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HomeStudent homeWork, volunteering and career planningAbout Careers and PlacementsUsing Handshake

Using Handshake

Handshake is our careers platform for current University of York students, and graduates of the University of York. Use it alongside the information on our web pages throughout your career journey.

You can use Handshake to:

  • Look for jobs (mainly UK-based vacancies) - part-time jobs, graduate jobs, internships and placement years, and volunteering opportunities
  • Find events - in-person and online events organised by the Careers and Placements team (UoY events), as well as virtual events offered by a range of employers
  • Book appointments - to get started with career planning, have a more in-depth conversation, or practise for an interview, and more, see Talk to us
  • Contact the Careers and Placements team - send the information team a message in Handshake
  • Connect with employers and with other students and graduates.

Activate your Handshake account

Your Handshake account is ready and waiting for you when you have enrolled as a student at the University of York. You just need to log in to Handshake, choosing University of York sign on. Use your York log-in and password to activate your account.

Log into Handshake

Complete your profile

The first time you log in, you’ll find a short questionnaire about your interests (which you can complete now or later). You can also complete your profile. This will already include your University email, course name and dates. You can add more information, including work experience, skills and interests. You don’t need to do this all at once - you can come back to it and update it at any time.

York graduate, Emily, has put together a guide to creating a stand-out student profile.

Look for jobs

Use Handshake to browse employer profiles and job vacancies, from graduate roles and internships to part-time work in York. If there is a particular employer you are interested in you can click to follow them and get updates when they post new jobs and events.

  • To see the job search function, click on Jobs in the upper left of the Handshake screen.
  • Use the filters to narrow down the results by location, full time role, internship, part-time and placement.
  • If you see something you like, you can bookmark it to save it.
  • You can save the search criteria too, for future use, by clicking on Save your search on the left of the screen.
  • Europe work authorisation overview - Handshake guidelines on work authorisation questions for job applications.

Find events

On Handshake, you can find details of events organised by Careers and Placements on campus as well as external events hosted by employers.

Our events cover a range of topics to help you with your self-awareness, career planning and applications. You can also find our recruitment fairs, held on campus in autumn and summer. Employer events are generally online, offering information and a real insight into different companies and what they might be like to work for. To see only our events, use the filter to select Posted by my institution or career centre.

Contact us

You can use Handshake to get in touch with the Careers and Placements team. Send a message to the Careers information team, or use Handshake to book appointments.

Find out about the different appointment types

Connect with students, graduates and employers

Handshake allows you to make contact with other students, alumni and employers. You can choose whether or not you want your profile to be public, and can change these settings at any time. 

Click on your initials, top right, when you have logged into Handshake, and choose Settings and privacy. Choose from the three settings:

  • Community - your profile is visible to employers, students and alumni in Handshake; you can message other students and alumni
  • Employers - your profile can be seen by employers, who may contact you
  • Private - you won’t be contacted, but you can still use all the features of Handshake, including looking for jobs and booking appointments.

Privacy options in Handshake

How to... short video guides

https://youtu.be/45WrNAaynZQ

Log into Handshake

Upload documents

If you want to upload a document (eg your CV) to your Handshake account, follow these instructions for either the web version or the Handshake app.

Desktop/web version

  1. Login to desktop/web version
  2. Click on profile icon in top right-hand corner of the screen
  3. On the drop-down menu, click on My documents
  4. Click on Upload new document
  5. Upload a file in the Choose file field

More detail is available from Handshake Help Centre's instructions.

App

  1. Login to app
  2. Click on profile/account icon in the top left-hand side
  3. Click on profile icon/name at top of page
  4. Click on Add section
  5. Click on Summary
  6. Click on the plus sign (+) next to Resume (optional)
  7. Add title to Custom resume title and upload a file in the Choose file field