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The ����ֱ�� Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, has received a 2022 Handshake Early Talent Award, an honor that recognizes the Laboratory for best-in-class talent engagement.

, an online job search platform for college students, connects up-and-coming talent with more than 650,000 employers, including Fortune 500 companies such as Google, Nike and Target, as well as thousands of public school districts, health care systems, nonprofits and even sports teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Each year, the platform presents its Early Talent Awards to the top employers who rely on Handshake to power their college recruiting, a feature that Joe Ames, who leads college recruiting in APL’s Talent Services Department, says is significant because it means the award is based on platform activity rather than on nominations. He also noted that, statistically speaking, a large majority of job-hunting college-aged students are more likely to apply to a recent winner of a great workplace award.

The Handshake team said students commented that they loved APL because of its mentoring programs, its collaborative environment and its mission-driven work.

“We are always looking at new and innovative ways to reach our college audience,” Ames said. “When we hear students providing feedback through a platform like Handshake, it is great validation that we are making an impact.”

Handshake’s community includes 21 million students and early-career alumni from 1,400 educational institutions around the world, including four-year colleges, community colleges, boot camps and more than 290 minority-serving institutions. After creating a Handshake account, students can receive information about virtual career events and personalized job recommendations, and connect with alumni from their schools and employees of prospective employers.

The platform has also allowed APL recruiters to proactively source and build relationships with a more inclusive group of candidates through coffee chats with doctoral students and meaningful engagement with special interest groups at schools nationwide.

“Handshake is an important channel in our college recruiting strategy,” said Denise Hockensmith, who manages the Laboratory’s talent acquisition programs. “We appreciate the recognition of best-in-class early talent engagement leveraging the Handshake platform.”