Elizabethtown College’s Career Services department introduced Handshake this school year, replacing Jobs for Jays as an online database for students to find jobs and internships locally, statewide and nationally.

Though professional networking website LinkedIn shares a lot of similarities with Handshake, it would be beneficial for students to start making profiles on both services as soon as they can in order to gain access to job and internship opportunities.

With over 200,000 employers using Handshake and over 200 new job opportunities opening every week, students have the opportunity to pick and choose what experiences they are truly interested in engaging with.

LinkedIn offers a longer professional history, but it is harder to land a specific job or internship. For the highest rate of career success, Coordinator of Employer Engagement and Job Development Shane Rottier recommends using Handshake to find opportunities, and then LinkedIn to connect with potential employers.

The biggest benefit of Handshake is that it is designed specifically for college students and recent graduates. Employers on Handshake know their audience is comprised of college students and can geotarget their business, posting once in order to reach thousands of potential applicants. However, Rottier said not to be discouraged by this number as employers value Etown students over others.

“Other colleges are hit and miss. The efforts from Elizabethtown College are always spot on,” he said.

Furthermore, this allows for the College to be able to pick and choose what types of jobs and internships to showcase to students, eliminating any that are mundane, average or base level jobs offered to anyone.

Upcoming job fairs and Career Services events are also uploaded on Handshake, making it a convenient application to learn when to get resumé help or schedule a mock interview with the College in order to build professional skills. Student reaction to Handshake is mixed, with most unsure of what it is or lacking any knowledge about the application.

Some other student concerns range from how daunting the setup looks to the notion that, as first-year Kaylyn Gordon put it, “Handshake is an app that the school promotes because they get a profit for every student that downloads it.”

Rottier stated that this idea is false and that the school actually pays Handshake in order to use its services. The school receives no profit from the applications but promotes them so students can gain real world experience. While the setup may look daunting, it is an essential part in putting oneself out there towards employers.

“If you wait too long, you could miss a great opportunity,” Rottier said.

When first opening Handshake, the application will prompt the user to identify some of their personal interests, places they are interested in living or working in and a list of some skills they have.

While this appears confusing at first, students do not have to add everything all at once, as the option to edit their profiles and add or remove any information is opened after the initial setup. Adding this information allows the application to provide more opportunities targeted towards one’s strengths and interests to ensure quality options to pick from.

Regardless of what year a student is, or even if they are not looking for a job or internship at the moment, Career Services encourages students to create their profiles on both Handshake and LinkedIn as soon as possible. Both websites will allow students to get a feel for what kind of opportunities are currently out there and could lead to important professional connections in the long run.

As for what type of information to put on one’s profile, Rottier says honesty is key when talking about your skills and accomplishments. However, because employers know they are looking at hiring students or recent graduates on Handshake, it is okay to list any skills that that one is currently learning from classes being taken now.

For example, if a student is taking CS121: Computer Science I this semester, they could list Java as one of their skills, even if they have not fully learned the program yet. This would be a good topic of discussion during any interviews that one attends.

One step that students can take after setting up their profiles on both websites to gain more practice or get any questions regarding promoting oneself, what to put on a resume or how to land an interview answered is to visit Career Services. Located on the second floor of the Brossman Commons, Career Services offers services to help students connect to college alumni, go job shadowing, find a peer mentor, help them properly present skills and accomplishments and help them find upcoming job fairs.

One event was The Central Pennsylvania Annual Job and Internship Fair that Rottier discussed. The fair was held Feb. 20 at the Radisson Hotel in Camp Hill, PA from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and was a prime place for students to apply for positions and connect with business professionals from around the area. Positions represented over 60 majors in fields of study ranging from liberal arts to professional programs.

Students can contact Career Services at careeerservices@etown.edu, or call 717-361-1206. Office Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and additional hours are offered by appointment.