How to Successfully Request a Job Shadow

As a student, you’ve no doubt heard about the importance of figuring out your future career. After all, you’re constantly bombarded by career fairs, classes on networking skills, resume reviews, and speeches on how to uphold a professional look and attitude. As if that wasn’t enough, you’ve most likely heard about the importance of networking and participating in internships…all so you can get your foot in the door.

While all of this is admirable, it can be extremely confusing and overwhelming, especially if you’re unsure which college major to pursue. Even if you have declared your major, figuring out the job you want to pursue with your degree can be nerve-wracking, especially since a single college major can lead to a wide variety of jobs.

This leads us to some important questions: What do you do if you’re unsure of your desired career field? Even more, how do you choose a job from a field’s diverse career options?

The answer is simple: job shadowing.

This post will guide you through what a job shadow is, the importance of completing a job shadow, how to successfully request a job shadow, along with some tips on how to find job shadow opportunities!

What is a Job Shadow?

A job shadow is an opportunity available to high school and college students in which you follow (i.e. “shadow”) a professional in the career you are interested in. Essentially, a job shadow provides insight into what a “day in the life” might look like, as well as additional information about what a professional in the specified field does. In fact, a job shadow is one of the most valuable experiences a student can take part in during high school or college, as it offers direct insight into a career that can’t be gained through a carefully-crafted article or video online.

Job shadowing can also be extremely beneficial to your educational, personal, and professional goals. Not only does it give you the opportunity to network and gain insight into the necessary skill set needed to pursue that career, but it can also reveal what jobs you’re not interested in, which can save you money and stress in the future. Furthermore, job shadowing offers students the opportunity to ask questions, see what the work environment is like, and receive feedback on what they are currently doing to reach their career goals.

How to Choose Which Job to Shadow

To begin setting up a job shadow, your first step is to figure out which career and company you would like to know more about. You may have some initial ideas, but if not, think about some of your interests and hobbies. You can also take a career test to gather some ideas… it may even provide some job suggestions you may have not otherwise thought of!

Here’s some questions to ask yourself when exploring career possibilities:

  • What do you do in your free time? This can be a major (yet subtle) indicator. Whether you like to read, do crafts, play music, or tutor children, exploring careers in the fields you enjoy can give you some great ideas for future careers.
  • What are you skilled at? Your skills play a major role in your life, so why not explore careers associated with them? If you’re the skilled chef in the household, maybe consider culinary careers. Or if you’re the famed babysitter of the neighborhood, look into early childhood education. Your skills are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to career exploration.
  • Which subjects do you perform best in? The subjects we perform best in throughout school can indicate fields (and therefore careers) that we’re either more interested or skilled in, so take some time to look through your school subjects as a wide field of careers, then try to narrow it down!
  • What fascinated you as a child? What fascinates you now? The best job is one that intrigues and fascinates us every day, so take some time to think about what fascinated you as a child, as well as what fascinates you now. These can be some major indicators of what you should pursue a career in.

However, when deciding what career to explore for your job shadow, it’s important to note that some careers may be harder to shadow than others due to location and career interests. For example, it may be hard to shadow a saltwater marine biologist if you’re living in the middle of Kansas. The best way to determine whether a career is available in a certain area is a simple web search. For example, if you live in Dallas, you could type “architecture firm in Dallas” to find local places that would offer a career within architecture.

Once you find some companies that employ people in your potential career field, it’s time to contact them and inquire about doing a job shadow.

How to Request the Job Shadow

I have found that there are 3 main ways to request a job shadow:

1. Refer to the Company’s Website

Once you have found a company you’d like to job shadow at, the first step is to take a look at their website.

Some companies may receive job shadow requests often and will include a job shadow request form on their website. This is how I requested my first job shadow, which was with a set designer at a local theater. With the form on their website, I was able to select which theater career I wanted to shadow, the preferred date of the job shadow, any additional notes, and so forth.

2. Network through a Family Friend

One of the easiest ways to set up a job shadow is to shadow someone either you or your family is familiar with. Not only are they more likely to agree to the job shadow, but you may get to be in a more relaxed, truthful atmosphere, as you likely already know the person and can skip some of the formalities and introductions.

3. Email the Company

Sometimes, there may not be a form to fill out or a family friend to network with, which means that you will need to contact the company directly.

The best way to do this is by writing a formal email to a representative of the company (such as a secretary) or directly to the person you’d like to shadow directly (if you can find their email).

In your email, introduce yourself and explain why you are emailing them. Let them know what career you are interested in job shadowing and (if you are emailing a company representative) ask if there is an employee who would be willing to let you shadow him/her for a few hours. If the job shadow is a school requirement, let them know of any requirements of the job shadow (such as how long it needs to be, if you need to do any interview questions, etc.). At the end of the email, thank them for their time in considering the job shadow request.

Tips for a Successful Job Shadow Request and Job Shadow

When both requesting and taking part in a job shadow, there are several tips for making it a successful one:

Make a Good First Impression

When requesting a job shadow, make a good first impression. Use a professional email address, send an email with no misspellings or grammar errors, etc. During the job shadow, be sure to dress professionally, be polite, and come prepared with plenty of questions.

Request the Job Shadow Early in Advance

Requesting a job shadow early in advance is extremely important, especially if it’s required by your school. You never know whether the employee you want to job shadow has an upcoming business trip or vacation that will make them unavailable for a job shadow. That being said, send your request in early!

Thank Them for Their Time

At the end of the job shadow, be sure to thank the employee for their time. After all, they’re taking the time out of their day to show you what it’s like to work in their job and company, so be sure to thank them for everything they taught you and the time they set aside for you to shadow them.

Send a Thank-You Note

The day after the job shadow, send your mentor a letter thanking them once again for their time and everything they taught you during the job shadow. You may be applying to that company in a few years and by having that great first impression, you’re a step up against the competition; which could possibly land you the job!

When is the Best Time to do a Job Shadow?

Job Shadowing as a High School Student

Job shadowing as a high school student, in general, will allow you to have more certainty when picking your major and college. Many students go into college with no idea what they want to do and (as a result) change their major multiple times. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, switching it often or even transferring colleges to pursue a certain major can cause students to graduate late, take more classes than necessary, and put them in more debt. By job shadowing in high school, students can begin college with a clear goal in mind.

Additionally, job shadowing as a high school student (especially before senior year) provides experiences to discuss in college applications and in scholarship essays, as well as provide some unique networking and job opportunities. The way I see it, if a student applies to the company they job shadowed with previously, they may remember that student and the initiative that you displayed by job shadowing with them, which may give the student a leg up in the hiring process.

On the flip side, job shadowing as a high school student can also reveal that what a student thought they wanted to do for their career was actually not it. Personally, many of my high school classmates experienced this during their required job shadow; unfortunately, it was the end of their senior year and college was right around the corner. What if they had picked their college based on that specific major, which they now didn’t want to do anymore? They had little time to explore other majors, careers, and even colleges, which put a lot of stress on those students. By job shadowing earlier in high school, they would have had more time to figure these things out.

That being said, while job shadowing at any time during high school is great, it is more beneficial earlier in a student’s high school career.

Job Shadowing as a College Student

Job shadowing as a college student can be just as beneficial as job shadowing in high school.

For example, if you’re an undeclared student, job shadowing can help a student discover some majors they may be interested in. This is especially beneficial in the freshman and sophomore years of college when students are less likely to fall behind after switching majors.

Even if a student is certain of their major and career field, it can still be beneficial to job shadow, as it provides them with field experience to discuss during future job interviews; even though the student wasn’t working during the job shadow, they can discuss the experience with their interviewer(s), such as the work process and responsibilities associated with the job (that the student noticed during the job shadow) and how the student applied what they learned into their own life and academic studies.

Additionally, job shadowing can be used to figure out which career(s) interest a student within your field, as a single major can often lead to many diverse careers. Instead of job-hopping the first few years after graduation, students can attempt to narrow down the possibilities through job shadowing.

Once again, job shadowing before senior year of college is more beneficial than job shadowing during senior year, as students can then spend their senior year applying to jobs that they know they will love, rather than figuring that out in the process.

Another reason to job shadow in college is because of the networking and future internship and job opportunities that it can bring students. When job shadowing with a company, a student may find out that they have an internship program that they are eligible for or that the company will have a job opening soon. Since the student has job shadowed there, which displayed their interest in the career and the company, their application may receive more attention than others; this can potentially land them the job.

Final Thoughts on How to Successfully Request and Complete a Job Shadow

No matter whether you are a high school student or a current college student, job shadowing can be an exciting and eye-opening experience. It can open up so many doors and opportunities to help you achieve your goals. By reading these tips, you now know how to find a career to explore, how to request a job shadow, and how to have a successful job shadow experience.

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