Setting Up Your Event in Handshake

Creating a detailed and comprehensive event within Handshake is key in having a successful job shadow day. This page will walk you through the steps you should take to ensure you are including everything the student needs to know, as well as selections you need to make in Handshake to ensure the event is posted properly. After you have created your event, ECS will partner with you to promote eligible students to sign-up via their Handshake accounts. You will monitor your event via Handshake and communicate directly with the participants who have signed up for your event. To participate in Job Shadow, you must have access to Ohio State’s job search platform, Handshake. If you do not have a Handshake account, please register for one.   

Create Your Event
Click on the “Create an Event” box on your Handshake account homepage.  Complete the following fields as instructed below (NOTE: failure to fully complete these fields as directed below will result in your event being incomplete). 

  • Event Name: ECS: Job Shadow Event with YOUR COMPANY NAME (please use this exact naming convention; ECS will not market events named otherwise)   

  • Format: Off-campus: My company is hosting this event (not at a school) and booking space ourselves  

  • Location: Enter your company location (full address so that students can navigate to event)

  • School: The Ohio State University 

  • Contact: Your contact information or the contact information of the person responsible for job shadow at your company (NOTE: any contact added must have an existing Handshake account)

  • Start and End Date: Select one date from the following options: March 14, 15, 16, 17, 18; be sure to include start and end time for the day (Students are more likely to sign up if the start time is 9am or after)

  • Registration Limit: Limit the number of people who can register for this event (10 or less students is recommended) 

  • Provide thorough event description: Provide a detailed overview of the job shadow within your event posting. While this field says “Optional” in Handshake—it is REQUIRED to get your posting noticed by students.  Please copy and paste all of the bullets below in the event description and edit the responses according to your company’s preferences. Anything listed in this section is purely informational to students; including this info will not effectively limit who can sign up. You are responsible for monitoring your own student sign-ups. Listing a point of contact is recommended.

    • An interesting description that includes 5-8 sentences MAX about what your company does; this is your “hook” and will help students determine which job shadows they would like to attend 
    • Provide an agenda overview for the day; this will increase your student participation.  Sample activities include:  welcome, company overview, safety training, company/plant tour, lunch, meeting attendance, shadow an engineer, presentations, engineering panel, Q&A, etc. 
    • Complete address where the job shadow will take place (street, city, state, zip code) 
    • Any special driving or parking instructions
    • Check-in information upon arrival 
    • Attire for the day: Formal (suit & tie); Business Casual (collared shirt & dress pants); Casual (shirt & jeans); Other (provide info) 
    • Number of engineering students you wish to host (10 or fewer is recommended) 
    • Indicate majors your company wishes to host: All Engineering Majors, Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Biological Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Engineering Physics, Environmental Engineering, Food Engineering, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Welding Engineering, Undecided Engineering 
    • Please note restrictions regarding work authorization: Restrictions--I cannot host students that require visa sponsorship; No restrictions--I'm open to hosting all students regardless of visa status
    • Degree level(s): Indicate your requirement/preference for BS, MS, and/or PhD

After completing all fields on the Request Event form, click "Save." The event will then show up for ECS to approve (please allow 1-2 business days). Once approved, the contact who created the event will receive an email confirmation. By successfully completing these steps, your company will automatically be included in the student Job Shadow outreach list. Students will be directed to search “ECS Job Shadow” when signing up for these events. Please contact Rachel Kaschner at kaschner.4@osu.edu with any questions.