Recruitment Options

We are excited that you are planning to recruit on our campus. There are many ways to engage Whitman students (Whitties). We first encourage all employers to take advantage of our job and internship platform, Handshake (see below). This resource is the best way to get your information in front of Whitman students and young alumni, allowing you to connect directly with them via position postings, event listings, and electronic messaging. Whitties are reminded often to check Handshake for upcoming opportunities.

About Advertising of Employer Opportunities

The Career and Community Engagement Center (CCEC) is pleased to support your recruitment efforts by promoting and facilitating on-campus events such as info sessions, tabling, and job fairs; by answering your inquiries about Whitman College; and by connecting you with students through Handshake. While we are eager to support organizations, we do not provide promotional, forwarding, or marketing services for job, volunteer, or internship postings. The only exception to this is for local community members who are offering students yard work, childcare, pet-sitting, or similar opportunities, as these types of listings are not allowed on Handshake. After posting a position to Handshake, we highly encourage you to reach out to any academic departments and/or student organizations at Whitman that may be interested in sharing your opportunity with their members.

Below you will find more information about how to recruit at Whitman through Handshake and various other means.

Using Handshake for Recruiting

Handshake is Whitman’s preferred platform for sharing jobs, internships, and other opportunities. Creating a profile will automatically register you to receive information about future Whitman job and internship fair timelines.

Handshake Employer Login

Registering for and Maintaining a Handshake Employer Account

To gain employer access to Handshake, use your organization email address to create a user account. Be sure to create the account using the Employer Sign-Up page rather than a different Handshake registration page (such as that for students). If you encounter troubles, email ccec_info@whitman.edu for assistance.
If your organization or office does not yet have a presence on Handshake, create a new company profile and connect with Whitman College.
Only the person in your organization who is registered as Owner may edit company profile settings or deactivate users who have left the organization. To make a different team member the Owner, refer to Handshake's information on transferring ownership. Please update your team's staffing list on the company profile on a regular basis to ensure that messages sent through Handshake from the CCEC arrive in the correct inbox(es).

Posting Jobs and Internships on Handshake

Refer to Handshake's detailed instructions for posting jobs for direction in the process of adding jobs or internships to the platform.
For guidance in preparing an internship posting, refer to this internship description template for a list of typically included information.
Review these tips for increasing your chances that Whitman students will apply:
- When specifying time requirements, be aware that selecting "temporary or seasonal" will allow you to include a timeframe for your position with any dates you choose.
- Categorizing your job with multiple job role groups will allow students to find your posting using a wider variety of search filters.
- When specifying candidate qualifications, consider leaving the "major groups" section blank, or else select the link that allows you to choose majors by school. Because Whitman is a liberal arts school where students learn across many disciplines, a student from any major could potentially be qualified for work in many fields. Our offered majors do not align well with the categories suggested by Handshake, so we recommend either choosing from our list or not limiting your applicant pool by major.
Find additional information, FAQs, and suggestions for using Handshake to its fullest capacity on the Handshake Help Center Employer Dashboard.
For technical assistance you may also contact ccec_info@whitman.edu or call 509-527-5183.

Ways to Recruit at Whitman College

Expand the sections below for details on how to engage with Whitman students in multiple ways.

On-Campus Recruitment: Info Sessions & Tabling

First, please ensure that your open and upcoming positions are posted on Handshake. See above for information on this process.

Next, reach out to the CCEC at recruit@whitman.edu to tell us about your organization and inform us of your desired timeline for visiting Whitman College. We will help you reserve a space on campus and will alert students to your planned event.

Finally, prepare for your trip to Walla Walla, Washington! Walla Walla has many wonderful places to stay overnight if you are planning to be in town for more than a day. Please refer to the Visit Walla Walla website to learn more about lodging in our beautiful community.

Virtual Recruitment: Info Sessions & Webinars

First, please post any new and upcoming positions on Handshake. Use the information listed above to complete this process.

Next, refer to Handshake's instructions for creating events if you are hosting a virtual info session, webinar, conference, or workshop to which you would like to invite Whitman students.

Finally, email ccec_info@whitman.edu if you would like us to share your event posting with the Whitman student body via our weekly event listserv (during the academic year only). Be sure to include the event URL from the Handshake posting in your message. (Note: As a reminder, we do not promote or forward job, volunteer, or internship positions.)

Create an Experiential Opportunity

Nonprofit organizations, public offices, and certain for-profit businesses that may not be able to offer paid internships may instead create opportunities that are eligible for funding through the Whitman Internship Grant (WIG). The WIG is a competitive grant that funds unpaid internships for students who submit strong applications, provided the opportunity meets certain educational criteria. WIGs are available for the fall and spring semesters and over the summer. The grant can fund a maximum of two Whitman interns per organization in a given time frame. If you would like to host a WIG recipient, post your internship opening to Handshake (see above for info on the Handshake process) and contact Nadine Stecklein, Assistant Director for Internship Programs.

Please note: Students must have secured their unpaid internship before they are allowed to apply for the WIG. We encourage organizations who are looking to host a WIG recipient to post their openings early so that students will have sufficient time to prepare their WIG application after securing their position. WIG deadlines are typically in mid-September for fall semester grants, late January for spring semester grants, and mid-March for summer grants.

See the Whitman Internship Grant (WIG) Employer Reference Sheet for more information.

Parker Dewey Micro-Internships

Parker Dewey Micro-Internships provide students from all majors with the opportunity to execute professional assignments that allow them to build and demonstrate skills while exploring a variety of career paths. Employers may use micro-internships to improve the effectiveness of hiring efforts or to obtain immediate help on projects if they or their team are overloaded. In addition, by engaging students earlier, companies can enhance their pipeline for future interns and new hires. (NOTE: students must have a U.S. work authorization in order to partake in this program.)

Micro-internships can include projects across all departments, including:

Sales
Human Resources
Strategy
Marketing
Research
Operations and Support
Finance and Accounting

To learn more and post projects, visit the website linked above and create a profile to get started.

Attend a Job & Internship Fair

Whitman College hosts on-campus job and internship fairs annually, in both the fall and spring semesters. All fairs are good opportunities for general recruiting and connecting with students about your organization. The spring semester fair is also designed specifically to highlight upcoming summer opportunties.

You can find more information about upcoming fairs and register for them through the Career Fairs module in Handshake. See above for creating a Handshake employer user account and company profile if you do not already have a presence on the platform.

The CCEC extends career fair invitations several months in advance of each fair. Please be sure to update your organization's staff list in Handshake on a regular basis so that these invitations can be received to the right inbox(es). Handshake provides detailed instructions for deactivating users who have left the organization and transferring ownership of the company profile, if necessary.

Additional Resources

Review Whitman College's Recruitment Policies and Practices
Looking to hire an international student? Visit our Guide to Hiring International Students
Offering an unpaid internship? Please visit the U.S. Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act fact sheet to ensure that your internship meets the required criteria
If you are hosting a Whitman student as an intern at your organization, please review our Information for Internship Supervisors
Whitman Internship Grant (WIG) Employer Reference Sheet