Here's a LinkedIn-like site for graduates trying to land a job at a Fortune 500 company

Ralston Ramsay

Often times, many recent graduates worry about the harsh reality of facing unemployment after receiving their college degree.

Garrett Lord, who is the founder and CEO of career site Handshake, joined Yahoo Finance’s On the Move, to talk about his site, which aims to make it easier to connect students to different networks and jobs from major employers nationwide. Handshake has raised $74 million in venture funding so far.

“We really like to think that we are flipping the motto because prior to Handshake it was very challenging to proactively connect with talent. Most of the time you were just a company posting a job and praying that people heard of you, praying that people applied. And that’s how Handshake is changing the game,” Lord explained.

Since Handshake launched in 2013, it has connected over 14 million students to about 420,000 employers. Students have been afforded the opportunity to become employed by Fortune 500 companies, all of which use Handshake. Handshake is used by over 800 colleges and universities in the United States.

What makes the site different

Rear view of the graduate in graduation day. Soft focus back view of the graduates in the commencement day.
Rear view of the graduate in graduation day. Soft focus back view of the graduates in the commencement day.

Students build their own profiles on the site, then users can follow other peers, the site helps students grow their own networks so they can learn from each other. They can then connect with any company that is on Handshake.

One of Handshake’s focus is to support more than 120 minority serving college institutions nationwide. Lord referenced a student named Danny at Delaware State, a small historically black college and university where there weren't many employers actually coming on campus.

“But three Fortune 500 companies actually were looking on Handshake and looked for a top-tier accounting major who was interested —he had said he wanted to work in New York or LA. So a company in LA actually reached out to him because he was at Delaware State and said he wanted to work there,” Lord said. “So, that's an example of a company connecting with talent that they never would have before seen.”

Ralston Ramsay is a producer for Yahoo Finance’s On the Move.

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance

This company lets you invest in fine art for as little as ... - Yahoo Finance

Now men can customize suits by using an AI-powered "Style Wall"

Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, SmartNews, LinkedIn, YouTube, and reddit.