All About Handshake

In this Issue: what is Handshake, and how can families help their students maximize it?

The OPCD asked me to share some information about Handshake today. They tell me that students don’t always understand why they need to use Handshake, one of our strongest internship and career search tools.

The OPCD asks families of sophomores-seniors to ensure their students understand the importance of Handshake and spend some time this summer updating their profile. (Don’t worry, families of incoming ’30 students – they will learn more at Orientation.)

The #1 reason students miss internship opportunities: The Handshake “Power-Up”

As your students prepare for the fall semester, they are entering a competitive job market. While LinkedIn can be useful, Handshake is the platform where Wake Forest’s specific employer relationships live, and Handshake is the best way for students to engage with the OPCD and their career readiness.

The “Why”:

Recruiters actively scout for students using Handshake’s internal filters. If your student’s profile is incomplete, they are essentially invisible to thousands of employers looking for Wake Forest talent. Furthermore, if their “career interests” are outdated, they miss out on critical, tailored information from employers and the OPCD.

The “What”:

We have one priority goal for every sophomore-senior right now: A complete, updated Handshake profile. Please encourage your ’27-’29 students to spend 30 minutes “powering up” their account:

• Complete the Profile: Add skills, relevant coursework, and prior experience. Recruiters filter by these fields.
• Set Career Interests: This tells Handshake’s algorithm exactly which roles to put in their feed—and it ensures they receive tailored information, resources, and opportunities from the OPCD. Important: Interests evolve, so students should revisit and update these at the start of every semester.
• Turn on Alerts: Set saved searches so internship and job opportunities are delivered directly to them—saving them time and frustration.
• Monitor the Inbox: Even with a perfect profile, your student must read emails from . We use these to send critical, time-sensitive updates on recruiting timelines and employer events.

Your Role as a parent or family member:

A nudge from home makes a difference. If you are looking for a way to bring this up, try asking: “Have you had a chance to ‘power up’ your Handshake profile this summer? I heard it’s the #1 way to make sure recruiters can actually find you—and keep an eye out for emails from the OPCD, too.”