Handshake Announces the Second Annual 'Find Your Next' Conference Featuring Keynote Speaker Malala Yousafzai

SAN FRANCISCO, June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The past year ushered in a rapid and a significant shift towards virtual recruiting and hiring. To support employers navigating these changes, Handshake, the largest early career talent network, will be hosting its second annual Find Your Next Conference on June 15 and 16. This two-day virtual conference will be the largest gathering for early talent leaders and practitioners and will empower employers to enhance the ways they recruit early talent with a focus on equity and digital recruiting.

As employers across the country reenter the workplace, it is an essential time for them to reconsider what early talent is looking for and how best to attract new employees in a post-pandemic world. According to an upcoming Handshake Network Trends report, 3 out of 5 Black and Hispanic/Latinx students and half of Asian students said they were more likely to apply to a job after attending a virtual event when compared to an in-person event, showing its added benefit for access and equity to all students. Find Your Next will focus on encouraging employers to reinvent and reimagine their early talent programs in order to be more efficient and bring greater equity to their process. The event will also feature keynote speakers and top industry leaders in recruiting and higher education such as The Walt Disney Group, Ford, Workday, Habitat for Humanity, OneTen, General Catalyst, Purposeful, Notre Dame, Los Angeles/Orange County Community College, in addition to Nobel Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai.

"Access to opportunity is foundational to Handshake's mission and we are thrilled to be hosting a conference that encourages and celebrates that," said Handshake CEO Garrett Lord. "It is an honor to have Malala Yousafzai as a keynote speaker as she is an impassioned voice for the critical issues that Gen Z cares most about, such as education reform, equity, and access."

For two days, Handshake will bring together 2,500+ employers and stream 10+ sessions featuring inspiring speakers, thought-provoking panels, and interactive community experiences to guide employers and provide the tools and resources needed to build an engaged and inclusive workforce. Find Your Next will allow them to remain ahead—regardless of what life may bring.

"After working closely with our employer partners over the past year, we have seen how much the pandemic altered the way that they hired and recruited early talent. Now that we are making our way towards a new normal, we want to ensure that employers are equipped with the insights and resources to be successful in their future recruiting," said Kamal Thakarsey, VP of Marketing at Handshake. "We look forward to having some of our leading employer partners join us and share their thoughts on how to best incorporate the digital learnings of today to build a more equitable and diverse workforce for tomorrow."

For additional information about Handshake visit https://www.joinhandshake.com/ and to learn about the Find Your Next Conference click here. Additional updates and news on the conference can be found on social with the hashtag #FindYourNext.

ABOUT HANDSHAKE
Handshake is the largest early career network, helping millions of students from all backgrounds get hired and launch their careers with no connections, experience, or luck required. The Handshake community includes 18 million students and young alumni from 1,200 educational institutions including four-year colleges, community colleges, and boot camps, including 200+ minority-serving institutions. Its platform connects up-and-coming talent across all 50 states with 550,000+ employers recruiting on Handshake - from every Fortune 500 company to thousands of small businesses, nonprofits, startups, and more. Handshake is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Denver and London, UK.

STUDENT SURVEY METHODOLOGY
A random sample of 2,441 Handshake student users were invited to participate in a survey in May 2021, of which 1,648 attended virtual career events (represented here). Responses were cleaned and weighted by gender and race/ethnicity using institutional enrollment numbers to reduce non-response bias and unequal selection probability. See forthcoming Handshake Network Trends report in late June for more details.

SOURCE Handshake