By Victoria Keraj
Brooklyn College has partnered with Handshake, a job search platform catered towards college students, as part of a CUNY wide initiative.
Students registered for the fall semester were notified on how to access their account through an email sent out on Aug. 20, which also mentioned that new jobs would be continuously added to the site. BC students and alumni who registered after the date can join the site after being approved by BC administration. As part of the process of adding new jobs to the site, there is first a vetting process that takes place.
“In the past, the way that you approved the jobs was a little more tedious, now we have a little bit more options of auto-approving. Once I know a company, we can give them the green light to post, we’re not screening,” said Andre Fontenelle, the associate director of employer relations and internships at the Magner Career Center (MCC).
Jobs are automatically flagged based on their location, salary transparency, and if they have a residential or commercial address. Employers from BC’s previous job search platform, Symplicity, are also transferring to Handshake which contributes to the new jobs being added to the platform. However, students can still look up jobs that aren’t added to BC’s site.
“Even if an employer isn’t posting a job with us, students can look them up, follow them, even get contact information,” Jennifer Furlong, Director of the Office of Career Planning and Professional Development at the CUNY graduate center, said in an interview with the Graduate Center.
Handshake also allows for employers to seek out students to hire. “Students can choose whether they want employers to be able to find them or to keep their settings very private. Then an employer would only see them if they apply for a job. The advantage of being public is that, just like on LinkedIn, employers can find you and reach out to you if you have the skills that they are looking for,” said Furlong.
Students are also able to get information about jobs and internships they’re interested in by connecting with other students in their majors who previously worked at the job. Additionally, Handshake has a user-friendly interface that allows for ease of use.
“Handshake is a much more modern looking platform than Symplicity […] One of the great features that Handshake has is that in many ways it mirrors some of the functionality of Linkedin which we are always advocating students to use,” said Fontenelle.
Handshake’s about us section on their website states that they are “committed to democratizing opportunity.” However, there are those who oppose the idea that Handshake makes it easier for anyone from any background to get high-level jobs.
“Those jobs that they are posting now, the problem is that those are available on the internet. So Handshake is just providing a curated platform for seeing those jobs and, as a result, making them more competitive for students, which I think is likely to reinforce pedigree and degree-based hiring,” Ryan Craig, an opponent of Handshake, said in a Forbes article.
Others stand by Handshake, stressing the importance of providing students with a beginning in the job application process. “BC Handshake is a component to you getting that dream job. It is not the only thing […] I would say that the democratization of the job market exists in the largest degree to students who are accessing the MCC,” said Fontenelle.
Regardless of digital platforms like Handshake and LinkedIn, classic methods of networking are also stressed as a way for students to distinguish themselves from other applicants.
“People who are interested in you and know you are someone who looks like a strong candidate,” said Fontenelle. “If there’s something that’s available, they’re gonna tell you.”
For career related inquiries, visit the Magner Career Center in 1303 James Hall and register for Handshake at https://joinhandshake.com/ with your BC email address.