CG Lifts

Not everyone will take time out of their day to help a student pursue their career aspirations. You are helping someone determine which route their future will take. Even if they decide not to follow this current career course, you will have still helped them in making an important life decision.

While job shadowing is a shorter time commitment than an internship, this time allows the student to observe the career's culture, explore, and ask questions. The benefits of job shadowing can’t be understated. This period of time will give students a look into a career they're thinking of pursuing. It can be a great way to decide whether or not a student wants to pursue a particular career before applying for jobs or internships. Job shadowing also helps students develop contacts in their field of interest. Students may even meet other professionals who ultimately become mentors, advising them about a career choice or change, or advancement in their professional life.

Host Expectations

We ask that you host a minimum of 1 student for a few hours or more. If your student is staying with you all day, we ask you to provide lunch and use the time to debrief and have casual conversations with the students.

What do students do during shadowing days?

Specific activities vary among host sites, but some common experiences you could provide include:

Introduce/demonstrate the skills required for success on the job
Share career history and/or trends in the industry
Show how teamwork plays an important role in the organization
Have employees show students their areas of expertise
Discuss the student’s career interests and questions
Review the student’s resume or LinkedIn profile
Plan for the students to do some or all of the following:
- Receive a tour of the company/facility

- Rotate through various departments
- Arrange informational interviews for the student with your colleagues
- Work on a special project (market research, user experience study, etc.)
- Sit-in during a group project/meeting/conference call
- Observe procedures (logo design, social media calendaring)

Some Tips

Be Prepared

Have a plan -- hour by hour.

Think Conversation, Not Presentation

Students may become shy or insecure in a new environment. As a host, try to engage your student early in the day by asking a lot of questions about them. Discuss their interests in depth, their plans for education and what careers they may be interested in pursuing. Having a conversation with the student, allows them to get comfortable with you and lets them know it’s ok to ask questions.

Share Your Shadow with Colleagues

Introducing your student to your coworkers gives them a broader look at the organization, its people and job functions as well as alleviate some of the responsibility for hosting them.

Give the Student Information to Take Home

Prepare an information packet for your student, including:

Data about your company, job and the broader field.
Your Business Card
Literature on professional organizations associated with your industry
A list of relevant books or sites.
- As you compile this information, don't be surprised if you find information useful to your own career. Perhaps you'll discover an industry website that will help you with a key project.

Again, thank you for taking the time to host a student at your company. This experience will leave a lasting impression on our students.