're starting to be better at identifying lower performers and making sure they move on.

      Cons

      It's a very complex business with 3 sides with very different expectations and very murky motivations. Partnering with F100 type companies is great, but also they're very corporate.

      5.0
      Nov 27, 2023

      Mission driven company with lot of talent

      Senior software engineering manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Handshake operates with a strong sense of mission, and the entire team is genuinely dedicated to its pursuit. Within the engineering organization, the talent pool is notably high, featuring numerous subject matter experts who contribute to a dynamic learning environment for junior and mid-level engineers. The company culture fosters creativity, empowering individuals to propose and work on impactful product ideas, with high performance duly recognized. Our leadership team, largely comprising professionals from FAANG companies, adds a valuable dimension to the organization. Moreover, the company highly invests in and values Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), further enriching our collaborative and inclusive workplace. My experience at Handshake has been fulfilling, and each day presents an opportunity for meaningful contributions and professional growth.

      Cons

      The work environment is dynamic and fast-paced, often necessitating the ability to assume various roles such as engineer, product manager, designer, and user researcher. While this may be perceived as challenging by some, for others, it represents a valuable learning opportunity and a chance to accelerate career growth.

      avatar
      Handshake Response
      2y
      Thank you very much for this thoughtful review! We’re so proud of our mission to democratize access for early talent, and believe that we have the best team in place to be able to succeed in that effort. We also recognize that this is incredibly hard work, and that we ask our employees to be flexible and to occasionally wear multiple hats. We strive to keep these expectations reasonable (and we also think of them as being growth opportunities!), but we acknowledge that we may not always do so perfectly. We’re so glad you’re on the team, and hope that you’ll keep the feedback coming!
      Viewing 121 - 123 of 290 Reviews
      Related searches: Handshake jobs | Handshake salaries | Handshake benefits | Handshake interviews
      ReviewsHandshake reviews

      Glassdoor has 464 Handshake reviews submitted anonymously by Handshake employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Handshake is right for you.