Is Handshake a good company to work for?

Handshake has an overall rating of 3.1 out of 5, based on over 459 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has increased by 9% over the last 12 months. 41% of employees would recommend working at Handshake to a friend and 35% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about Handshake have been left by employees working as Remote AI Trainer , Senior Software Engineer and AI Fellow .

Does Handshake pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Handshake employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.2 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Handshake. This rating has decreased by 4% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Handshake?

41% of Handshake employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Handshake 3.0 out of 5 for work life balance, 2.6 for culture and values and 2.7 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Handshake?

Software Engineer (37) , Remote AI Trainer (19) , AI Trainer (14) , AI Fellow (12) , Fellow (12) , Account Executive (11) , Senior Software Engineer (11) , Customer Success Manager (9) , Sales Development Representative (SDR) (9) , Sales (6) , AI Data Annotator (5) , Enterprise Account Executive (5) , MOVE Fellowship (AI Annotator) (5) , Consumer Support Specialist (4) , Customer Support Specialist (4)

What are the pros of working at Handshake according to real employee reviews?

"I've had the opportunity to work with some really great people over the years." ((in 36 reviews)); "Good pay and on time" ((in 31 reviews)); "Great team and product market fit" ((in 25 reviews)); "Benefits are good" ((in 20 reviews)); "Work life balance is also decent." ((in 11 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Handshake according to real employee reviews?

"suite and Senior Leadership are terrible (except for Christine and Marta)." ((in 20 reviews)); "Management is horrible." ((in 18 reviews)); "Disorganized, poor communication, unclear direction." ((in 11 reviews)); "Had a really good manager and it was low" ((in 9 reviews)); "Uniformed reorgs, layoffs, pivots galore." ((in 8 reviews))

What are employees saying about Handshake layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Handshake layoffs and their outlook for job security at Handshake in 2026.

What Handshake locations have received the highest employee ratings?

Denver , Los Angeles , San Francisco , New York

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

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

289 reviews

5.0

May 19, 2017

Handshake Review

Customer success intern

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The company has a very friendly work environment and culture. They care about interns learning the skills they want to learn. Handshake doesn't shy away from putting interns into positions where they are doing real, meaningful work

Cons

I have to write a minimum of 20 words in this box but I only really have one thing to say: San Francisco is expensive to live in (luckily the company pays well enough that this isn't a huge issue, and also offers remote employment for certain roles)

5.0

Mar 8, 2017

Mission Driven Company That's Moving Fast and Having Significant Impact

Head of marketing

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Handshake democratizes opportunity for students. And in doing so levels the playing field between talent and opportunity. We work hard to make this a reality! Culture of trust, collaboration, and recognition. Incredibly fast moving and hard working team. Handshake is a meritocracy. Value, accountability and ownership are rewarded. We provide a tangible value to students, career centers and employers

Cons

Prioritization is a constant challenge as we balance a three sided network Young team - Handshake has rapidly grown and various teams are in need of more experience leadership and guidance to scale and to enjoy work Resource constrained - people wear a lot of hats, which a lot people value, but be prepared to roll up your sleeves, be resourceful and make it happen!

5.0

Jan 19, 2017

Fulfilling Experience

Software engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

- The team all really believes in trying to help people get jobs out of college, regardless of what school you went to. People really believe this here, the CEO got a little teary eyed at one of the all hands talking about it. - Team's are small enough that you can drive forward projects you find valuable. I've worked on many different high impact / visible initiatives and I haven't been here as long as most of the team. - The people that work here are very talented and hard working. They're also very modest and friendly, everyone checks their egos at the door.

Cons

- Product management is a bit on the light side, sometimes this is sold as a positive but realistically it means some things fall through the crack every now and then.

Viewing 286 - 288 of 289 Reviews

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Store Operation Manager

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