Handshake - career appt's, job searching and more

Complete Your Profile

When you first log onto Handshake, you'll be asked to complete your profile and answer questions about your career interests. Filling out this information will help Handshake learn more about what information to present to you based on your background and goals. The most important section to complete and keep updated is “Your Interests.”

Profiles are automatically set to private, so if you want your profile to be viewable by employers or for networking, you need to change it to a Community Profile. A community profile is only viewable by employers connected with UMass Amherst. You can have a community profile and keep some information (for example, your GPA) private.    

How to Change Profile Privacy Settings  

1. Click your name in the main menu in the top right corner  
2. Select "Settings & Privacy "
3. Select "Account Information" in the upper left side of the page, then in the Privacy section, select the option that meets your privacy preference  

Note: If you want to participate in virtual career fairs, you should to set your profile to community  

GPA Privacy Setting  

1. Click your name in the main drop-down menu in the top right corner   
2. Select My Profile  
3. Click the edit symbol in the Education section and select the options that meets your privacy preference  

With thousands of employers posting jobs on the platform, Handshake is a powerful tool for your internship and job search needs!  

1. Click Jobs on the left navigation menu 
2. Use the following methods to identify the most relevant jobs and narrow down your search: 

• Search Bar: search for jobs based on keywords, job titles, job ids, or by employer. Looking for remote opportunities? Use the keyword search!  

• School Collections: find jobs curated specifically for your school by your career services department. 

• Location: find jobs in a particular city, state, zip code, or country. Note: the location filter defaults to a 50 mile radius. Use the slider to move the dot across the line to change the radius, left to decrease and right to increase the mileage.  

• On-site/Remote: filter on jobs that are in-person or work from home.  

• Full-time Job: browse available full-time positions. 

• Internship: browse internships. 

• Part-time: browse available part-time positions. 

• All Filters: access even more search filters to narrow your search!

• Results using the above search filters are displayed immediately on the left side of the page. 

Handshake advertises both in-person fairs, as well as virtual fairs that can be attended on Handshake. In order to book appointments and join a virtual fair: 

1. Log in: https://umass.joinhandshake.com (Use Chrome, FireFox or the Handshake mobile app)  

2. Go to the Events tab -> Career Fair -> Find Fair  
3. Click Register (note that scheduling typically opens a week before the fair)  
4. Review the details of the fair, as well as the companies and the positions offered. You can use filters and save favorite companies for your own notes.  
5. Once you know which companies you'd like to meet, review the available meeting times. There are two types of possible meeting times:  

   1. 1 to 1 Appointments (10 mins.)

   2. Group Meetings (30 mins.)  

6. Sign up for scheduled meetings, then upload resume to your profile – click Feature On Profile  
7. Profile Visibility needs to be on Community, not Private  
8. If you need to cancel your meetings for any reason, click “Your Schedule” on the right side  
9. On the day of the fair, click “Your Schedule” to join sessions you've signed up for up to 5 mins. before the meeting starts   
10. Join the session by clicking the blue Launch Video  button

Considerations for Obtaining Internship Credit

Registration for all internships and co-ops starts with submitting an online internship or co-op experience contract in Handshake, which you access with your SPIRE NetID and password.  Putting together an internship has 4 major parts:

• Site Supervisor: the person who agrees to directly supervise you at their place of business.  Your supervisor cannot be another student or a family member.

• Faculty Sponsor: ensures the internship has an academic component and connects with your personal program of study. They will provide the grade for your internship.

• Handshake: where all information about your internship is entered and stored (e.g. contracts, evaluations). Information you provide on Handshake is shared with your faculty sponsor for approval.

• You: the person responsible for bringing together all of the parties above, ensuring that all parts of the registration process are completed by all parties, and confirming that your plans will comply with the requirements of your major.

What Information You Will Need to Get Started. 

• Company: 
  • Name
  • Address
  • Website
  • Supervisor's name
  • Supervisor's contact information (phone and e-mail)
• Internship: 
  • Start and end date
  • Learning objectives
  • Brief description of duties
  • Work location (in-person, remote, hybrid)
• Academic Information: 
  • Faculty sponsor's name and e-mail
  • Course number (if you are unsure, ask your faculty sponsor)
  • Number of credits (if you are unsure, ask your faculty sponsor)
  • A description of your academic project

Registering for Credit

1. Login to Handshake and submit an internship experience contract:

   • Click on the Career Center tab on the top right

   • Click Experiences

   • Click Request an Experience.

   • Fill out the form. If you do not have all the required information or need to attach additional documents before submitting, you can click Save as Draft at the end of the form.

2. Once you complete and submit your Contract, after it is reviewed by Central Career Services staff, Handshake will email a link to your faculty sponsor for approval.

3. Tell your faculty sponsor that they will receive a computer-generated email from Handshake with a customized link to approve.

4. Your faculty sponsor will indicate their approval after clicking on that link and reviewing your contract.

5. After your faculty sponsor has approved the online contract, The Field Experience office will help you get enrolled in your internship credit.

You may need to include other supplemental forms alongside your internship form. Review the following section to make sure you are including everything necessary.

Supplemental Materials to Submit with Internship

Often when submitting an internship, you may need to submit one or more forms in order to have your internship experience accepted.

Internship occurs at an employer's site

• Form Needed: Field Experience Acknowledgement Form

You are below 45 credit or a 2.0 GPA at the start of the internship

• Form Needed: Dean's Approval

If your internship or co-op will have you not taking in-person classes during the fall or spring semesters

• Forms Needed: Placements Requirements Form and Department Permission

If you are an undergraduate student doing an internship outside of the United States

• Form Needed: Undergraduate International Internship and Co-op IPO Approval
• Contact the International Programs Office (IPO) at least six months in advance of your internship to seek IPO approval.  This applies to both domestic and international undergraduates.

If you are an international student doing a paid internship in the United States

• Forms Needed: Copy of Your Offer Letter and Copy of CPT/I-20 (after CPT approval)
• Check with the International Programs Office (IPO) regarding work authorization allowed under your specific immigration status and review the IPO Guidelines for CPT Approval. 

Directions for Attaching Files:

1. Once you are about to complete your Handshake Experience, click Save as Draft instead of the Submit button before submitting the Handshake Experience.
2. Scroll down the left side of the page and click on the New Attachment button.
3. Follow the prompts:
   • Name each document (Offer Letter, Field Experience Acknowledgement Form, etc.)
   • Click on the Choose File button and select the document from your files
   • Click on the Create Attachment button on the right. Repeat this process for any other attachments.
4. After you have attached files, click on Edit at the top right on the page, click through to the last page of the form, and click Submit.