UCLA Handshake Job Board

Handshake is the UCLA Main Campus’ job and internship portal. Eligible certificate students and alumni can subscribe and apply for opportunities at all career levels.

To determine your eligibility, dos and don’ts of this membership, steps to activate your account, and common troubleshooting issues, please read the following carefully.

Before You Register

  • Currently enrolled certificate students who have paid their candidacy fees can access UCLA Handshake for free. 
  • If you have graduated and already have a Handshake account, you can access UCLA Handshake for 3 months for free, and with a 6-month paid subscription for $30 thereafter. The 3 months start on the date your certificate was completed.
  • Students with specializations and not in a certificate program are not eligible for a UCLA Handshake account. 

With UCLA Handshake membership, UCLA Extension students can:

  1. Attend Career Fairs hosted by the UCLA Main Campus Career Center
  2. Apply to jobs posted on the UCLA Handshake platform.

UCLA Handshake membership does not include,

  1. UCLA Main Campus Career Center advising appointments.
  2. Workshops organized by the UCLA Main Campus Career Center, unless posted on our website.
  3. UCLA on-campus interviews and employer meet and greets.

To open an account, you will list your:

  1. First name
  2. Last name
  3. Primary email (cannot be a .edu address)
  4. UCLA Extension student ID (begins with an X), EXACTLY as it appears on your UCLA Extension record.  

To verify the info on your UCLA Extension student account, you can log into your UCLA Extension Student Portal

If you are a UCLA alumnus who is now a UCLA Extension student, email us at careers@uclaextension.edu with your:

  1. Full name
  2. 9-digit UCLA ID (UID)
  3. UCLA Logon ID
  4. Name of the certificate program
  5. Anticipated program completion date

If you have a Handshake account from another university (.edu address), update it to match your primary email address in your UCLA Extension record, along with your first and last name.  

  1. To update your primary email in your UCLA Extension student account, go to your student portal. Please note any changes to your UCLA Extension Record take 24 hours to complete. You will have to wait 24 hours before opening a UCLA Handshake account. 
  2. To update your primary email, follow the instructions here or chat with a Handshake agent here. 

Ready to Register?

If you have never opened a Handshake account, you will follow a 3-step process. This includes making a UCLA Logon ID, a UCLA Handshake account, and then confirming your email.

Read the steps below BEFORE you click on any links to make the account. It helps to keep this page open in a separate tab as you go through the steps.

If you have a Handshake account from UCLA main campus or a previous institution, go to the next section. 

Step 1: Create a UCLA Logon ID 

  1. Go to https://accounts.iam.ucla.edu 
  2. Click on “create a UCLA Logon ID” on the lower left-hand side of the screen. 
  3. Read and accept the terms of service, your responsibilities, and consequences of misuse by click on the box, “I agree to the terms of use.” 
  4. The next page asks you for your UID. Click “I do not have a 9-digit UCLA ID number (UID)” on the right-hand side. 
  5. Next, create your account. Make sure your first name and last name are EXACTLY the same your UCLA Extension record.  
  6. Use lowercase letters for your UCLA Logon ID and activate single-sign on (SSO).  
  7. Once you have your UCLA Logon ID, write your username and password in a place you can easily find it. You will use this ID to log on to UCLA Handshake. We CANNOT find your username and password for you.  

Step 2: Register for UCLA Handshake 

  1. Go to UCLA Single-Sign On for Handshake. 
  2. Sign in using the username and password you created in step 1 above.  
  3. You will be asked to register as a “new user”. 
  4. After this, you will get a message saying “Sorry, we cannot find your record.” However, right after, you will see a blue button saying, “I am an Extension student / alumnus”. Click here.  
  5. Enter your UCLA Extension student ID (starts with X) and your primary email. Make sure both your UCLA Extension Student ID and primary email match what is on your student record.  
  6. Click ‘submit’. 
  7. The system will ask you to re-enter your primary email ID. Make sure you enter the same primary email as you used in the previous step. 
  8. Your UCLA Extension record refers to your student account. You can access it through your student portal here: Log-In to Student Portal. 

Step 3: Confirm your email. 

  1. Log on to the primary email you sent the confirmation email to. This email should be the same as you entered when making your UCLA Handshake account and should match the primary email on your UCLA Extension student record.  
  2. After confirming your email address, you will receive a message saying your account is made. HOWEVER, the system takes 24 hours to process your registration. You should be able to log into UCLA Handshake after 24 hours.  

If you graduated up to (≤) 3 months ago from a UCLA Extension certificate program, your Handshake subscription is free.

If you graduated more than (>) 3 months ago from a UCLA Extension certificate program, you will follow a 2-step process to renew a PAID subscription.

Cost for renewal: $30 for 6 months.

The instructions below also apply to you, if you have “ever” opened a Handshake account at another university or college.

Read the steps below BEFORE you click on any links to make the account. It helps to keep this page open in a separate tab as you go through the steps.

Step 1: Register for UCLA Handshake 

  1. Go to UCLA Single-Sign On for Handshake. 
  2. Sign in using the UCLA username and password you created when first opening the account.  
  3. You will be asked to register as a “new user”. 
  4. You will see a message saying “Sorry, we cannot find your record.” In a moment, you will see a blue button saying, “I am an Extension student / alumnus”. Click there.  
  5. Next, enter your UCLA Extension student ID, (it begins with “X”), and your primary email. Make sure both your UCLA Extension Student ID and primary email match what is on your student record.  
  6. Click < submit >.
  7. The system will ask you to re-enter your primary email ID. Enter the SAME primary email as you used in the previous step. 

Step 2: Confirm your email. 

  1. Log onto the primary email you used for email confirmation. This email should be the same as you entered when making your UCLA Handshake account, and should match the primary email on your UCLA Extension student record.  
  2. After confirming your email address, you will receive a message saying your account is made.  
  3. You will then be prompted to pay for your UCLA Handshake subscription.  
  4. Once the payment is made, the system takes 24 hours to process your registration. You should be able to log into UCLA Handshake after 24 hours.  

To access UCLA Handshake 24 hours after your account is made, go to https://ucla.joinhandshake.com/, and use your UCLA logon ID to sign in.

You can bookmark this page on your browser.  Please use your UCLA Logon ID to sign into UCLA Handshake. Do not use the email option; that will not work. 

Here are some common errors when registering for a UCLA Handshake account. Read these carefully: UCLA Handshake Registration and Access Denied 

Before registering, please review these safety tips to avoid fraudulent employers.  UCLA & UCLA Extension pre-screens employers, however, we cannot guarantee that every employer and posting you encounter is legitimate.  If you suspect that a posting is fraudulent, do not click on any links or provide any personal information.