Handshake Reviews 53

Well fortunately I, as an employer, have not be lured into spending money on plus as with zero applicant and the matches they say they have are inaccurate, why would I pay for futher frustration.

The sad thing is many universities use them and one cannot advertise a job for students without first going through Handshake. How could so many Universities be so mislead?

horrible they charged me doubled the amount of money for absolutely no service. They are deceptive and irresponsible. Even reckless with your information. Be careful doing any business with them.

Sharing my experience so others can make informed decisions.
Working here meant navigating disorganization, shifting expectations, and leadership that consistently avoided taking responsibility. In my experience, there was no real training, no clear guidance, and no structure — yet plenty of blame when the inevitable gaps showed up. Communication was last-minute, inconsistent, or simply ignored, creating an environment where success felt intentionally out of reach.
What stood out most was the disconnect between the image leadership tries to project and the reality employees face. A degree from Harvard — or anywhere — doesn’t automatically make someone competent, ethical, or capable of leading people. I’m equally educated, and in my view the elitism on display here only highlighted the lack of professionalism and accountability, not excellence.
These are my personal experiences and impressions, and others can form their own. But if you’re considering working with this company, be prepared: the culture I encountered was chaotic, unsupported, and far from what was promised.

I would select negative stars if I could.

They upgraded our account to Plus without our permission or knowledge, then proceeded to charge us for three weeks in a row AFTER we closed the job. When we reached out to customer service, they proceeded to describe the most ridiculous, illogical cancellation procedure I have ever run across in a business.

To stop all charges, you need to
1. Downgrade the upgraded job on your Subscriptions page
2. Then downgrade the associated slot
Your Plus subscription will only be fully canceled once all upgraded jobs and slots have been downgraded.

Conveniently, none of this information is readily available ANYWHERE on the platform.
But more importantly, the fact that WE NEVER UPGRADED OUR ACCOUNT makes it rather impossible for us to have known that anything needed to be downgraded!
The company has refused to provide us a refund and has been quite unconcerned with the OBVIOUS SCAM they're running.

I had a very negative experience using Handshake hiring platform. It is very DECEPTIVE! We were charged multiple times a month for 9 moths for a job that was only listed for a few weeks. In addition they randomly started doubling the amount they charged us claiming we had accidentally upgraded a second job posting. (They automatically upgrade your job postings even when you are paying for their plus subscription!). It was not made clear that we were paying for this service when there were many opportunities to make that clear. The way they charge you is inconsistent and suspicious.

In addition the platform itself is very confusing to navigate and nothing is intuitive. For example you can’t see if have already messaged a candidate.

NOT good for business owners. They make it impossible to opt out of their subscription billing (not even sure how that is legal in CA), and then don't provide you with a customer service rep. or phone number to contact in order to cancel or close the account. BE AWARE: Closing a job doesn't stop them from charging you $150-$180/week. Not even sure why the price is different. I closed by job 2 weeks ago and am still getting billed, tried to close my account, no dice. Tried to contact a human to help, nonexistent. Don't get trapped.

There are fake job listings all over the platform now and "companies" that spam these but Handshake does not seem to care. Additionally, Handshake customer service does not take fraudulent job offers solicited through private messages seriously and will pass them off as "legitimate". It's not hard to physically look into the "companies" that send these offers and see that they're fake.

Oglethorpe University uses this application. I posted a job request for a tutor, got no responses. Upgraded to premium - which was supposed to be on the order of $10/mo. I received $168 invoices every week until I noticed on my card. Handshake customer service told me that is their mode of operation. Avoid this like the plague.

Our state university requires this platform for College of Business recruiting, otherwise we would not have used it. The subscription model is deceptive, requiring two separate cancellation steps, and we were charged nearly $700 for just two job postings that were live for a single week. None of our final candidates came through Handshake, making the cost a complete waste.

The platform itself is unreliable — it crashed repeatedly when we first posted, wasting a full day, and candidates experienced technical failures that prevented them from applying. We had to redirect everyone to another system, making Handshake more of a barrier than a solution.

Customer service was slow and refused to issue a refund for the $300+ that accrued after the post was closed and the "first subscription cancellation" was made. Between the misleading billing, technical failures, and lack of accountability, this platform is untrustworthy and should be avoided.

NOT an intuitive platform AT ALL. One of the WORST experiences I have had in a long time with a technical platform. Customer service is abysmal. They are not helpful at all. I realize companies are trying to reduce face-to-face interactions with customers; however, if your customers/potential customers are facing the difficulties I have read online, you might think about providing more availability via phone for resolution. Just a HORRIBLE experience!!!

Absolute worst hiring platform in the world. Dont waste your time.

I wastee 5 hours for n9thing to work right l. And oh! If you dont set everything up perfectly do u dare request to connect with a school after a few dissaprovals my entire company profile was like a contagious desease.

I was charged four times in a sinle month, for an upgrade I never authorized- totaling over $800. When I contacted Handshake’s support team, I received a partial refund, but their tone throughout was condescending. They repeatedly emphasized that the refund was a “courtesy” and warned that it was the “last refund,” as if I had done something wrong by reporting their error.

I never agreed to multiple charges, and I was given no explanation or accountability. Simply stating “no further refunds will be made” does not justify charging a customer four times. That is not a mistake - it’s a serious billing issue that borders on fraud.

This has been a deeply frustrating experience, and I feel compelled to warn others. Review your charges carefully and think twice before trusting this platform. Poor transparency, poor support, and a complete lack of responsibility.

Needless to say, the service did not deliver on its promise, and the ad was cancelled the day after it was posted (when I realised it was useless). Still, they charged as much as they wanted, and there is no way to remove the charge or control the billing on the account.

I had a disappointing and frustrating experience with Handshake that I feel compelled to share, especially for other employers considering using this platform for job postings.

Firstly, the cost structure is exorbitant—$24 per day adds up quickly. In just six days, I was charged a staggering $504, which seems outrageous for the level of service provided. Despite filtering for local candidates, I received only about six responses, most from students located outside my area, rendering the platform seemingly ineffective for targeted hiring.

Moreover, I encountered significant technical issues while trying to access my account. Each time I attempted to log in, I was prompted to sign up again and re-enter information already provided during my initial registration. This frustrating loop prevented me from accessing my account and reviewing applicants, leaving me relying solely on email notifications, which were of limited use.

To add insult to injury, I was hit with an additional $72 charge without any clear explanation. In total, I found myself nearly $600 out of pocket for a service that failed to meet even basic expectations.

In summary, my experience with Handshake has been a complete disappointment. I would strongly advise other employers to approach this platform with caution or consider alternatives that may offer better service and value for their investment.

I had previously written a review. After reaching out to the CEO on Linked In as well as the marketing Director, I received NO response. Agnes Scott College asked their Handshake contact to call me as their Career Director was appalled at what I shared. No one ever called. I have reported Handshake to the Federal Trade Commission and suggest others do as well so they can be investigated with enough complaints. I am still contesting their unauthorized charges after only using Handshake PLUS 3 days for $25 a day. This is deceptive as Handshake extends the billing cycle beyond the $25 a day and are saying it is a week. Then, they continued billing me for many more weeks. I was locked out of my account as another person on Trustpilot mentioned he was. They don't want you to have any proof to contest their unethical practices. I took a screenshot first. I was told stopping the ad does not stop the charges; however, I have an email from them from last year that says stopping the ad ends the subscription. They do not send any billing notices continuing to bill you until you check the credit card and complain. BEWARE DO NOT USE THEM

We were scammed by this company and want to warn others. If you’ve had a similar experience, please report it to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) so they can investigate.

Submit a complaint at: ftc.gov /complaint
(remove the space before the slash)
Or call: 1-877-382-4357 or 202-326-3422

The more people report, the more likely action will be taken.

Another scummy company that hides the fees and promises fair play. The sign up to promote a job is by the day - $20/day for 3 days = $60. We paid as agreed, then a month later they hit us with charge for $399. Customer service says "Sorry, that detail is hidden in the Terms of Service and we will not honor the price we show on the sign up page." It seems like the new way these kinds of companies operate, develop a slick way to cheat people and don't worry about playing fair. I would never recommend or mess with this company again.

Worst scammer company I've ever had the misfortune to encounter. The only reason I didn't check the reviews was becuase The School of the Art Institute recommended them saying it was a free service. Even after they cut me off and wanted me to upgrade they said it was $24 but didn't say it was $24 a day! They just said I would be billed monthly. No customer serivce no assistance at all. And let's try to delete our account?? Can't do it. They have to approve your deletion and they get to keep all your data.
Bad news company. STAY AWAY!!!

Me: This is a fraudulent job email that has nothing to do with me
Them: Sorry, you got swept up in a campaign
Me: Huh. Delete my account please.
Them: We will after you confirm you want your account deleted but you shouldn't delete your account. You should hide it instead.
Me: Yeah, consider this confirmation I want to delete my account please.
Them: Okay, we will delete your account after you confirm you want it deleted, tell us why you want it deleted, and then we will let your school know
Me: consider this confirmation I'd like my account deleted. This whole process, and the bogus job offers, is why.
Me: How come I am still getting email days after you deleted my account?
Them: Delete your account? Yeah, sorry bro but email your career services people.
Me: Hi Career Services. Help?
Career Services: We can't find this student's set to private account in order to manage it on our side, but we can see the set to private account when we search the whole site. Would you delete the account please?
Them: Oh, sorry, only the person at your university who is on vacation has the authority to delete the account. Bummer.
Me: Why am I STILL getting scam job opportunity emails
Them: HAVE WE SAID WE DELETED YOUR ACCOUNT? THOUGHT NOT. DON'T CALL US; WE'LL CALL YOU

I am an employer and this is the most expensive and crappiest job recruiting service I have EVER worked with. I closed a job ad after no quality applicants only to find out handshake was still charging me. I contacted handshake about a refund and they refused.

pathetic customer support w/ bad communication. long waits for verification. from the looks of it so far, definitely not worth the hassle.