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Handshake

College career network and job board

Handshake logo
501-1000 employees
  • B2C
  • Recruitment
  • Networking
Financial District, San Francisco, CA

Company mission

To democratize access to opportunity and ensure any student can build a great career no matter who they know, where they live or what school they attend.

Top investors

Some candidates hear
back within 2 weeks

2% employee growth in 12 months

Our take

The three founders of Handshake established their company in an attempt to eliminate inequality and make the student hiring landscape fairer. The Handshake platform acts as a LinkedIn for college students, pairing students from every walk of life with more than 650K employers, including the entire Fortune 500, which includes Google and Nike.

The graduate recruitment platform is open to any student with a valid @.edu email address, with more than 12 million active users from thousands of colleges and universities. With a student-first philosophy, the company generates revenue from both universities and employers rather than students.

Valued at $3.5B, Handshake has gained traction in a competitive market, although it has strong competition from recruiting giants LinkedIn and Indeed. It stands out, however, by helping students build new relationships and skills, rather than simply making connections to people they already know.

Steph headshot

Steph

Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle

Benefits

  • 💝Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision policies including LGTBQ+ Coverage. We also provide resources for Mental Health Assistance, Employee Assistance Programs and counseling support
  • 💰Equity and ownership in a fast-growing company
  • 💻Handshake offers $500/£360 home office stipend for you to spend during your first 3 months to create a productive and comfortable workspace at home
  • 📚Generous learning & development opportunities and an annual $2,000/£1,500 stipend for you to grow your skills and career
  • 🍼16 Weeks of paid parental leave for birth giving parents & 10 weeks of paid parental leave for non-birth giving parents

Funding (last 2 of 7 rounds)

Jan 2022

$200m

SERIES F

May 2021

$80m

SERIES E

Total funding: $434m

This company has top investors

Leadership

Garrett Lord

(Co-Founder & CEO)

Majored in Computer Science at Michigan Technological University. Interned at Palantir Technologies before co-founding Handshake in 2012.

Ben Christensen

(Co-Founder)

Graduated from Michigan Technological University with a degree in Computer Networking & Systems Administration. Interned at Target and worked as a Developer at Up and Running Software. Was part of Arbor Networks' ASERT Security Research team.

Scott Ringwelski

(Co-Founder)

Attained a degree in Computer Software Engineering from Michigan Technological University. Co-founded Handshake in 2012.

Jobs (32)

All locations

Software Engineering

People, HR, Recruitment