Handshake reviews

3.1

41% would recommend to a friend

(289 total reviews)

Garrett Lord

41% approve of CEO

35% positive business outlook

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).

Reviews by job title

289 reviews
1.0
Sep 6, 2019

Toxic culture and workplace

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The mission is great on paper and the company attracts people who are connected to the mission. Cold brew and kombucha on tap.

Cons

Culture It was a totally different experience between the interview process and actually working there. It was presented as an inclusive workplace but it’s actually extremely cutthroat and political. Don’t be fooled by the honeymoon period. Bro-culture mentality Very cliquey: Don’t expect to get along with everyone unless you’re a specific kind of personality. Gossip mill runs rampant: Don’t expect your managers to not talk about you behind your back, often in earshot of other employees Culture of fear: There’s no trust. It seems there was always the assumption (and sometimes accusation) that people aren’t doing their job. They say the pace is fast, but it’s really just chaos with constantly shifting goalposts. It often felt like psychological warfare where everything felt like a test and you were made to constantly doubt your abilities. Work-life balance There is no balance. You are expected to be there feverishly working late, then go home and work even more. Working weekends is needed to keep up and meet demands. Executive immaturity and lack of experience Garrett: the CEO has severe mood swings and you never know where you really stand with him. He plays favorites and over-indexes to pedigree, despite the company’s mission to democratize opportunity for people of all backgrounds. He doesn’t engage with executive women or female employees like he does with male leadership. He seems very arrogant, egotistical, elitist, and narcissistic. It feels like the company is run by executives that have no idea what they’re doing a lot of the time. There’s a general lack of executive direction, ownership, or commitment to a plan. Many managers are inexperienced and have poor people management skills. A word of warning: don’t join this company.

5.0
May 29, 2019

Interview Process

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

culture, inclusive, great place to grow and learn

Cons

nothing and i hope it stays that way

Viewing 274 - 276 of 289 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.