Graduating? Here’s How to Keep Access to Handshake

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation, Class of 2026! Before the big day, make sure you are taking the steps to ensure you keep your access to Handshake, USC’s job and career services platform. Current USC students access the Handshake platform using SSO authentication. Graduating students may lose access to SSO in as little as 3 months following their official graduation date. All current students can turn their accounts into alumni accounts without having to sign up again. Please follow the below steps to avoid losing access to your Handshake account: STEP 1: Activate your Handshake Account. If you have already activated your student account, skip to step 2. To activate your Handshake account, go to usc.joinhandshake.com/login and sign in as a student using SSO (single sign-on). DO NOT create an account. All USC students already have an existing Handshake account. Step 2: Update Your Primary Email Address Graduating students must change their primary address to a non-usc.edu email. You can do this by going into your account Settings > Account Access > Email > Add Email. After adding your new email, you will need to confirm it through a confirmation email the platform will send to your inbox. For detailed step-by-step instructions, review Handshake’s Update Your Primary Email Address article. Please note: the only usc.edu email that will be accepted is an active alumni.usc.edu email. USC alumni can sign up for an alumni.usc.edu email with the USC Alumni Association. Step 3: Create a Manual Password. Graduating students will also need to create a manual password to log into their Handshake account in order to sign in without SSO. This needs to be done before you lose SSO login access. Review Handshake’s helpful step-by-step article, Log In as an Alum: Set your Handshake Password, to set up your new password. Step 4: Update Your Profile Once you have completed your account transition, be sure to update your profile to ensure it has the most up-to-date information, including changing your School Year to Alumni. USC’s Trojan Accountability Expectations continue to apply after graduation, so be sure to review all policies. USC Alumni are able to continue accessing Handshake for the job board and certain career center programming. Recent graduates (up to three years out) are also able to schedule 50-minute advising appointments with our advisors. Need Additional Support? Email recruit@usc.edu with any questions and include screenshots if you run into any issues during your account transition. Congratulations, Trojans!