Career Center Transitions to Handshake

Dear UMBC Community,

We are excited to announce the Career Center's transition to Handshake, which has become the number one place employers recruit college students and recent graduates. More than 1,400 colleges and universities now partner with Handshake, making it the top platform among career centers across the nation.

This platform is now live and will replace the university's current system, UMBCworks.

There are a number of reasons we are making this change. Below are just a few:

• We will be able to seamlessly connect with new employers that may have otherwise been unreachable. More than 550,000 employers, including 100 percent of the Fortune 500 companies, use Handshake to post their open positions. We expect to triple the number of internships and full-time position postings.
• Students and alumni will receive personalized job and internship recommendations, connect with employers and peers working at organizations that interest them, and get an inside look at organizations with thousands of student reviews.
• Handshake's mobile app lets users explore events and position postings, review interview schedules, and access resources while on the go!

Colleges, divisions, departments, and units across campus are highly encouraged to start posting open student positions for both undergraduate and graduate students as soon as possible. New student enrollment is in full swing and our Retrievers are now logging into Handshake seeking jobs for the upcoming academic year. Please also be sure to update your webpages to reflect this change.

Students have started completing their profiles on Handshake and making appointments with our career specialists. Existing users of UMBCworks are encouraged to move any current documents--including resumes and cover letters--to Handshake.

The Shriver Center and Career Center are also working together to transition enrollment and evaluation processes for applied learning experiences, including internships, co-ops, research, and service-learning, for the start of the fall semester.

Although we still have more to do to make this transition a success, we know it will be the best career management tool for our UMBC community.

Learn more about Handshake and other services offered through the Career Center and Shriver Center.

Questions regarding Handshake?
Attend one of our Open Training and Q&A Sessions
Or email us at careers@umbc.edu

Christine Routzahn, Career Center Director