Handshake

Handshake is the premier early talent network and university recruiting platform dedicated to democratizing career opportunities for students and recent graduates. Founded in 2014 by Garrett Lord, Ben Christensen, and Scott Ringwelski in San Francisco, the company was built on the belief that a student's career prospects should not be dictated by their zip code or the prestige of their university. Under the hood, Handshake operates a massive three-sided marketplace connecting over 1,400 higher education institutions, millions of active students, and nearly a million employers—ranging from Fortune 500 giants to local non-profits. The platform provides a centralized hub for job postings, virtual career fairs, and proactive talent sourcing, leveraging smart matching algorithms to surface relevant roles based on a student's skills and interests rather than just their pedigree. Their primary target audience includes college students entering the workforce, university career centers seeking to boost graduate outcomes, and enterprise talent acquisition teams desperate to build diverse, entry-level pipelines. What sets Handshake apart in the HR Tech space is its absolute dominance in the higher education ecosystem, effectively replacing legacy university job boards and becoming the undisputed standard for early-career recruitment.