Handshake integration

Handshake is a college career network, built to transform the recruiting experience for college students, career centers, and employers. Handshake's mission is to democratize access to opportunity: to help every college student find the right job for them, no matter where they go to school, what they're majoring in, or who they know. Handshake offers powerful sourcing tools, both free and premium, for employers to engage with these candidates.

Greenhouse Recruiting's integration with Handshake, a premium Handshake feature, provides your team with a more efficient job posting process. Our integration streamlines the applicant experience by letting people directly apply on Handshake. From there, you can complete your hiring activities in Greenhouse Recruiting, including custom application questions and other applicant details from the Handshake application. You can also monitor how your applicants are moving through the interview process within Handshake.

Enable the Handshake integration

Share user ID with Handshake

In order for Handshake to allow candidates to apply directly to Greenhouse Recruiting, Handshake will need the user ID of an existing Greenhouse Recruiting user in your organization, or the user ID for a Greenhouse Recruiting user account that is created specifically for Handshake.

To locate the user ID for either an existing user or for the new Handshake-specific user if applicable, navigate to the Users configure page. (Configure icon > Users)

From the Users page, click Export to Excel.

Within the downloaded spreadsheet, navigate to the User ID column and copy the user ID value in line with your selected user.

Share the user ID with your Handshake representative.

Create a Harvest API key for the Handshake integration

To configure the Greenhouse Recruiting / Handshake integration, you’ll need to create a Harvest API key.

Follow the steps in this article to create the key, and verify that the permissions below are selected when configuring the Harvest integration.

Credentials

In the Create New Credential box, make the following selections:

• API Type: Harvest
• Partner: Handshake
• Description: Handshake Harvest API Key

Permissions

Verify that the following permissions are selected for the Handshake integration:

• Applications
  • GET: Retrieve Application
  • GET: List Applications
  • PATCH: Update Application
• Candidates
  • GET: List Candidates
  • GET: Retrieve Candidate
  • POST: Add Candidate
  • POST: Add Note
  • POST: Add Attachment
  • POST: Add Application
  • POST: Add Education
  • POST: Add E-mail
  • PATCH: Edit Candidate
• Education
  • GET: Get degrees
  • GET: Get disciplines
  • GET: Get schools
• Jobs
  • GET: Retrieve Job
  • GET: List Jobs
• Job Posts
  • GET: List Job Posts
  • GET: Retrieve Job Post for Job
  • GET: List Job Posts for Job
• Sources
  • GET: List Sources
• Custom Field Options
  • GET: Custom field options
  • POST: Create custom field options
• Custom Fields
  • GET: Get custom fields

Create a job board API key for the Handshake integration

Next, you’ll need to obtain the Job Board URL and create a Job Board API key for Handshake.

Follow the steps in this article and use the information below when creating your API key:

• API Type: Job Board
• Description: Handshake Job Board API Key

Set up a Handshake tracking link in Greenhouse Recruiting

Follow the steps in this article and use the information below to create a Job Board tracking link for Handshake:

• Who gets credit: Select who gets credit from the dropdown
• Source: Select Handshake from the dropdown

Your Handshake tracking link is now configured and created. Copy the tracking link and share it with your Handshake onboarding team.

Set up Handshake webhooks in Greenhouse Recruiting

A webhook is a simple event notification system. When an event occurs in Greenhouse Recruiting (for example, a candidate is hired), data about the event is sent to a specified endpoint, in this case, Handshake. You will create 5 webhooks to enable all necessary integration capabilities.

Follow the steps in this article to create your webhook.

Use the values listed below to configure the webhook:

Webhook # 1

• Name: post_created_handshake
• When: Job Post Created
• Endpoint URL: https://ats.joinhandshake.com/webhooks/greenhouse/<handshake_employer_id>
• Secret Key: Enter the secret key provided by your Handshake onboarding team
• Error recipient email: Leave blank

Webhook # 2

• Name: post_updated_handshake
• When: Job Post Updated
• Endpoint URL: https://ats.joinhandshake.com/webhooks/greenhouse/<handshake_employer_id>
• Secret Key: Enter the secret key provided by your Handshake onboarding team
• Error recipient email: Leave blank

Webhook # 3

• Name: job_updated_handshake
• When: Job Updated
• Endpoint URL: https://ats.joinhandshake.com/webhooks/greenhouse/<handshake_employer_id>
• Secret Key: Enter the secret key provided by your Handshake onboarding team
• Error recipient email: Leave blank

Webhook # 4

• Name: hire_candidate_handshake
• When: Candidate has been hired
• Endpoint URL: https://ats.joinhandshake.com/webhooks/greenhouse/<handshake_employer_id>
• Secret Key: Enter the secret key provided by your Handshake onboarding team
• Error recipient email: Leave blank

Webhook # 5

• Name: candidate_rejected_handshake
• When: Candidate or prospect has been rejected
• Endpoint URL: https://ats.joinhandshake.com/webhooks/greenhouse/<handshake_employer_id>
• Secret Key: Enter the secret key provided by your Handshake onboarding team
• Error recipient email: Leave blank

Use the Handshake integration with Greenhouse Recruiting

Sync jobs from Greenhouse Recruiting to Handshake

In Handshake, follow the process to create a new Handshake job, or to edit an existing job (that does not have any applications yet).

Use the Select Greenhouse job to link dropdown to select from a list of jobs available in your Greenhouse Recruiting account. Select the job you wish to link.

When a job is selected, Handshake will also retrieve the following details from Greenhouse Recruiting to make the posting process more efficient:

• Job details
• Number of positions
• Employment Type
• Paid / unpaid
• Required documents

Post your Handshake job to schools by filling out the rest of the job details and choosing the schools to post the job to. Once you have posted the job to schools, you're finished!

Candidate applications from Handshake

Students will browse Handshake and find your jobs. Once a student finds your job, they can click to apply for it in Handshake. Students will have the ability to upload a resume and / or cover letter as specified on the job post. They will also see the required and optional questions configured in Greenhouse.

Once the required details are entered, students will directly submit their applications to Greenhouse Recruiting via Handshake.

Once a student has applied in Handshake to a linked job, the student's application will appear in Greenhouse Recruiting automatically within a few minutes. The application will include the candidate's first name, last name, and email address. The application will show the candidate's Source as Handshake, and also will include the candidate's resume and cover letter (if required for the application process) under the Application or Details tab > Source & Responsibility section. The Application will also include the responses provided for any required or optional Job Post Questions.

The Greenhouse Recruiting / Handshake integration uses real-time application status syncing, which means you will see applicant statuses update in Handshake as they are hired or rejected in Greenhouse Recruiting. This status updates within moments of being updated in Greenhouse.

With these statuses synced, you will be able to more accurately source new applicants and analyze past recruiting efforts.

Additional resources

For additional information or troubleshooting not covered here, reach out to support@joinhandshake.com.