Job Shadowing

Job shadowing is the experience of following a professional through their work day. They can vary in length from a few hours to a full work week! It is not an internship because it is a short term commitment without pay, and rather than you working on projects for the company you are observing what individuals are doing in the company.

Job shadowing is a great way to learn firsthand about the work you may be interested in doing! You can “try out” a field without committing to it, build professional relationships in your field, and clarify your interests and career goals, even if you realize this specific position does not appeal to you.

Find a Professional

1. Consult your personal network! Ask if people you know can put you in contact with someone else who can host you.
2. Search LinkedIn and Handshake to find organizations and individuals!
3. Reach out to a company you are interested in and ask if they can recommend people to schedule a shadow day for you.

Requesting to Shadow

1. Establish a rapport with the person you reach out to
1. explain who you are and how you got in contact with them
2. explain your professional interests and how they fall in line with your professional goals
2. Provide plenty of time (several weeks in advance) for the person to accommodate you into thier schedules
3. Prepare for your meeting by doing research on the person, organization, and create questions to ask the person throughout your visit.
4. After you shadow, be sure to send the person a handwritten thank you note and connect with them on LinkedIn!

• Be clear that it is a job shadowing experience in the title of the section or role title
• Explain what tasks you observed when shadowing
• Add industry specific keywords into your bullet points