What is job shadowing?
Job Shadowing is a career exploration activity in which students learn about a job by walking through the work day as a shadow to a worker. The job shadowing work experience is a temporary, unpaid exposure where a student follows an employee at an organization to learn about a particular occupation or industry. While job shadowing, students are able to ask questions and experience the trials, triumphs, small nuances, and normal day-to-day activities they might experience while working in that specific job. Job shadowing provides more insight than just reading a job description or asking an employee to describe what they do.
How do I host a student for job shadowing?
USG’s Career and Internship Services Center [CISC] can assist your organization in selecting a student for job shadowing. Once a student or students are selected, CISC will work with both the employer and student to find a suitable date and time for job shadowing to occur.
HOST A STUDENT FOR JOB SHADOWING
What are the employer advantages of hosting a student for Job Shadowing?
- Expose your organization to USG students. Often students have misconceptions of certain industries and career fields. Job Shadowing breaks down those barriers by allowing hosts to give students an insider view into the work and culture of an organization.
- Recruiting tool. Hosting a student for job shadowing can help employers to meet and identify prospective interns or full-time hires.
- Enhance perspective. New people bring with them novel perspectives, fresh ideas, and specialized strengths, and skill sets.
- Gain brand advocates. Hosting a student for job shadowing helps spread the word about your company.
- Short-term commitment. Job shadowing is typically scheduled for six hours on a work day, allowing time at the beginning and end of the day to get things done without a student shadow.
EMPLOYER ORIENTATION FOR JOB SHADOWING
What is a typical itinerary for a day of Job Shadowing?
10am - Student arrives. Provide a tour of the facilities and introduce the student to key staff
10:30am - Introduce the profession, industry and/or organization. Allow the student to observe the daily routine. Set aside time for the student to conduct an information interview.
12pm - Break for lunch
1pm - Introduce student to coworkers and colleagues and explain how you and your colleagues collaborate. Set up the student with informational interviews with a variety of your colleagues to help the student gain a broad perspective of your organization’s operations.
2pm - Bring the student to a team meeting or other function to observe
3:30pm - Regroup with student to answer any remaining questions about what he/she observed
4pm - Job shadowing comes to a close
How else can I engage with students at USG?
Explore the multitude of opportunities for business engagement at USG by visiting our Employer Services page.
Students at USG.
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