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      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
      Nov 11, 2019

      A place to grow and make an impact

      Enterprise account executive
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I moved to SF to work at Handshake and have met some amazing leaders who have helped me with my own personal and professional development. I appreciate the transparency and the vulnerability of the CEO, Garrett. Sales leaders in my org are always willing to help me grow and come from amazing backgrounds to help reps succeed. Being on multiple sales teams here at Handshake has been really rewarding. Handshake is a place where you can get out what you put in. The growth has been incredible and fun to watch and it doesn't seem like were slowing down anytime soon. Its not often you can say that you are impacting the world for better through a sales job but I can say that here. On the sales team we get the opportunity to transform how companies recruit entry level talent. Its amazing to see the new opportunities we create for students around the country.

      Cons

      This is a fast moving company. There's lots to learn from the product, team dynamics, and recruiting as a whole. If you don't take the time to educate yourself on these topics you will feel overwhelmed. If you don't take time to reflect each week things will feel like they get away from you. The company has doubled in size this year so getting to know people has been a little more challenging than in the past so you have to make an effort to connect.

      5.0
      Nov 5, 2019

      Mission Driven Rocketship

      University partnerships
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      These days it feels rare to find a company that is actually using technology to make a real difference in the lives of thousands people. Handshake has stayed true to the mission of democratizing opportunity and today brings students more opportunity and information to help them start their career than they ever had access to before. We see story after story of students who have had their life changed because of an opportunity posted to their university because their university joined Handshake. When you work at Handshake you'll be surrounded by incredibly driven people who care about making an impact. That can be intense (see the core value re: the ping-pong table) but the work is incredibly meaningful. Handshake really cares about constant improvement and making Handshake a great place to work and that starts at the executive team. There is also a major focus on building a strong business (frugality may be seen by some as a con, but in the age of WeWork I'd prefer strong business fundamentals to lots of perks designed to make me stay in the office longer). If you want to work at a fast growing company where you can be proud of the impact you're making - Handshake is the spot for you.

      Cons

      Working at a fast growing company can be really, really hard. They say you join a start up to get 15 years of experience in 5 - which is true, but that's not stress free. The team doubles roughly every year which means there can be less consistency in management. Balancing a three-sided marketplace is hard and unique which creates resourcing challenges.

      5.0
      Nov 4, 2019

      Handshake is the future platform for all students to find careers & an awesome place to work

      Sales
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Absolutely amazing product, business model, and people to work with/for. Handshake's platform is the #1 resource for all students in the US and 900 universities leverage the platform to allow their students to connect with jobs from over 400,000 companies (which is completely free for students + alumni). Leadership and nearly all of the employees are insanely driven, focused on putting students first, and have an awesome future vision for the company. Work-Life balance is one of the best I've seen. Need time off? No problem. Treat you like an adult and allow you to work on your time (in a very reasonable fashion).

      Cons

      It's growing really fast and with any "start-up" there is lots of change. Pretty impossible to avoid and can be frustrating at times, but provides lots of area for growth and learning. Are the CEO & some of leadership young with a lot to learn? Definitely. However, the CEO specifically has over 3 executive coaches, is Forbes 30 under 30, cares more about people than any other CEO I've ever met, and tries harder than any SaaS CEO I've worked for to make the company a fun place to work. Last, not a con at all, but Handshake is just beginning to monetize (as any for profit needs to do), which has the "tenured" employees questioning (now that revenue is coming in) if the #1 goal is to help students rather than just to make a profit. The reality is revenue only allows the company to build a better product for students, so ultimately it's an extremely positive "change".

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      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.