BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Hart Career Center at Illinois Wesleyan University was recognized by Handshake, an online employment network, as a Career Spark Award winner.
The award recognizes the top 2% of Handshake’s higher education partners each year who demonstrate excellence in student and employer engagement, and reporting and analytics.
According to Handshake, “Illinois Wesleyan stands out for making career engagement personal and accessible. Their team uses Handshake thoughtfully to connect students with relevant opportunities and employers, and their collaborative, student-centered approach is a wonderful example of career services in action.”
“We were surprised by it," said Amie Keeton, Associate Director of Career Readiness at the Hart Career Center. "We were excited to receive the recognition. Over the past several years, we’ve made a concerted effort to increase student engagement with Handshake and make better use of the tools available to us. It’s rewarding to see that work recognized.”
Illinois Wesleyan was one of only two Illinois schools recognized for the award among 40 schools chosen.
Keeton said the Hart Career Center has increased their usage of Handshake over the last four years since she has been at IWU. All of their events are listed in Handshake, and they also reach out to employers through the platform, so they can send out targeted emails to students.
In the last year, Keeton said they’ve been working with students directly to build their Handshake profiles. There is also a new AI resume review tool where students can upload their resumes, and it provides them with immediate feedback.
“What’s nice about it is that it gives feedback, but then it tells them they should probably meet with somebody in the Career Center to help; here’s the link to do that, so it connects them to us as well,” Keeton explained. “So, we’ve been putting a big push (for students) to log into Handshake and build your profile, because the more you put into it, the more specific the information is going to be that you get out of it.”
Approximately 85% of current IWU students have activated their Handshake account, according to Career Center data. Through Handshake, Career Center staff can also see the most popular employers students are looking at or jobs they’re most interested in.
Keeton said the award reflects the Hart Career Center’s ongoing efforts to make career resources more accessible and meaningful for students. The team has been intentional about using Handshake to increase student engagement, strengthen employer connections and help students take an active role in their career development.
Visit joinhandshake.com/career-spark-awards/ or iwu.edu/career-center/ for more information.