Columbia has replaced Handshake, the career platform students used to search for jobs, internships and Career Center services, with a new system called ColumWorks.
Powered by career services company 12twenty, ColumWorks will also serve as the college’s portal for Career Center appointments, internship registration and career events.
Anna Ogier-Bloomer, associate dean of Career Development and Industry Relations, said Columbia switched to 12twenty to better serve students pursuing creative careers, not to save money.
Handshake was “a very limited product with no options for customization,” she said, adding that both platforms cost the college about the same amount.
“This impacted both the employer and student experience,” she said. “We received consistent feedback that Handshake was bogged down with an abundance of ill-fitting opportunities that made it difficult for students to find the best job leads for their industries.”
ColumWorks offers new functions not available on Handshake: Including more advanced search functionality for jobs, allowing students to filter between paid and unpaid internships, internships for credit, on-campus employment, and part- and full-time employment. It also lists freelance and volunteer opportunities, residencies, grants and fellowships.
The company 12twenty “has an excellent, long-standing reputation and a track record of providing the support creative institutions need. We have been able to modify ColumWorks down to the smallest detail to tailor it to the needs of our creative community,” Ogier-Bloomer said.
Like Handshake, ColumWorks will be managed by Career Center staff, and will be Columbia’s exclusive career management tool. Making appointments with the Career Center, signing up for internships for credit, and registering for events will now all be done through ColumWorks.
Senior film and television student Amy Hernandez, who works for Student Diversity and Inclusion on-campus, didn’t like seeing AI-training and ICE patrol jobs on Handshake, which ColumWorks doesn’t currently show.
“Good riddance,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said she checked out the new platform and isn’t sure of the benefit.
“I saw most of the same job postings,” she said. “It feels like an unnecessary change on our end.”
Most Columbia students have not yet explored ColumWorks, which the college released last month after the spring semester had ended.
Student Government Association President Amelia Lutz encouraged students to explore the new system, saying that this change will ultimately benefit students.
“I overall feel that this shift and change is done with the support of students in mind as we begin to enter into the job market in the state that it is. I deeply encourage any students who find themselves having issues with the new system to reach out to the Career Center with their feedback so they can look into solutions, especially with how new the system is,” Lutz said.
MyColumbia’s career tab as of this report still directs students to Handshake for appointments; however, Handshake no longer allows Columbia students to log in using their college email address.
To log in to ColumWorks, students can go through Columbia’s Career Center page or visit colum.12twenty.com. From there, students can create their account, which asks for their name, contact information and LinkedIn.
Information from Handshake does not transfer to ColumWorks, so students will have to add their resumes and work history to their profile again. Jobs saved on Handshake do not transfer to the new platform, but many of the same or similar jobs are posted on ColumWorks. Alumni will have access to the platform as well.
If students are having any issues with ColumWorks, contact the Career Center.
Copy edited by Katie Peters
