Today’s workers want more from their employers than just a decent paycheck and benefits package. They want to work for mission-driven companies that align with their values and make a genuine effort to create positive change. Here at Handshake, we rely on our mission and core values as a compass, driving our employees to do their best work.
“Focus on impact” is one of the cornerstone values at Handshake, and our sales team sees the real-life outcomes of this commitment each and every day.
Mo Husein is a Senior Enterprise Account Executive on the Employer Sales Team here at Handshake. He specializes in helping businesses understand how they can use Handshake to recruit and hire early talent. As one of our more tenured reps, he's also seen how Handshake has grown from a small startup to one of the fastest-growing companies in Silicon Valley. Through it all, it’s Mo's keen alignment with Handshake's values that has kept him here every step of the way.
We had a chance to sit down with Mo to talk about what it means to him to work in Enterprise Sales for a mission-driven company like Handshake and how his work is helping transform the modern-day workforce.
Mo's career journey
Mo comes from a non-traditional career background. For many years, he played video games professionally, competing in tournaments and running a business that offered gaming services and coaching for the most popular games.
As he ventured into the world of traditional jobs, he never expected to land in tech. After working for a few years and building up his job skills, he was ready for his next challenge. And that's when he found Handshake.
Mo was immediately struck by how closely Handshake's values aligned with his own, particularly when providing access to resources for marginalized students who had never had a strong voice in the job market.
"To be able to do good and apply my work to what I personally care about, all at the same time, feels awesome," said Mo. "Just talking to everyone that works here at Handshake, it’s wildly evident how much people care about our mission."
The impact of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Handshake really walks the walk when it comes to diversity and inclusion as a value. The company has clear DEI goals and exercises full transparency with planned actionable steps and progress. The goal is to have a workforce representative of the population they serve—the students.
Mo has a personal connection to Handshake's commitment to diversity and inclusion. His mother, Sangeetha, came to this country and raised Mo and his younger brother by herself. When they were kids, she worked her way up in a company and was honored at an award ceremony. As her boss of three years announced her name from the stage, it was clear that he didn't know how to pronounce it. From the audience, Mo listened to his mom's manager call her Sandy while her co-workers chuckled.
This experience had a profound impression on him. When he got older, he realized that someone like his mom could quickly be passed over for a job just because her name was slightly different from what some people are used to. Mo also mentioned the influence his mother had on him, whose demonstration of perseverance and resilience in the workplace, he feels embodies true, and authentic leadership. These experiences have revolutionized the way Mo thinks about his job, and what leadership means, especially as part of an enterprise sales team.
At Handshake, the goal is to help companies understand that there's no excuse anymore for the lack of DEI. "It takes a lot to make fundamental, systemic change, and I'm here for it," said Mo.
What's next?
The enterprise sales team at Handshake has big plans for the future, anchored by a focus on impact. And Mo sees so much more potential.
With every sale Mo makes, he imagines all the students that will be helped by the new employer partner. Not only are companies recruiting young people who have the skills they need, they are recruiting untapped talent and offering career development training for those with the most potential. Employers can start the recruitment process with freshmen in college, guiding students toward the educational path and skills that will be most needed in the industry a few years down the road when they graduate.
So, when Enterprise reps like Mo partner with employers, he’s helping them find new ways of doing business that will transform workforces. Being an Enterprise rep at Handshake allows you to have an impact, connecting more people to employment opportunities and helping organizations break systematic barriers.
At Handshake, our reps are not just selling software—they’re democratizing access to career opportunities so that every student can land their dream job while enabling employer partners to make the world a better, more equitable place.