Job Shadowing

One of the best ways that students can use a day or more of their time during the summer is going out and shadowing someone in a job that interests you.  The summer is the ideal time to try to job shadow because you won't have to miss school and most jobs have consistent responsibilities throughout the entire calendar year.

By going out and shadowing individuals who are working in the fields that are potentially interesting, you will be gaining a behind the scenes look at what the career really entails.  You will also have the opportunity to network and make connections with people who can, potentially, help guide and mentor you in your own future career path.  But, because so few students actually take the time to arrange for job shadowing opportunities and follow through with it, what I like best about is that it allows you go have a leg up on everyone else when thinking about this as a potential future career.  You know just a little bit more about what a day in the life would feel like, what the stressors and high points are in the job, and you will more clearly have an idea of if this is truly a good career fit for you.

If you are interested in setting up a job shadowing experience, start by identifying the job you would want to shadow.  Consider asking family members and the family members of your friends if they know anyone working in that field to see if they could help give you a contact name to reach out to about spending a day following them to learn about their career.  If you cannot find anyone who knows of someone within that job field, you can always contact companies that have that field as a career and asking blindly if they would allow you to shadow someone.  If you are making a blind contact, you might benefit from starting with their Human Resources department.

When your day arrives to job shadow I have a few hints for you...
1. Dress appropriately for the job.  (If you are unsure what approrpriate attire would be, ask when you are setting up the visit.)
2. Be on time.  (This is your first impression.  Don't blow it by being late.)
3. Smile, shake hands, look people in the eye and maintain a positive attitude.  Ok, that is a lot in one hint, but the way you approach the people you will interact with throughout the day will be important.
4.  Leave your phone in your car.  Seriously.  I know, it is a challenge to have your phone far beyond the stretch of your arm, but here is the thing... you end up checking text messages, social media, or the time just out of mindless, random habit.  You don't want to do that when you are shadowing.  So, for this one day, leave your phone in your car.  Or, if that truly is going to send you into withdrawl, then turn your phone OFF (not just do not disturb) and put it away and only turn it on during your lunch break or when you are in the restroom.  But, again, please, let me stress to you to please just leave your phone in your car!
5.  Come up with some questions you'd like to know about the career professional that you are shadowing and their job as a whole.  Throughout the day, spread out those questions and give them the opportunity to share with you their career path and experiences.  It's important to remember that your day there isn't just about interviewing them - they have a job to do, but having a few thoughtful questions or developing additional questions in response to things that you are observing in the day is a good use of your time and of theirs.
6.  Bring something (notebook and pencil) to jot down thoughts and questions as they come up throughout the day.  Remember, no phone means you won't have access to the Notes app on your phone so you have to go old school on this one.
7.  Keep track of anyone that you meet throughout the day - especially anyone who helps share insights or information with you that helps further develop your understanding of the job field.  Most professionals will have business cards that they can share with you or you can write down their names in your notebook. 
8.  Later, after your visit is over, send a thank you note to the person who allowed you to spend the day shadowing them.  But also consider sending a note to any of the people you identified in point number 7 above.
9.  For yourself, jot down some notes - a few sentences or bullet points are fine.  But take the time to reflect back on what you thought of your time at the job.  Did you like it?  What was the best or worst part to you?  What surprised you?  By having those brief notes, you will potentially be able to use it for yourself when you are writing a college essay, filling out your application, or trying to remember some piece of information a year or more from now related to the visit experience.  I know that it seems as if you won't forget any of it, but I promise, it will not stay as fresh in your mind as you anticipate, so just write a few simple thoughts and reflections down before you leave the experience behind.

We are still early enough in the summer that you could shadow several different jobs if that is appealing to you.  There are so many careers (like nursing for example) that have drastically different settings and so even if you have picked out a career that you want to shadow you may be interested in learning from people in a range of different settings.

I can't wait to hear about your experiences as you go out and job shadow!  Good luck and I hope you learn a lot.