If you’re thinking about participating in the 2016 winter break Job Shadowing program, we have assembled some advice from last year’s UVM Job Shadowers.
Don’t be shy: Your host is there to help
- “Don’t be afraid. If you go in with confidence, you will leave with so much knowledge. The hosts want to help, just let them show you the way.”
- “Ask a lot of questions. That’s what they’re there for!”
- “Don’t be nervous! They’re really friendly! If they weren’t they wouldn’t be participating in this program!”
- “From my experience, the only thing I wasn’t expecting was how friendly and helpful everyone at KGA was.”
Prepare yourself as best you can
- “Do your research before you shadow! Think of this day as an extended interview- you want to make sure you impress while learning everything a website cannot convey.”
- “Be prepared to engage in meaningful intellectual conversations about the host’s work itself. Do your background research on the industry.”
- “Do research on your host. I looked up [my host]’s LinkedIn and saw that she had a Twitter account and kind of…. stalked and saw that she loves music so I talked about that with her a lot! It helped to establish a connection. Do research on the site at which your shadowing but also the host, if possible.”
- “Prepare a list of goals and questions before hand – extremely helpful for you and your job shadowing host.”
As Nike would say, Just Do It:
- “Apply for something that even remotely piques your interest. You never know what you’ll find interesting in the professional world, or what you won’t find to be a good fit despite showing aptitude in school.”
- “My advice would be to do it — I thought my day was very interesting and exciting and I learned a lot more than I expected.”
- “The advice I would give is that you only get out of this experience what you put in to it so make the effort to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.”
Questions about Job Shadowing? Check out the website and attend an info session in the Career + Experience Hub:
- Wed. Sept 21, 11am
- Thurs. Sept 22, 1pm
- Mon. Oct 10: 2pm
- Tues. Oct 11: 11am
- Wed. Oct 26: 11am
- Fri. Oct 28: 9am