![]() Stay alert and interested, mind your manners, and in addition to writing down answers to your job shadowing questions, write down observations that are of particular interest to you! Your primary goal when job shadowing is to observe. When meeting others (especially the person you’ll job shadow!), always make eye contact and offer a firm handshake. Bring along a notebook and pen to take notes on the answers provided to your job shadowing questions. Dress neatly-clean and unwrinkled clothes, combed hair, and shoes in clean, unscuffed shape.Ī good option is dress pants and a dress shirt, or a skirt and a dress shirt. If your job shadow request is approved, you need to approach it like a job interview (this is also a benefit to job shadowing-it provides some interview practice) and think about what job shadowing questions you want to ask (more on this soon). If the day comes and goes and you don’t hear anything, politely inquire about the status of your job shadow request. ![]() If the contact/employee notes when they’ll get back to you, wait for them to get back to you. Your inside contact/particular employee will likely have to get an official seal of approval for your request.īe patient, and note when you plan to follow up. If you have an inside contact at a company you’d like to job shadow at, or perhaps a particular employee you’d like to shadow, follow the same protocol that is laid out above-make your request, state your reason, and note that you’re only looking for one day or half-day for shadowing. This gives the company time to locate someone who will let you tag along for a day. Tell them you don’t want a lot of time-perhaps a day or half a day, and that you’ll follow up with an email or phone call in about a week. You can say something like, “I’m very interested in architecture, and I would love the opportunity to job shadow someone at your company, to see what it’s like to be in the industry.” If you don’t have a school to help you, it’s OK to send a letter to a company’s human resources department making your request and stating why you chose the company. Or, approach your high school or college career counselors and ask them if they can help you arrange a job shadowing day-many schools maintain contacts in the business community for just this purpose. Research companies in your area that interest you. Do your homework on the career you’re angling for (as well as the industry) before your visit, and then come up with job shadowing questions that you believe will help fill in the blanks for you-things you can’t gain by looking them up online or reading about them in a book.įirst, you need to get a job shadowing opportunity. Not what I expected and not for me.”Įither way, the only way you’ll really get the most from the experience is by being prepared, which includes coming up with job shadowing questions. Some job shadowers will come away from the experience saying, “I love it! This is what I want to do with my life!” while others may say, “No way. You’re given a chance to ask job shadowing questions, observe a “day in the life of,” and just absorb and reflect on whether the environment and the workers are something that appeal to you. ![]() Whether it’s in an architecture firm, at a high-tech startup, or at an auto body repair shop, experienced workers let you watch how they do their jobs. But far from skulking or spying, you’re given a front-row seat to how work gets done. Job shadowing might sound a little creepy-does it mean you’re skulking around a workplace, spying on people? Well, part of that is correct-you will be in a workplace and there will be people. ![]()
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