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      Handshake

      Engaged Employer

      Handshake reviews

      3.1

      43% would recommend to a friend

      (290 total reviews)

      Garrett Lord

      44% approve of CEO

      37% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.2

      Diversity & inclusion

      3.2

      Compensation and benefits

      3.1

      Work/Life balance

      2.8

      Career opportunities

      2.6

      Culture & values

      2.4

      Senior management

      Handshake has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 290 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Handshake employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Education industry (3.7 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      290 reviews
      1.0
      Oct 31, 2023

      Looking for a company with values? Keep looking. No culture/diversity, no vision, no leadership.

      Manager
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      I only experienced two benefits. The first was the opportunity to meet many new people, but this could also be considered a downside since the turnover rate was so high. The second benefit was being able to work on a product that had an initial mission to help students and future generations. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case, as evidenced by this and many other negative reviews.

      Cons

      The management seems to be unaware of what is going on in the company. There have been more than four reorganizations and multiple leaders have left within a span of just four months. The team culture and diversity are almost non-existent. The only employees who seemed to have job security were those who were brought on as "friends" of the C-level executives. Everyone else was disposable and given fake excuses to cover up the actual reasons for layoffs. The benefits, which were disguised as RSUs and options, turned out to be "fake money" for most employees due to the significant number of layoffs. Additionally, the retirement matching program is well below the industry average, approximately four times lower.

      avatar
      Handshake Response
      2y
      Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We recognize that there has been a lot of change throughout the company this year, and that it is challenging to navigate any amount of change. We certainly have room for improvement in our change management practices, which will be a focus for the leadership team in 2024 and beyond. Our benefits offerings are determined in partnership with a third-party benefits team, who helps us assess the benefits benchmarks at similar companies. We always strive to ensure that our benefits are aligned with those of other companies, because we know how important these benefits are to our employees and their families. Again, we’re grateful for your feedback and appreciate you sharing your thoughts.
      1.0
      Oct 20, 2023

      Decent product, Unhealthy work environment

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      My colleagues at Handshake were hard-working and incredibly competent. It was inspiring to be part of a team where people were dedicated and skilled at what they did.

      Cons

      Ever-Shifting Priorities: The company's priorities were in constant flux, making it impossible to focus or plan effectively. Ineffective Communication: Communication was a mess, with unclear expectations and a lack of transparency. Disorganized Leadership: Leadership lacked direction and organization. Lack of Appreciation for Hardworking Employees: Hardworking employees were consistently overlooked, causing burnout and low morale. Misguided "Performance-Driven" Culture: The company's push for a "performance-driven" culture only encouraged more work from already overburdened teams, neglecting the need for proper support and resources. This also led to poor work-life balance for some. My colleagues and I consistently tried communicating these issues with leadership, but were never met with solutions. I cannot recommend this company to anyone seeking a healthy work environment.

      2.0
      Oct 19, 2023

      Great mission and product—poor leadership, planning and trust across the board.

      Marketing
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      There are some really great talent at the company along with a strong mission and fantastic product and ecosystem.

      Cons

      Leadership doesn't really know what they're doing in terms of growth, revenue and how to plan for the future. The constant changes in narratives, goals and scaling makes it really hard to work in this environment. There's also a strong lack of trust across teams and things are always very political when it comes to division of work and ownership. Roadmap planning for most teams are also nonexistent—they expect you to execute and plan within the same quarter with close to little to no resources and support from cross-functional teams.

      avatar
      Handshake Response
      2y
      Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. We recognize that there has been a lot of change at Handshake over the last year, and we know that it can be hard to work amidst so much change. We are aiming to have more stability in 2024 to enable our teams to focus on their work and their goals, which we also hope will allow for better roadmapping across our teams.
      Viewing 130 - 132 of 290 Reviews
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      ReviewsHandshake reviews

      Glassdoor has 463 Handshake reviews submitted anonymously by Handshake employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Handshake is right for you.