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

      Handshake

      Engaged Employer

      Handshake reviews

      3.1

      41% would recommend to a friend

      (289 total reviews)

      Garrett Lord

      41% approve of CEO

      35% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.2

      Compensation and benefits

      3.1

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.0

      Work/Life balance

      2.7

      Career opportunities

      2.6

      Culture & values

      2.3

      Senior management

      Handshake has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 289 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

      289 reviews
      5.0
      Apr 1, 2020

      Very happy that I made the move to Handshake!!

      Enterprise account executive
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I'm a new employee. Two weeks into my role and I couldn't be happier about coming on board. Here are a list of what I've picked up thus far: - Very engaged executive team. The founders who are a part of this team are very looped in to multiple weekly meetings. - I'm on a newly developed team in NYC. Our director and leader who hired us all has also been very involved with everything from remote-onboarding to training and development. (more than any manager I've had at any other company in the past) I have a strong feeling I'm going to learn a lot from her. - Extremely diligent and well structured onboarding training and sales enablement manager. - So much Handshake Swag! Which never seems to end. I've had multiple packages that have included team clothing, books, cravebox's. Thanks for making a new guy feel special! - Most importantly, the entire org's response to Covid-19. From the CEO to HR to everyone. Our company quickly implemented a WFH policy and has continuously provided updates around where as a company we stand as well as best resources for all employees. I was a bit nervous starting my first day with this going on, but the Handshake team has reassured me that my new role is safe. Additionally, they made me feel valued and have me very excited about the success I plan on having moving forward.

      Cons

      No cons at this point.

      3.0
      Mar 9, 2020

      Good company but middle management needs work

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Fantastic people and great growth

      Cons

      Growth is going too fast that everyone is running 100 mph. In middle management, it depends on the team you are on and the manager of that team. Middle management does not know how to lead; they only want to impress the founders rather than actually be a leader.

      5.0
      Jan 30, 2020

      Best company I've worked at. Mission, team, personal growth.

      Senior product manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      This is the third tech startup I’ve worked at, and it’s *far and away* the best. Handshake is focused on a mission that matters, with a world-class team behind it, and a massive business opportunity. The reasons I joined, and the reasons I plan to stay here long-term are the… - Mission: Handshake was created to democratize access to opportunity for all students. The founders, and the team they’ve built, are incredibly passionate about fulfilling this mission. And it’s not just words on a website - the business model they’ve chosen, the daily decisions being made, and the tough trade-offs that emerge - are all deliberate decisions with a “students first” approach. - Team & Culture: I’m consistently thankful for the group of people I get to work with every day. People are super hungry, driven, and humble. They join because they want to make students’ lives better. Garrett (the CEO) is absolutely *relentless* in seeking out the best people, and building relationships with them for years until he can convince them to join. I have a lot of fun getting to work with this team! - Personal Growth & Impact. The reason I’ve stayed at Handshake for so long is how invested they are in my personal growth. Every time I’ve gotten even a little bit bored, I’m able to have that conversation transparently and figure out new ways to stretch myself / increase my impact. Every 6 months when I look back on the previous 6, I’m pretty blown away by what the team has accomplished and how much my role has evolved.

      Cons

      The biggest “cons” of working at Handshake are pretty much what you’d expect for a company growing at the rate we are, and the complexity of the marketplace we’re in: - Can be super stressful: I sometimes feel like I’m tow-ing the line between ‘good stress / feeling of impact’, and ‘oh wow, how am I handling this right now??’ I personally kind of like that… but I wouldn’t join if it’s not for you. - Difficult to scale communication, transparency, culture: we’ve definitely gone through cycles of growing pains around these three areas. There are certain weeks where it feels like everything is breaking, and then we focus on updating our processes, and then things are great again… pretty standard, but gives you that ‘start-up roller coaster’ feeling.

      Viewing 262 - 264 of 289 Reviews
      Related searches: Handshake jobs | Handshake salaries | Handshake benefits | Handshake interviews
      ReviewsHandshake reviews

      Glassdoor has 459 Handshake reviews submitted anonymously by Handshake employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Handshake is right for you.