Handshake is a comprehensive career network tailored for the evolving AI economy. It serves as a central hub for learning, earning, and professional growth, specifically aiming to provide an accessible first step for individuals entering the modern workforce. By bridging the gap between students, educational institutions, and a vast network of employers, Handshake facilitates career development in a landscape increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence.

The platform is recognized as a leading expert network, connecting over one million companies with a diverse pool of talent. Whether users are looking for traditional internships or specialized roles in AI model training, Handshake provides a structured environment to navigate the complexities of the current job market. It emphasizes the importance of human expertise in shaping AI, offering pathways for people from various academic backgrounds—ranging from computer science to the humanities—to contribute to technological advancement.

Handshake operates as a multi-sided marketplace that addresses the needs of job seekers, employers, and career centers. It facilitates the discovery of personalized job matches through data-driven algorithms, while also hosting a dedicated fellowship program for high-level AI evaluation tasks. Additionally, the platform serves as an information resource, publishing extensive economic and AI-related research to help users stay informed about labor market shifts and workforce trends.

Some of the key features are:

• Handshake AI Fellowship: A specialized program providing remote, part-time opportunities for advanced degree holders, such as PhDs and Masters, to evaluate and improve AI models with payouts of up to $100/hr.
• Entry-Level AI Gigs: A dedicated section for finding flexible, remote work in AI training, designed to help users build in-demand skills without requiring prior AI experience.
• Research Hub: A comprehensive repository of economic and AI research, offering insights into the Class of 2026 outlook, labor market trends, and the role of human expertise in modern AI development.
• Personalized Job Discovery: A matching system that suggests roles based on a user's unique profile, including internships, full-time positions, and remote opportunities.
• Career Center Marketing Toolkit: A suite of tools for university career centers to engage students and manage recruitment workflows effectively.
• Expert Domain Support: Opportunities across diverse fields such as Biology, Law, Chemistry, and Philosophy, allowing specialists to apply their knowledge to AI training tasks.
• Company Networking: Direct access to over 1 million companies, ranging from small startups to large enterprises, facilitating professional connections and networking.
• Event Management: Tools for users to join career-shaping events and for employers to host sessions aimed at connecting with early-career talent.

To get started, users sign up and build a profile that outlines their educational background, specific domains of expertise, and career goals. The platform then provides suggestions for relevant roles, such as AI trainers or industry-specific internships. For those interested in the technical side of AI, Handshake highlights roles requiring skills like Python for model refinement. Employers use the platform to post opportunities and search for candidates that meet specific criteria, while educational institutions utilize the career center portal to support their students through the hiring process and track employment outcomes using platform-provided research.

Some common use cases include:

• Graduate Career Launch: A recent graduate using personalized matches to secure an entry-level position at a company looking for their specific skill set and educational background.
• AI Model Refinement: A domain expert in Law or Medicine participating in the fellowship program to provide high-quality training data and evaluation for specialized AI models.
• Workforce Trend Analysis: A university administrator studying the Research Hub reports to adjust their institution's career counseling strategies based on the latest economic and labor market data.
• Flexible Remote Earning: A student seeking a part-time, remote AI trainer role to gain professional experience and earn income while completing their degree.
• Employer Talent Acquisition: A recruitment team at a tech firm using the platform to find and engage with a diverse pool of candidates for their upcoming summer internship program.