Handshake

Handshake is the number one place for UMN students and alumni to find opportunities, connect with employers, and build connections with peers and alumni.

If you have a Handshake account, login here.

Set up your account and learn more.

To learn more about Handshake and how to create an account, select your group below:

For Students

Students and alumni automatically have Handshake accounts for life. Login by going to umn.joinhandshake.com and entering your UMN ID and password. If this doesn’t work, see our troubleshooting steps.

*CCAPS, CDes, CEHD, CFANS, CLA, and CSE require your first submitted resume to be reviewed and approved before applying to positions.

By logging into your Handshake account and selecting to post at the University of Minnesota, you agree to abide by the Handshake at the University of Minnesota Student & Alumni User Agreement.

For Alumni

As a graduate of the University of Minnesota, you have lifetime access to Handshake with your UMN ID and password. You will be able to continue logging into Handshake with your UMN ID and password even after you lose access to your UMN gmail account. However, your primary email account in Handshake will need to be updated to a personal email address to continue receiving notifications, employer messages, and outreach from other students and alumni. You also have the option of setting up new login credentials with Handshake when you graduate. See details below.

Update your email with the University, and your primary email in Handshake will be updated as well. You will receive a confirmation email from Handshake when this takes place. This may take about a month to process after you graduate. If you do not want to wait, you can update your email in Handshake directly.

To update your email with the University:

  1. Go to the My Info tab in MyU. If you no longer have access to MyU, visit update.umn.edu.
  2. Select Edit in the Email block.
  3. Select Add an Email Address.
  4. Select Home as the Email Type.
  5. Enter your personal email address in the Email Address field.
  6. Select Save.

As an alumni, you can continue to login to Handshake using your UMN ID (first part of your email address before @umn.edu) and password even after you lose access to your UMN email. Go to umn.joinhandshake.com and select University of Minnesota Student & Alumni Login.

You have the option of setting up new login credentials associated with your personal email address, once your personal email has been added to Handshake (see the instructions above). This allows you to login with your personal email and a new password rather than your UMN credentials. To do so:

  1. Go to umn.joinhandshake.com and select sign in with your email address.
  1. On the following page, select Get Started.
  1. You will receive an email to set up a new password.
  1. Once you’ve set your password, you’re all set! You will continue to login through the option sign in with your email address moving forward.

If you have not accessed UMN online resources in 6 months or more, your ID and password are likely inactive. You may also have graduated before the University provided IDs. Contact UMN IT, and they will provide you with new credentials or reactivate your account:

Still need help?

If you have tried all of the above and still do not have access, please complete the Handshake @ UMN Account Request form

Handshake is the best place to start when recruiting UMN students and alumni. Sign up for an account and request to connect with the University of Minnesota. All of our five campuses share one instance in Handshake.

If you have trouble during your account setup, see Handshake’s support articles or contact us at handshake@umn.edu or 612-624-7577:

Find and search more help articles in Handshake’s Help Center.

To post positions as an individual or private household, create an employer account using a personal email address (such as @gmail or @yahoo) following the steps in ‘How to Post Personal Babysitter Household or Caretaker Jobs.’

TIPS TO ATTRACT CANDIDATES: To ensure you attract candidates, include as much information as possible in your postings. Here are some recommendations of what to include:

  • At least 3 Qualifications
  • 3 – 5 Responsibilities, be as detailed as possible
  • Hours to be worked
    • (ex. 10am -2pm, or 4hrs between 8am and 4pm)
  • Whether or not they will need a drivers licence or vehicle
    • If not, provide bus lines that are near your home
  • Pay

Contact your college or campus’ Handshake contact if you have additional questions.

We encourage you to use Handshake for open positions in your department or as an individual (ex. a nannying position for your child). In addition to departmental and college communications, Handshake is the best way to promote jobs and internships to UMN students and alumni.

How to Setup an Account

As a best practice, we encourage you to use a UMN departmental email when setting up an employer account in Handshake to prevent extra work in the case of employee turnover. If a departmental account is not available, use an individual staff member’s UMN email address.

Go to app.joinhandshake.com and click ‘Sign up here’ in the upper right-hand corner. The employer registration link is in grey under the more prominent student registration field. We follow a company model for UMN department accounts, meaning you will create a separate organization (company) for your department, rather than connecting to the University of Minnesota broadly. First, search to see if your department has already created a profile before creating a new one. For step-by-step instructions of the entire process, see “Getting Started with Handshake: Employers” or the video below. 

  • Departmental naming: University of Minnesota – [Name of Department] OR University of Minnesota [Name of Department].
    • Labs sometimes name themselves “[Name of Lab] at the University of Minnesota”.

SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ALUMNI: If you are both a staff/faculty member and an alumni, you automatically have a student/alumni Handshake account linked to your UMN email address. To avoid issues when setting up an employer account, follow the instructions for How to Create an Employer Account Linked to Your Student Account. You will need to do this even if you have never logged into your student/alumni Handshake account. Alternatively, you can set up an employer account linked to a departmental email address (see the general instructions for setting up an account).

Faculty and staff often use Handshake to post personal, babysitter/nanny, caretaker, and household jobs. To do so, create an account using a personal email address (such as @gmail or @yahoo) following the steps in ‘How to Post Personal Babysitter Household or Caretaker Jobs.’

TIPS TO ATTRACT CANDIDATES: To ensure you attract candidates, include as much information as possible in your postings. Here are some recommendations of what to include:

  • At least 3 Qualifications
  • 3 – 5 Responsibilities, be as detailed as possible
  • Hours to be worked
    • (ex. 10am -2pm or 4hrs between 8am and 4pm)
  • Whether or not they will need a drivers licence or vehicle
    • If not, provide bus lines that are near your home
  • Pay

Contact your college or campus’ Handshake contact if you have additional questions.

How to Post a Job

Help

If you run into issues setting up your account or posting a position, reach out to the Handshake contact for your college, campus, or program or connect with Handshake directly through their Help Center.

Please note: Handshake is a service intended to facilitate the exchange of information between employers and prospective interns and/or employees who are University students and/or alumni.  Each student, alumni, and employer is responsible for the information they post or submit through Handshake, including the accuracy and legality of the information.  The University does not review or edit information prior to posting/submission, and takes no responsibility for the information.  Users are responsible for conducting their own reviews of the information they post, submit, or access on Handshake.  Please report any concerns regarding any information posted or submitted through Handshake to the University’s Career Services Administration (career@umn.edu).

Resources for Staff and Faculty

Resources for promoting Handshake, coaching, and learning more about the platform.

Sidebar

Career Resources

Each career services office has one primary Handshake contact, internally known as the Superuser, serving as the contact for any …

University of Minnesota Career Services Data

We have compiled datasets from Handshake to show themes in recruiting and student job searching behavior.

Labor Market InsightsIn partnership withLightcast logo

Explore occupations by career categories and pathways and use real time labor market data to power your decision making.

First, choose an industry of interest, then filter for occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)

Type in a keyword to select a relevant occupation. (If you'd like to see data for a specific location only, filter by state.)