Neda Deleon Guerrero, Northern Marianas College career manager, talks about “Handshake” during a meeting of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce on Aug. 2, 2023 at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.
NEDA Deleon Guerrero, a career manager at Northern Marianas College, said on-island employers can directly recruit students from NMC into their businesses using “Handshake,” an online recruiting platform.
Deleon Guerrero was a guest speaker at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce general membership meeting on Aug. 2 at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan.
“Handshake is a powerful tool that drives every part of your hiring,” Deleon Guerrero said in her remarks. “With Gen Z really utilizing social media, everything is on the web.”
To that end, Deleon Guerrero said NMC uses the online platform to help students find jobs when they graduate.
According to Deleon Guerrero, Handshake features peer-to-peer messaging, employer to applicant messaging, an ability to upload applications online, and more.
Deleon Guerrero said the platform is primarily for college students and employers, but there is also space for alumni to use it as well.
Deleon Guerrero called Handshake a “network that brings together our students, our colleges, and our employers all in one platform.”
She said on the U.S. West Coast alone, there are over 200 colleges that utilize the platform, and so on-island employers can also find potential employees in places like Guam, Hawaii, California and other states.
Through Handshake, employers can see how many students from across the globe have seen and opened the job vacancy announcement, how many have applied, and how many students have been hired, Deleon Guerrero said.
