Pathfinder Guidebook · FYE 100 Module 8 · Explore Your Career Options
10 Essential Skills in this module
  • 1Communication
  • 2Critical & Creative Thinking
  • 6Professionalism
  • 10Information Literacy
Trail Tip

Set Up Your Handshake Profile

Your professional home base, starting now.

About 5 minutes 4 of 7 in this module

Handshake is your professional home base while you're in college.

It's the career platform OCTC uses to connect students with local and regional employers: part-time and full-time jobs, internships, career fairs, and hiring events. Most students don't set it up until they're actively job hunting. The ones who set it up early, and actually look around, have a head start when that moment comes.

Set up your profile

Sign in with your KCTCS username and password. You don't need a separate account.

Sign in to Handshake

OCTC's Handshake site, using your KCTCS credentials.

Go to Handshake (opens in a new tab)

  1. Open your profile

    After you sign in, find your profile from the menu.

  2. Fill in the essentials

    Add your major or program and your education information, including your expected graduation date.

  3. Add your interests

    Choose the job types, locations, and career areas you're interested in. Handshake uses these to shape what it shows you. The career you researched in this module is a good place to start.

  4. Add a short bio and a photo

    Both are recommended. A sentence or two about what you're studying and what you're looking for is plenty. A clear, friendly photo taken with your phone works fine and makes your profile feel real to employers.

  5. Copy your profile link

    On your profile page, copy the web address from your browser. You'll submit it in Blackboard.

Pathfinder Tip

Before you submit, paste your link into a new browser tab to make sure it opens your profile.

Worth exploring once you're set up

Once your profile is done, Handshake has more to offer. None of this is required, but all of it is worth knowing about.

Jobs and internships

  • Filter by part-time, full-time, internship, or on-campus
  • Look for roles that don't require experience
  • Save jobs to come back to later
  • Set up job alerts for fields you're curious about

Employers and industries

  • Follow companies and fields you're curious about
  • Your feed changes based on what you follow
  • See what local employers are actually hiring for

Events

  • Career fairs and employer information sessions
  • Resume and career workshops
  • Networking events

Follow a few employers in the field you researched in this module and see what they're hiring for. That's real-world career knowledge, and it takes five minutes.