Northwestern State University’s Office of Counseling and Career Services is joining Handshake, a career services platform that will allow employers and students to connect for part-time jobs, internships and full-time employment. Handshake was created in 2014 by three job-seeking college graduates who recognized a disparity between access and opportunities for students to network.

“From the Career Center perspective, we’ll be able to more easily connect our services with students, connect with more employers to grow student opportunities and collect consistent data to report to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges,” said Karen Loach, Job Location and Development Officer. “Employers can connect with multiple universities and post a job one time to several regional or national universities, sign up for career fairs and schedule on-campus hiring events and interviews.”

Handshake is compatible with Single Sign On so students won’t have to create a new user name and log in, and it syncs with Banner, NSU’s operation and information system, Loach said. Handshake has over 475 universities nationwide on the platform, six in Louisiana.

“It provides students intuitive job searches based on the student’s profile and interests — think Netflix movie search with suggestions. And it provides the ability to make appointments with Career Center staff online and sign up for events online,” Loach said.

Loach said the site will go live for employers on April 23 when they will receive an invitation to sign up for Handshake and connect with NSU. Sign up and participation is free for employers. Once signed in, employers can populate the platform with content and job postings before the site goes live for students May 21.

For more information, visit https://joinhandshake.com/ or contact Loach at (318) 357-5430 or loachk@nsula.edu.