Firsthand 2026: Benefits, Features & Pricing

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Overview
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Pricing and Plans
Features
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User Reviews
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Overview

Firsthand

4.5

(41)

Pricing

Starting at $7,600.00 per month

About Firsthand

Firsthand is a web-based networking and careers development platform designed to help students, professionals, and job-seekers engage with engage with prospective employers and find jobs or internships through mentoring programs and virtual events. Administrators can create online communities to enlist student ambassadors and recruit alumni as mentors to current students, while employers can use the platform to find and engage candidates who fit their company.

Students and jobseekers can use Firsthand to connect with experienced mentors in their field of interest, to receive firsthand knowledge about specific industries or roles, conduct mock interview, and have their resumes critiqued. Firsthand also ranks and benchmarks employers based on a range of criteria including DE&I, company culture and prestige, allowing applicants to make informed decisions about who they want to work for.

Firsthand Screenshots

Firsthand Pricing and Plans

Starting price: $7,600.00 per month

Free Trial

Free Version

Basic

$7,600.00

per feature, per month

No plan information available

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Firsthand Features

Popular features found in Alumni Management
Communication Management
Email Marketing
Event Calendar
Fundraising Management
Job Board
List Management
Member Accounts
Member Portal
Website Management
More features of Firsthand
Action Item Tracking
Activity Dashboard
AI-based Matching
API
Appointment Scheduling
Attendance Management
Attendee Management
Campaign Management
Career Development
Chat/Messaging
Conferencing
Content Library
Customizable Branding
Engagement Tracking
Event Management
For Alumni Associations
Lead Generation
Learning Management
Live Streaming
Member Directory
Membership Management
Mentor/Coach Matching
Mentoring Program Management
Online Registration
Participant Profiles
Progress Tracking
Real-Time Chat
Reporting/Analytics
Reporting & Statistics
Self Service Portal
Virtual Lobby

Firsthand Integrations

Microsoft Outlook

Blackbaud Enrollment Management System

Simplicity

Google Calendar

NetSuite

Ellucian

See all 7 integrations

Firsthand User Reviews

Overall Rating

4.5

Ratings Breakdown

54%

41%

Secondary Ratings

Ease of Use

4.3

Value for money

4.5

Customer support

4.6

Functionality

4.2

Have you used Firsthand and would like to share your experience with others?

Alex B.

Verified reviewer

Non-Profit Organization Management

11-50 employees

Used weekly for less than 12 months

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

Firsthand and support

I've really enjoyed working with the Firsthand team. They are quick to respond and focused on service.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

When looking for a mentoring program, we did look and research a variety of options. We like the look, feel, and resources provided by Firsthand. We thought it would help our members see the value in a system like this. Above all, their customer support has been incredible, and we really appreciate their continued support of our efforts.

Cons:

Like many new initiatives, we've been continuing to work on our rollout and getting our members to use a new platform. However, Firsthand has been great in working with us to brainstorm ideas and help however they can.

Dean V.

Verified reviewer

Higher Education

201-500 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

Invaluable Product

I've been subscribing to Firsthand (Evisors) for over 10 years. It's a valuable service in any career management office. It's also a pleasure to work with the friendly, professional support staff at Firsthand.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Students need career advice from professions in their field of interest, as they respect the advice from a professional more than that of their school career advisor. Firsthand makes connecting with these professionals easy and unintimidating.

Cons:

A few students have complained that the professional does not respond to inquiry; but, this doesn't happen very frequently.

Richard M.

Verified reviewer

E-Learning

11-50 employees

Used weekly for less than 6 months

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

First Impressions

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The basis of the software is great especailly now as a lot of connecting and mentoring must be done virtually. Customer service has been generally excellent. The platform has a lot of potential and another plus is that the algorithm feature provicdes an opportunity to change it to fit our organization's needs.

Cons:

Many features are only customizable on FirstHand's end, so some things that would be easy to fix have to go through multiple channels prior to being fixed. The email features could be improved aesthetically. There is also no option to assure that those logging on to the platform are eligible to use the GAIN platform since it is restricted to NAI members.

Jillian P.

Verified reviewer

Education Management

1001-5000 employees

Used weekly for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

Good option for mentor programs but better search required

We are trying to link university students and alumni with mentors. Many people have positive experiences with it. Overall, the experience has been positive, with exception of the search functionality that I find frustrating. There have been a few times when my customer service request went unanswered. Overall it is easy to use.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I like the user interface with LinkedIn functionality to include in profile. I like the videos as well. The new function of being able to email direct has been great- previously it was an inconvenience with having to login first to send a message.

Cons:

It is difficult to navigate the search. Because terms are not customized, there is a big variation of search outputs. Can discourage users from using the tool as they mistakenly think there is no one that fits their interest area.

Heather D.

Verified reviewer

Higher Education

1001-5000 employees

Used other for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

Great Benefits for Students, Difficult to Increase Usage

In theory, I love the potential benefits of the platform. But without a dedicated marketing staff member, it quickly became static and not an immediately used/intuitive system for students to pursue with their own initiative. For example, we use CandidCareer, and that seems to be easier for students to find and use on their own.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Webinar library (especially now that users can search by keywords)

Cons:

When we were using the Advisor platform, it was difficult to use the platform and when they did, many requested meetings were never completed, which made it seem static and an unreliable place to ensure mentorship was taking place. There was also missing functionality, such as a count (total number) of advisors after entering search criteria.

Reasons for choosing Firsthand

We ended up buying both. We liked the longer, more in-depth webinars on Firsthand.

Stephanie S.

Verified reviewer

Education Management

1001-5000 employees

Used other for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

The students that use it, love it

Firsthand provides a wealth of professionals at the finger tips of students to connect with. This is invaluable in an age where making online jobs applications alone is not enough.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

The students that engage with Firsthand love it. Students were able to access professionals at short notice and even at weekends and were impressed with the their knowledge and willingness to help. Being able to have these conversations with friendly professionals is a great starting place for students new to networking to have a go in what feels like a safer environment.

Cons:

We're in a very 'noisy' digital world so getting students to engage with the product is our biggest challenge. Firsthand have been supportive is supplying promotional materials which has been useful.

Raymond X.

Verified reviewer

Higher Education

1001-5000 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

Global Coaching Platform

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

We have been using Firsthand for more than 3 years. It allows our students to talk with coaches all over the world for industry knowledge, mock interview and beyond.

Cons:

We hope the popular coach can open more coaching slots.

Chris L.

Verified reviewer

Education Management

11-50 employees

Used daily for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

Not an employee anymore

It was great but I'm no longer working with it so I don't know how it's working now.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

I appreciated the work that the firsthand team provided and their customer service skills

Cons:

It was still not as customizable as we needed at the time

Jay F.

Verified reviewer

Higher Education

1001-5000 employees

Used daily for less than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed August 2020

Chico State Review

Great

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Affinity Groups are included in price. PeopleGrove charged a separate fee for each group

Cons:

Nothing - I think it is a great product.

Reasons for choosing Firsthand

Better Product

Hannah D.

Verified reviewer

Education Management

201-500 employees

Used other for more than 2 years

Review source

Reviewed March 2020

Great product and team!

Great team with a great product, innovative ideas, clever tech, and great user experience.

Ratings Breakdown

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer support

Functionality

Pros:

Firsthand is a great product that is easy for students and alumni to use and complements our on-campus offering. What I most like is how the innovative team are always looking to make improvements to the existing platform, as well as release new features.

Cons:

I can't think of anything! Some of the pain points we had in the past have been solved, for example, we now have the ability to manage our own credits from within the platform.

Showing 1 - 10 of 41 Reviews

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