Waxahachie, TX
August 15, 2018 | Andrew Hurst
Southwestern Assemblies of God University’s (SAGU) Career Development office has partnered with Handshake , a modern job database, to improve the job-searching process for our students and simplify the online hiring approach for employers.
Handshake is the leading career platform used by over 500 colleges and more than 250,000 employers.
“Handshake is the premiere platform right now,” says Beverly Robinson, Director of Career Development. “I spoke to many Career Directors from other universities during conferences and they all said they switched to Handshake because of its efficiency. By switching to Handshake, we are able to network with more universities. For students, they will be able to access anything from job searches, setting appointments, managing their own career profiles, messaging employees and much more.”
Since Career Development began implementing Handshake two months ago, there has already been a significant increase in engagement between students and employers. According to Austin Loven, Career Development Office Coordinator, employer connections have gone up 200 percent and there has been a 193.8 percent increase in job postings as opposed to the previous job database that Career Development used for three years. That number continues to increase daily.
“SAGU has been able to connect with all Fortune 500 companies as well as local shops in the Waxahachie area,” said Loven. “For a school of our size, this process would be near impossible to accomplish with our old job database.”
Handshake was created and designed by three college students in 2013. The developers researched and found that there was a need for a simple, one-stop database purposed to easily showcase job opportunities to students and make the hiring process as hassle-free as possible for employers.
“It’s very easy to use,” said Beverly Robinson. “It’s a platform where students can maintain their career information and have all the documents in one place for employers to see.”
Handshake also optimizes the hiring process for employers by allowing them to cast a wider net. For example, a business in Dallas can post a job opening with several universities on Handshake. Thus, SAGU students would be able to connect with more employers and learn of more job opportunities both locally and throughout the DFW Metroplex . “It benefits our students because now, they are able to access a greater pool of jobs,” said Robinson.
Handshake also offers numerous new features for our students, including:
- Access personalized job recommendations based on major and interests
- Registering for events
- Manage on-campus interviews
- Schedule appointments with career counselors
Students can also opt to receive emails and mobile notifications when jobs they are interested in are approved through the Career Development office through Handshake.
Robinson says that one of her favorite new features is the ability to build portfolios. Students can now post some of their more notable projects and work for employers to view.
“Handshake just has a lot more things to offer for our students. I am excited for all the students and employers who will benefit from this switch in our CSO (Career Services Online) provider.”
To learn more about SAGU’s Career Development and its resources, click here .
To learn more about Handshake, click here .
Southwestern Assemblies of God University is a private, Christian university located 30 minutes south of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Waxahachie, Texas. The university was established in 1927, and now offers more than 70 associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees on campus or online. More information is available at www.sagu.edu
