Handshake to replace Rice Job Board

By Grace Wei     9/17/19 10:32pm

Handshake, a national career database for students, is replacing the online Rice Job Board and changing the hiring process for campus-wide jobs and internships. However, the work-study jobs posted on the old Job Board have yet to be transferred onto Handshake. 

Since its initiation in 2007, the Job Board has notified students of job openings and work-study opportunities, according to Ann Griffin, associate director at the Center for Career Development. Throughout the past 12 years, however, the Job Board platform has seldom been upgraded. 

While searching for work-study jobs, Anthony Nguyen, a Hanszen College sophomore, said the old Job Board was outdated in terms of user interface. 

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“It’s a bit confusing when it comes to switching from the profile to jobs page,” Nguyen said. “And it doesn’t do a great job of indicating which jobs you’ve already applied for, which leads to issues.”

Griffin said the contract with Handshake came about in part due to recognition of the issues concerning the Job Board. Now, the CCD is attempting to use their contract to transition completely to Handshake. 

“I think it makes sense to centralize all jobs on campus into an integrated platform, from work-study jobs to off-campus internships to CCD events, and that’s probably what Rice is trying to achieve here,” Nguyen said.

However, Nguyen said the new Handshake platform also comes with technological confusions.

“The issue I have with [Handshake] is that it doesn’t seem to filter opportunities out correctly every time, which is frustrating when I see a cool job and then discover it’s only available for upperclassmen or alumni,” Nguyen said. 

Griffin said Handshake has the potential to facilitate the hiring process for both students and employers. For students, Handshake offers a variety of resources ranging from mentorships to resume/cover letter reviews to help them acquire jobs. Griffin said some employers on Handshake have joined the platform specifically to hire Rice students.

“[Handshake] is another way to help students with their career developments,” Griffin said. “Students will log into Handshake to look for on-campus jobs, and while they’re in there, maybe they’ll schedule an appointment to have their cover letter reviewed or they’ll see the online resource ‘What can I do with this major?’”

Griffin said that Handshake still may not be the solution for everyone. 

“We really encourage students to come in and meet with one of our career advisors to talk about their specific career situation and the best strategy to help them,” Griffin said. 

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