Using Handshake for Work-Study & Student Help Hiring
1. Set Up Your Employer Account on Handshake
- Set up your employer account here (please use your @mnsu.edu e-mail address)
- During account set up, be sure to:
- Connect with Minnesota State University, Mankato as your employer organization (you’ll be prompted)
- When prompted, also choose to connect with Minnesota State University, Mankato as a school you want your job postings to be visible at (please ONLY choose our university during this section)
- Students will receive e-mail notifications about where they are in the Job Search as you review materials. The following responses will automatically be sent to students. To change or stop these messages to students, you can do so in the Handshake User Settings.
PENDING MESSAGE:
Hi,
Thank you for applying to work in INSERT YOUR DEPARTMENT NAME HERE. We have received your application and will be reviewing it shortly.
Thank you,
INSERT YOUR DEPARTMENT NAME HERE
REVIEWED MESSAGE:
Hi,
Thank you for your interest in working at INSERT YOUR DEPARTMENT NAME HERE.
We have reviewed your application for {{job title}}. If your experience is a good fit for this role, we will be in touch with information about next steps.
Thank you,
INSERT YOUR DEPARTMENT NAME HERE
DECLINED MESSAGE:
Hi,
Thank you for your interest and application to work at INSERT YOUR DEPARTMENT NAME HERE. Unfortunately, we have decided not to move ahead with your application for the role at this time.
Please do not hesitate to reach out in the future if we have another role you think could be a fit for you and be sure to review Handshake for new opportunities posted regularly across campus. If you would like assistance preparing your application materials or doing a practice interview for future job opportunities, schedule an appointment with a Career Advisor at The Career Development Center under the “Career Center” tab on your Handshake homepage.
Thank you,
INSERT YOUR DEPARTMENT NAME HERE
- For more questions on Account Set-Up, see the Handshake help page here.
2. Posting Your Job
- Follow the instructions here to post your job.
- As you set up your job posting, please follow these guidelines below- it helps job seekers find you better and keep our system organized!
- Title your job Office Name - Job Title - Work Study ( # Positions open if more than 1) - Example: Career Development Center – Front Desk Assistant – Work Study (2 positions)
- Be sure to select your correct “Division” in the job posting process.
- Work-Study and Part-Time Jobs that span an entire academic year are considered “Permanent” not “Temporary.”
- Be sure to click the “Work-Study” box if applicable. Only students eligible for Work-Study will be able to see your posting if you click this box. If you are hiring out of your own department budget, do not click “Work-Study.”
- If hiring work-study, you will be prompted to include necessary documents for the applicant to submit. We recommend you link to the standard Work Study Application. (Please keep in mind when requesting necessary documents that many students that are looking for on-campus employment likely DO NOT have a resume or cover letter and are not prepared to write one at this point in their career.)
- For other specific questions on job postings, see Handshake help page here.
3. Review & Select Applicants
- Work-Study is an important part of a student’s financial aid package. For this reason, we are committed, as a University, to helping every student who is eligible and wants a Work-Study position, secure a Work-Study position.
- Be prepared to commit to the growth and learning of your student – this is one of the incredible privileges and joys we have as educators! This may be a student’s first employment experience.
- Work-Study positions are vital to our University daily operations- If you get multiple applicants for your position, it is appropriate to select the best candidate for your job based on the job requirements; however, it is not appropriate to ignore or not hire students that apply simply because you are holding out for a “better” candidate. Any Work-Study job should be able to be done by any student with training and support from the supervisor.
- Employers should make every effort possible to coordinate a fair, equitable, bias-free hiring process.
- It is important to communicate with candidates throughout the hiring process.
- One way this can be done is by updating the student's status in Handshake using the drop-down status menu by their name. This will send the automatic reply you set up when you first logged into Handshake to the candidate based on the status you set for them.
- You can also communicate directly with candidates via email. It is recommended to communicate with students when their application has been received, reviewed, declined, and/or accepted for the next steps in the hiring process.
- Once you have selected your successful candidate(s), you must:
- EXPIRE your job posting(s) on Handshake so that it does not appear to students who are still seeking open positions
- Hire your selected candidate(s) on the Work-Study Hiring Website.
- Here you can find additional Work-Study Supervisor Resources including instructions for hiring on the Work-study Hiring Website.
- For more information on applications, visit this Handshake help page here.
4. Complete employment PAPERWORK WITH MSU BUSINESS SERVICES
- Handshake is a matching tool to help you find students; hiring is done on the Work-Study Hiring Website; and, the process is completed by fulfilling paperwork requirements with Business Services to get your new student employee on payroll. Contact Business Services with any questions or concerns you have about this step in the work-study hiring process.
- If you are hiring an International Student for student help(departmentally funded student employment, not work-study), the student you are looking to hire will also need to connect with the Kearney International Center to ensure everything is set to work with their visa.
5. Other Resources
- Document: Posting Student Employment on Handshake
- Handshake Help Center For Employers
- Work Study Supervisor Resources
