If a company posts on Handshake, for example, they can specify which schools they want included. So nobody is posting an engineering role at College of the Atlantic, which does not have engineering. Students don’t even know which companies are posting at other schools…
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This is interesting. My son and friends at other colleges sometimes suggest a Handshake listing to each other. And my kids tell each other about them too. So far, they’ve all been able to find them. But they are all engineers, so maybe most companies are going wide for engineering - Michigan, MSU, Alabama and UAH.
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Not only will they find them but they are also listed on the company websites.
Yes. Handshake is easier to filter through, he thinks.
I’m sure. Indeed lists similar jobs. Perhaps some companies are selecting schools but my son saw ones as the same as indeed but a few days later on handshake. He had indeed daily feeds which are nice. Most these jobs have to be going to other schools because most are located far away. Manufacturing jobs are big in the MW as an example.
Just to put some meat on the bones- a post on Indeed or Linkedin can yield 1200 resumes in two days.
Handshake will rarely get more than a few hundred over the course of a month.
Your kid can decide which odds are better before they shotgun…
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Just want to make sure I’m understanding your comment - are you saying that searching/applying via Handshake is a preferred option for currently enrolled and soon-to-be graduating college students? I personally see it as a great option, but I don’t have any real evidence or experience with the platform.
Handshake is customized- Indeed and the other platforms are like the bulletin boards at your local grocery store- anyone who sees the post is able to apply.
So the hit rate on the targeted postings is likely to be higher. The shotgun approach (I’ll apply for every single job I see which is in Chicago or DC and has the words “sustainability” and “climate change”) is likely to be a time consuming and inefficient way to go!
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Indeed (and I imagine linkedin)
Inefficient - yes
Effective - yes
My son’s company never hired from his school for his program and I don’t think any of his offers (maybe one) were on handshake. All were on indeed.
There was one or two he interviewed with that were on handshake - like Whirlpool - but most were just indeed postings - and he had 19 interviews.
So I’ll agree it’s not efficient. If there’s on campus recruiting or targeted or an alum who will get you places - all those things are more efficient - if you’re able to pull them off. Most kids are not - even at top flight schools but certainly not at your regular flagship types.
And of course only looking at companies seeking grads of certain schools will be more efficient - but for most, that won’t be many in jobs or industries of interest.
But shotgunning - while inefficient and time consuming, can lead to a great outcome. But you have to be able to handle rejection - over and over and over again.
We’re seeing students from top colleges saying they’re sending out 100+ resumes - some hit, some don’t - but today, that’s what it takes.
And the first one typically seems to be the hardest one.
Once you have experience, you’ll get more looks - hence the importance of internships or co ops, etc.
Of course, one never knows how the economy or job cycle will be as we are witnessing now. And we’ll have changes due to tariffs and other economic policies.
In my industry, we’re definitely shrinking due to high inflation which causes us to raise prices and under equip vehicles to keep prices down, which leads to less profit…but in others perhaps growing.
And that cycle will continue to change over time and some industries may die while other new ones we don’t know about rise.
One of my sons is a scientist at a top research hospital, and he found his first job out of college through Indeed. I wouldn’t dismiss any source outright—there’s competition for any position posted online. It’s also crucial to recognize how companies use screening software. Tailoring both the resume and cover letter to the job description can make a big difference.
A “shotgun” approach—sending the same resume and cover letter to every position in broad categories—is unlikely to be effective. However, using Indeed selectively can be valuable.
Not all potential employers are selective in their postings either; many take a shotgun approach themselves. Handshake, a for-profit business, is one of many platforms companies use to post their job openings. Handshake might have an edge for entry-level positions and internships, especially if looking locally, but in a tight market it doesn’t seem wise to not use every resource available.
Unfortunately, today’s job search is challenging, time-consuming, and often demoralizing. The best approach is to stay realistic about your skill set without ruling out positions where you meet most—but not all—of the desired qualifications. Persistence and patience are key, as is taking the time to tailor your resume and cover letter for each application. It’s also important to develop a thick skin, as rejection, ghosting, and lack of response from companies can be really hard, especially for new graduates.
My son is now six years into his job, and he’s seeing it from the other side. Employers are frustrated by the process, too. It’s not ideal for either side.
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I think there’s a lot of wisdom in your post.
I will make one tiny correction- there’s a difference between the “nice to haves” in a job posting and a “must have” and savvy job seekers should take the time to understand the difference.
If a role requires Bar admission and you have an AA in Court Reporting- you are not qualified for the role, no matter how much you have learned on the job about the criminal justice system. If a role is for a rotational position between the US and Beijing and requires fluency in Mandarin, it is likely that an early interview will be with a native Mandarin speaker and your one year of HS Mandarin 6 years ago is probably not going to cut it.
There is a lot of frustration about the labor markets, but doing your homework can really help cut down on the time wasters.
And a big one- if a role specifies that you must be eligible for a security clearance (and they will specify) don’t bother applying if you won’t be eligible.
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Absolutely, where you can tailor a resume in the shotgunning of apps - is smart. If you have a skills area, for example, adding a key word from the listing.
We are going from an era of companies listing their desires but not being able to find them and settling for someone less qualified to - now there will be more qualified applicants than openings.
At least it seems this way although the overall job #s seem strong.
I agree! That’s exactly what I meant by being realistic about skill sets. Some new graduates apply for jobs requiring five years of supervisory experience, while others hesitate to apply simply because the start date is June 1st and they don’t graduate until June 7th. There’s a lot of nuance between these extremes, and that’s where parents can make a real difference. Some graduates need a boost of confidence, while others need a reality check.
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Agree!
As a recruiter, if you know what you’re looking for, Handshake is a phenomenal application.
It’s not the only tool in the box but I swore by it when i was directly hiring grads.
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agree 100%.
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Employers should also post job listings distinguishing between requirements and desirables. Not all distinctions are as obvious as your examples of security clearance, foreign language for a job in that country, licensing requirements, etc… When a job listing lists a dozen “requirements” that are unlikely to be met by anyone other than the person who just left the job, it is not surprising that job seekers guess that only a few of them are hard requirements.
Hoping to hear from students and parents on how the job/internship situation is with
“tier 2” colleges with CS like majors. I am not talking about CMU’s of the world. Colleges like UMD, Purdue, Rutgers, etc.
Hiring targets are down in big tech (no secret). Layoff’s are either stealth or quite public (Meta’s layoff this week). Students are going to need to cast a much wider net than during the boom years. Insurance, consumer products, industrial products, credit cards- all these companies hire CS grads, regardless of what’s happening with TikTok or Google or Apple.
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I’m not sure that UMD and Purdue are tier 2 - unless you mean other the other flagships like a Kansas or Oregon State or Arizona State are tier 5.
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