# Firsthand Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is Firsthand the right Mentoring solution for you? Explore 41 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/159785/Firsthand/reviews --- Firsthand 4.5 (41) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/159785/Firsthand/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of Firsthand Ease of use 4.3 Customer Service 4.6 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews BE Ben E Director of CommunicationsHigher Education, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “This created an opportunity for us to connect our members throughout North America with one another to offer coaching or mentoring and to seek professional guidance and advise.“ August 13, 2020 EH Elizabeth H Career & Advising CoordinatorHigher Education, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The more recent updates make the admin side less user friendly.“ August 18, 2020 PS Patty S Assistant Director, Alumni Volunteer ServicesEducation Management, 5,001 - 10,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It's great to be able to quickly and easily email from the platform and load our own webinars we offer with the existing national webinars offered in the platform. “ August 17, 2020 VG Vanessa G Associate Director, Graduate Career ManagementHigher Education, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “My favorite feature is the online Career Library where professionals discuss their careers in a wide range of areas.“ August 18, 2020 SS Stephanie S MBA Careers Consultant Education Management, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “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. “ August 20, 2020 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 41 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Joep E. Director Career Centre Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great career services tool for students and alumni" January 6, 2020 5.0 Super tool, good feedback from users, who are extremely satisfied about using the tool. Pros Easy to use, it's not complicated to use. It's also great that it has the feeling of an RSM Erasmus University tool Cons It's kind of hard to motivate students to use the tool. When they use it they are very satisfied! Users need to go through 'all' settings to ensure the best use, some of them like 'time zone' are beneficial but easy to forget Review Source BE Ben E. Director of Communications Higher Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A Platform That Has Extended the Value of our Organization" August 13, 2020 5.0 Overall, as mentioned previously, the platform has been invaluable. We're very happy with what it is doing for us and our organization and the potential it creates for connecting members with like-minded professional aspirations or skill sets. Pros With Firsthand, our organization was able to launch what we call the Delta Chi Mentorship Network. This created an opportunity for us to connect our members throughout North America with one another to offer coaching or mentoring and to seek professional guidance and advise. It has been invaluable in expanding the experience associated with membership in our organization. Thus far, the user-friendly interface has been one of the biggest selling points. Cons As we continue to seek ways in which we can contour the platform to our needs, we've seen limitations in the way we, without the assistance of tech support, are able to customize the platform. For some of the pages, we've had asks about enhanced visual customization, from using images as title banners, etc. Currently, we cannot do that. Alternatives considered [Bizzabo](https://www.capterra.com/p/135385/Bizzabo/)[Accelevents](https://www.capterra.com/p/144596/Accelevents/)[Localist](https://www.capterra.com/p/240692/Localist/)[Radancy](https://www.capterra.com/p/275758/Radancy/) Reason for choosing Firsthand While the decision making for utilizing Firsthand was not solely my choice, I think it was the strongest candidate in aligning with our vision for what the Mentorship Network could be. Other considerations were given to customer service and price, which were extremely competitive amongst other alternative products. Review Source WP Will P. Assistant Career Coach Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A platform with great potential" August 13, 2020 3.0 Pros \-Very easy account registration process. -Intuitive user interface - mimicking a 'tinder' approach to mentoring. - Takes out a lot of the fear of being rejected when it comes to networking. Makes it very easy and 'risk free'. - Flexibility for students to select what sort of outcome or conversation they want with their mentor. - Convenient scheduling tool to allow students to find a time to speak with a mentor without having to play - diary 'ping pong' between them and advisor. - Dial-in option easy to speak with advisor and retains students privacy of personal number. - Access to global network of advisors. Cons \- Very U.S centric, so less relevant for those seeking mentorship within a U.K context. - Could benefit from a wider range of mentors across different roles / industries / sectors. - Webinar content appears to be more targeted at more experienced hires - could benefit from more content focused on early careers. Review Source JM Juan M. Alumni Relations Manager Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "An excellent way to engage your community" December 9, 2019 5.0 It has been great, for us it's a really cost-effective way to engage with our most engaged alumni, to promote engagement with the school since the time our cohorts are studying and make sure that employability and visibility of our graduates also keeps very high. Pros Firsthand is easily one of our best sources to source people that are very committed to our brand and values. It also provides a better student experience to RSMers that can find fascinating people and get to know about their journey after university and how to get there. Cons The internal e-mail tool is fantastic to engage people however, it is VERY limited in the customization and branding that you can use. This tool only has very basic text options to engage your community which is a shame because the response rate is great. Alternatives considered [Graduway](https://www.capterra.com/p/134140/Graduway/) Reason for choosing Firsthand Functionality, tracking of users and great customer support. Review Source NP Nichole P. Program Officer Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Firsthand Platform" August 13, 2020 4.0 Firsthand has helped us streamline our mentoring program, but it could still use some improvements. The customer support should be a little better and faster. Also, I feel like the users should have an option as to whether to contact the admin or the user support directly through the platform. Pros The combination of features is helpful for different purposes other than mentoring, but it especially drives those one-on-one mentoring connections. Cons The current registration process is a little long and tiresome. Additionally, it needs to be more customizable, which I know the developers are working on, but the original product we started using over a year ago was very rigid. Alternatives considered [Chronus](https://www.capterra.com/p/140234/Chronus-Mentoring-Software/) Reason for choosing Firsthand Firsthand had a better value: we got the most for the money we spent. Review Source MP Maricel P. Associate Director of Corporate Partnerships Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "FirstHand for MBA and alumni networking & advising" August 13, 2020 5.0 It's been a very good experience. We have had the most issues with lack of student use. Pros The platform puts the students in the driver's seat to engage with alumni for flash networking and career advising, while at the same time allowing the alumni to control the number of consultations and scheduling. Cons Technical issues with phone calls that were reported to us by alumni advisers. Alternatives considered [PeopleGrove](https://www.capterra.com/p/204121/PeopleGrove/) Reason for choosing Firsthand At the time, FirstHand was being used by other schools in the Jesuit network and FirstHand had been in business for longer than PeopleGrove. Review Source PS Patty S. Assistant Director, Alumni Volunteer Services Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A great tool for your University community to network; get and give career help" August 17, 2020 5.0 Pros I work on the admin side for the alumni and professional volunteers who sign up to become "advisors" in Firsthand. That's what we named them but you can customize using your own info and school branding. We have looked at other platforms but we realized we are happy with Firsthand and think it is great for the price. Also, unlike Graduaway and Peoplegrove, you can run reports to see who connected with who, what they thought about it and share their feedback to the alumnus and/or to the student. It's great to be able to quickly and easily email from the platform and load our own webinars we offer with the existing national webinars offered in the platform. We can post jobs and the connections made are recorded for quality assurance. I love the groups feature and we are using it to bring in more alumni and students by school, region and student group or program as well as building and enhancing our campus partner relationships as we offer this in place of a them having to create a separate, manual mentoring program for their community. On a monthly basis, I send a video-embedded email to our advisors who have helped someone in the platform (message from a student advisee). I also can look at the leaderboard on the admin side and know who the top users, advisors and advisees are in the platform. We also have a close working relationship with our customer success liaison at Firsthand. Their \[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN\] is very, very accessible too! Like Firsthand the best! Cons I have to say that, after comparing the other, similar platforms, Firsthand offers the same if not more due to their reporting capabilities. I really don't have any cons. If we have suggestions Firsthand always tries to make accommodations and they are constantly making improvements. Reason for choosing Firsthand They offer the same for a better price AND they offer various reporting capabilities on the connections made and feedback from both the advisee and advisor. I'm able to thank the alumni on the platform and know who they talked to and what the main topics were. I also can share a quote from the advisee to the advisor. We asked the other vendors and they couldn't do that. Review Source VG Vanessa G. Associate Director, Graduate Career Management Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Firsthand: An Excellent Tool for Online Career Education" August 18, 2020 5.0 Firsthand allows me to extend the Career Services we offer our graduate management students. We have a small team and over 600 students, so having a team of high level professionals from all over the world that our students can reach out to, for free (for them), is invaluable. Like anything else there have been ups and downs with the career advisors sometimes not being available. But they are professionals with real jobs, so this is not surprising. Firsthand is also expanding its offerings and has built a platform enabling Career Centers to set up virtual career fairs and recruiting. It's amazing. Pros Firsthand is an excellent tool for online career education. My favorite feature is the online Career Library where professionals discuss their careers in a wide range of areas. I use this Library extensively in the career courses that I teach to support the career exploration process. My students love the Career Advisor platform where they can connect with over 2,500 mentors from all over the world and get live help with learning about different careers, mock interviews, resume reviews, etc. Implementation was easy and fast. Cons The only thing I would like to see would be even more videos in the Career Library, addressing some of the newer types of roles, like business analytics, social media influencer, etc. Some of the material is a bit dated. But Firsthand is investing in other areas that are more focused on live interaction with alumni, recruiters, etc., which is a good thing. Reason for choosing Firsthand I chose Firsthand (originally called "Evisors") to complement another product we are using, called Beyond B-School. BBS provides a huge career library that is focused on building job search skills. Whereas Firsthand offers "first hand" experience from professionals about their careers, as well as the ability for schools to offer virtual recruiting activities. The combo of the two platforms is perfect for us. Review Source DW Denise W. Experiential Learning Coordinator Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Excellent Client Experience" August 14, 2020 5.0 Pros The software works really well and has helped thousands of students and alumni at our university connect to have meaningful conversations. What most impresses me about Firsthand is the dedication the entire company has to help their clients solve solutions. This spring Firsthand helped my university deliver a virtual career fair for the first time. This event would have been otherwise canceled, and hundreds of teaching credential students would have missed out on the opportunity to connect with potential employers. \[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN\] and his team worked tirelessly to support us. They were innovative, problem solvers, that were not afraid to dive into a new project with us. I would full-heartedly recommend Firsthand to any university. Cons I have no cons to report. My experience was positive all around. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Managing Partner Financial Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Firsthand/Evisors" August 14, 2020 4.0 It has been very positive so far. Pros The User Experience for the match-making between advisors and advisees, easy way to connect and to pay/get paid. Cons The functionality of connecting through my mobile phone wasn't working properly. Alternatives considered [WhatsApp](https://www.capterra.com/p/180345/WhatsApp/)[Microsoft Teams](https://www.capterra.com/p/168668/Microsoft-Teams/)[Zoom Events and Webinars](https://www.capterra.com/p/157062/Zoom-Video-Webinar/)[Google Meet](https://www.capterra.com/p/176572/Google-Hangouts/) Reason for choosing Firsthand Superior User Experience Review Source EH Elizabeth H. Career & Advising Coordinator Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Useful!" August 18, 2020 5.0 The Firsthand team has been great to work with! Pros It's user friendly for students. They're able to schedule with mentors and get advice. It's nice to be able to outsource in that way. Our office is really busy, so it's nice that we don't have to do a lot to keep things up to date. Cons The more recent updates make the admin side less user friendly. It can be difficult to tell that I'm actually an admin. Review Source KN Ken N. Career Advisor Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Very Satisfied Mentor and Mentee!" August 18, 2020 4.0 I have used Firsthand as a Mentor and a Mentee and it has worked well. I also appreciate the webinars to educated me on new features and strategies to engage students and alumni. Pros The software works well and is user friendly. They appearance of the website is professional. Cons I think the only big con for us right now is that we need to establish more mentors and mentees which has nothing to do with the software. Review Source LL Lynn L. Director, Alumni Programs Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "A newcomer to the platform" August 13, 2020 4.0 Pros I like the groups feature. I like that participates can go into a affinity/group and see others like them who had similar experiences. Sometimes it makes it easier to reach out if you have something in common with them. Cons I wish there was more back-end reporting Reason for choosing Firsthand I was not the one who chose the softward Review Source RP Richard P. Associate Director of Investor & Entrepreneur Engagement Higher Education Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Easy to use " August 13, 2020 4.0 Pros It was easy to get setup and use. It’s very intuitive, and didn’t require a lot of digging to find what I was looking for. Cons There were no specific features I felt were lacking. Review Source DV Dean V. Assistant Dean, MBA Career Management Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Invaluable Product" August 18, 2020 5.0 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. 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. Review Source JP Jillian P. Career counsellor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good option for mentor programs but better search required" August 19, 2020 4.0 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. 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. Review Source HD Heather D. Assistant Director Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great Benefits for Students, Difficult to Increase Usage" August 18, 2020 4.0 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. 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. Reason for choosing Firsthand We ended up buying both. We liked the longer, more in-depth webinars on Firsthand. Review Source SS Stephanie S. MBA Careers Consultant Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The students that use it, love it" August 20, 2020 4.0 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. 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. Review Source RX Raymond X. Assistant Director Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Global Coaching Platform" August 14, 2020 5.0 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. Review Source CL Chris L. Graduate assistant Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Not an employee anymore" August 21, 2020 4.0 It was great but I'm no longer working with it so I don't know how it's working now. 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 Review Source JF Jay F. Executive Director Alumni and Parent Engagement Higher Education Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Chico State Review" August 13, 2020 5.0 Great Pros Affinity Groups are included in price. PeopleGrove charged a separate fee for each group Cons Nothing - I think it is a great product. Alternatives considered [PeopleGrove](https://www.capterra.com/p/204121/PeopleGrove/) Reason for choosing Firsthand Better Product Review Source HD Hannah D. Technology & Data Manager Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great product and team!" March 6, 2020 5.0 Great team with a great product, innovative ideas, clever tech, and great user experience. 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. Review Source DB Daryn B. Connections Associate Higher Education Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Firsthand Review" August 14, 2020 4.0 Pros The thing that I like most about this product/software is the groups function. I think it provides a space for students that might be nervous about connecting one on one to start and then transition to the one on one interaction. It is also really nice for affinity groups on campus. Cons The part of the product/software that i like the least would have to be the reporting function. There is not a lot of options. Review Source IA Iara A. Program Officer Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Firsthand has made my job easier!" August 21, 2020 4.0 Pros Firsthand helped make my job easier by allowing us to pair my program mentees and mentors in a simple way. Although my company uses Firsthand a little differently than most companies do, the Firsthand team was all ears and made small changes so the platform could be even more beneficial to us. Cons Some new features do not always work the first time around and updates/changes are not always done in a timely manner. Review Source IZ Irina Z. Director Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "FIrstHand for Mentoring " August 18, 2020 5.0 Pros We use FirstHand to administer all of our mentorship programs between students and alumni and it works perfectly. Super easy to set up access and to track engagement. Cons the videos on the plarform are a bit dated Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.