Handshake is a deeply flawed system, but there is hope. For those who do not know, Handshake is a platform that Drew faculty and students use to advertise jobs and different opportunities on or near Drew’s campus. It is very similar to Indeed or other job-finding sites. The website is easy enough to navigate, but there are some issues.
It can be hard to find available jobs since they are not posted regularly. This is the biggest problem. It becomes your responsibility to track down job openings since only a few are posted. More opportunities should be added to the main page to make the website accessible.
To ask for some insight, I contacted the Director of the Center for Career Development, Kimberly Giorgio, who has been working at Drew University for two months and has been in the industry for eight years. She was eager to talk about the platform. She explained that the easiest way to receive more job offers and attract the attention of more companies is to write as much information as possible on the website.
It is important to add as many details to the student profile as possible to give employers the best idea of who you are and how well you would do in a certain position. It can be helpful to search for jobs that are more prominently advertised. “Our roles spanned various fields such as Marketing, Finance, IT, Supply Chain, HR, R&D, Sales and more,” Giorgio said about her experience. Making sure you play to your strengths is key in finding success.
I believe it is important that Handshake receives more attention and becomes a more welcoming environment for both employers and future employees. The filters should become more accurate to help ensure that users see more relevant opportunities and to create a better user experience. As Giorgio said, “Handshake was our primary resource, and when effectively utilized, it can open doors to promising career opportunities for students.” As long as it can be improved, Handshake can be the website we all want it to be.
Nina Grace is a sophomore majoring in art history and minoring in museum studies and cultural management.
