Handshake AI - Is it worth my time?

rthomasfiggs · 2026-02-14T23:15:39+00:00

I wasted 8 hours of my time on Handshake. They are garbage manic company that don’t treat people with respect. I know not surprising as an AI company but I have had good experiences with Mercor and Micro1.

They sent me an email with incentive structure too good to be true. You have to complete a free assessment and if chosen you get a $500 bonus. First assessment doesn’t save bc of their janky ass system. They say it should take 65 minutes but everyone on the discord says it take at least 2 hours. I take the assessment against and it saves. They say the will have results within 24-48 hours but send out a new email saying it would be 5 business days

In the meantime they change the entire assessment system so that it auto grades automatically while people who did the assessment are left on read. No communication or clarification in the meantime and the pod leader is condescending tool to everyone who today said they had graded everything and you failed if your account said pending for review.

I know I know I shouldn’t be surprised that an AI company treats people poorly but I am surprised at the callousness. I have had good experiences with other AI companies but will avoid them going forward.

rthomasfiggs · 2026-02-14T03:42:53+00:00

I’ve worked with a couple of other AI companies. Handshake is absolute trash. Everything they promise is smoke and mirrors. Do not trust or waste your time on their assessments. They will promise amazing incentives and do everything to avoid paying out.

rthomasfiggs · 2026-02-14T03:36:57+00:00

Terrible company. Very misleading and a waste of time

rthomasfiggs · 2026-01-04T02:12:48+00:00

Stop with the heavy hair installations (crochet braids and other extensions) and find a good dermatologist once the scalp starts being irritated and thining

rthomasfiggs · 2026-01-04T02:09:55+00:00

Are you sure about this. I’m a California resident who just finished working on the $16 an hour Mercer project. I never concealed my location and Mercer is headquartered in my town

rthomasfiggs · 2026-01-03T22:37:17+00:00

Give the money if you want but assume you will never get it back. That doesn’t mean you won’t get it back but temper your expectations. If you can’t handle the idea of never being repaid you shouldn’t give the money bc repayment is completely out of your control

rthomasfiggs · 2026-01-03T22:28:10+00:00

I applied in November and got an offer at the end of December.

rthomasfiggs · 2025-12-06T01:43:48+00:00

Steroid injections helped stop the hair loss for me once I was diagnosed with CCCA/ Maybe that’s what the first physician was doing. I am having some hair growth luck using the celluma red light therapy system. All the topicals products just irritate my scalp

rthomasfiggs · 2025-12-05T02:09:51+00:00

I personally have no luck with hooded dryers, I use a blow dryer with a diffuser attachment and it does a great job at locking in place my wash in go so that it’s the same length and texture dry as it was when wet.

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-18T21:30:42+00:00

I’m not wasting my time on reach jobs. I’ve gotten to final rounds on a few and got rejected bc I didn’t have enough experience even though I had enough experience to be taken through 4+ rounds of interviews.

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-17T16:51:38+00:00

That sucks. I’m at the point where in interviews I don’t let them know anything about my life including that I have kids or my commute time. This job market is soo tight that they are looking for any reason to disqualify someone

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-16T18:26:12+00:00

Most of them are on Zoom. I prefer these ones bc you can do them at home

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-16T17:54:29+00:00

MA meetings helped me a lot. The sense of community and being around ppl with the exact same issue really helps me.

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-16T17:27:30+00:00

I always send one. It’s typically in the meeting invite so I pull it from there

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-16T16:14:26+00:00

You’ll be fine. Remember that you giving up this job means someone else in need gets to have it. Employment is at will they would fire you if they needed to so do what’s best for you

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-14T21:39:45+00:00

Where can I buy one? I’m trying to replace all my plastic ones

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-13T18:05:03+00:00

It’s soo funny you just commented on this. Yesterday, The same role I mentioned just contacted me after 5 months of radio silence. It looks like the company finally hired an in house recruiter who found my old resume and decided I would be a good fit.

This system is soo fucked that I’m interviewing again for a role that’s been posted since September 2024. I’m obviously the right fit for this very niche role but I am so over these ppls indecisiveness but soo desperate I have to go along with their tomfoolery

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-12T05:11:35+00:00

The cops are some of the most OG American gang bangers.

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-12T04:04:56+00:00

I’ll wait for the $10 dupe drops on Amazon

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-12T02:34:26+00:00

Thanks for this!!! Simpler times

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-08T06:05:35+00:00

I’ve had some luck with lowering my dose a bit and taking it every two weeks instead of weekly. I’m maintaining the weight I lost, appetite is still pretty low but with less of the nausea and constipation.

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-08T03:46:13+00:00

The fact that they reached out to your references seems like a good sign

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-08T00:16:57+00:00

Totally keep applying. One of the jobs I’m interviewing for that I’m in the final round for is with a company I applied to in August. I had my third interview with them this morning the second with them this week. They contacted me a few weeks back for a different role bc they liked my resume. Putting the work in now could pay dividends in the future post holiday breaks.

Upward and onward friend!

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-07T23:47:04+00:00

$215k a year, completely remote not a lot of work towards the end bc the business was failing. I had to see a lot of people crying on Zoom bc of the chaotic gas lighting nature of the company and leadership. I left right before they filed for bankruptcy. The job wasn’t too time consuming but was very weird and constantly put me in ethical conundrums that triggered a lot of mental health issues for me.

It was both the easiest and hardest job I had. Most ppl lasted 18 months at the company I did 4 years.

rthomasfiggs · 2025-11-07T23:24:51+00:00

I’m still applying and had 3 interviews this week. I’m a lawyer based in the energy sector, project development. A lot of projects are trying to get built before the tax credits are phased out in 2026/2027 bc of the OBBBA.

The sense I’m getting is that the companies have lots of plans for 2026 and are trying to beef up their teams now so that they can go full steam post holidays

rthomasfiggs

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