Career Services has introduced a new job-search platform for San Diego State students that modernizes the job search and enables peer communication.
The new platform, Handshake, has replaced the previous platform, Aztec Career Connection, offering students a vast list of new features.
Associate Director of Employer Services Chris Turntine said the new platform would enable peer mentorship for students with similar career interests.
“It allows students to connect with other students and have a conversation with them about their career goals or how they got a certain internship,” Turntine said. “It allows (students) to create a public profile which then allows employers to reach out directly to students.”
Turntine said Handshake is a modern version of the old platform.
“We were looking for something that had more modern technology,” Turntine said. “(Handshake) was really something that a lot of universities are moving towards because it was a better product, particularly in the way it discovers a lot about the interests of our students in terms of their career goals and really creates a customized experience.”
Turntine said Career Services created premade profiles for students through the new platform with basic education information, including major, GPA and academic year.
“So when students go in, the only thing they need to do is create a profile that is more related to their career interests,” he said.
Handshake also differs from the previously used platform because of a feature that allows students to make appointments in the Career Center directly from their phone or computer.
“(Students) can register for career fairs, they can register for workshops, they can schedule one-on-one appointments with our career counselors,” Marketing and Event Coordinator Becca Stinn said. “We hope students are taking advantage of all the opportunities that it brings.”
Turntine said many Fortune 500 companies have already moved to the new platform. According to SDSU NewsCenter, Handshake is a host to major employers like Enterprise, GEICO and Berkshire Hathaway.
Talent Acquisition Manager for Enterprise Holdings Chrissy Conde said in a NewsCenter article that the company often uses Handshake to recruit students from SDSU.
“Not only can students learn more about our company, it helps us recruit top talent by capturing information about students and alumni with a variety of backgrounds and experiences — giving us a diverse candidate pool,” Conde said in the NewsCenter article.
For SDSU students, and those looking to hire them, the university’s transition to Handshake has been anticipated for quite some time.
“Employers are so excited that we’re finally on it,” Turntine said. “Amazingly, students were hearing about it before we launched it. We already had students emailing me and asking when we were getting Handshake because they had heard about it from their friends.”
Stinn said Handshake has improved student access to the campus Career Center and student’s ability to connect with one-another.
“I think Handshake brings access to employers, students and even our center,” Stinn said. “It gives them a greater connection to their campus and we then have a greater connection to our students.”
