Job Shadowing - Career Services, Skidmore College

"Job Shadowing is a great way to find out if the job is really what you want to do!"

Job Shadowing
In the Job Shadowing Program students are matched with Skidmore alumni or volunteer employers in the geographical and career area of the student's choice. Students generally spend one day to several weeks during winter/spring break shadowing sponsors in their professional roles. The specific day and length of time are agreed upon by the student and his/her sponsor.

Job Shadow Sponsors
Alumni, Parents and Employers - Sign up to become a Job Shadow Sponsor. Please include your title, company description, job responsibilities, and potential job shadowing activities.

In the Job Shadowing Program students are matched with Skidmore alumni or volunteer employers in the geographical and career area of the student's choice. Students generally spend one day shadowing their sponsors in their professional roles. The specific day and length of time are agreed upon by the student and his/her sponsor.

Job Shadow Your Career
More information on job shadowing and how it can help your career from Monster.

Students who participate in the Job Shadowing Program are able to receive a firsthand look at the workplace in a career of their choice, make valuable networking contacts and have the opportunity to see how classroom learning can be applied to real world situations. The program offers a chance for students to explore possible career fields through limited observation and discussions with professionals at a selected job site. The program is intended to serve in assisting students in the career planning process. By participating in the program, students will gain a better understanding of what's involved in a particular career choice. This information will assist students in their career decision making process and and/or help them to decide what industry or environment they wish to pursue after graduation.

Sponsors are expected to introduce their profession, industry or organization and exchange ideas with the student. A discussion of job the sponsor's responsibilities, a tour of the workplace, written material about the company and/or industry along with an opportunity to observe the sponsor's daily routine are some of the usual activities students might expect.

Due to increased popularity students will be placed on a first come/first served basis. All students and majors are welcome to participate!

Attend an orientation session to go over expectations and
responsibilities of the program.

The Career Advisor Network currently includes over 2100 alumni and parents eager to assist students and alumni with information interviews, internships, job shadows, jobs and networking. Take a moment to check out this valuable resource available to all Skidmore students and alumni.

You can prepare yourself for the job shadow experience by checking out Career Services link on Informational Interviewing. Preparing a list of questions before your job shadow (see the suggestions for informational Interviewing) will help you get the most out of your experience. The more specific the questions you ask, the more helpful Career Advisors can be. Do not ask for information that can easily be found elsewhere. Once students complete the necessary forms in Career Services, it is their responsibility to contact the sponsor, schedule the meeting, and follow through with the Job Shadow.

Do some "homework" before your appointment; research the career field in which the Career Advisor works, and his/her employer as well. Utilize the reference and/or career-related collections at Skidmore, your local library or a nearby college.

Students will be contacted by Career Services once the Job Shadow match has been confirmed with the sponsor.

IMPORTANT
Sponsors and Career Services must be contacted as soon as possible if student must cancel his/her shadow. Students must take responsibility for participation and assist Career Services in maintaining positive connections between students, alumni and professional sponsors to ensure similar opportunities for future students.

“I think that this experience not only influenced me on my planning for a future career, but also provided an opportunity to get the real life situation of someone who pursued a different career from their major (English)”. (First year student shadowing a photographer.)

“I hadn’t thought too much about working with television prior to my experience at the Food Network; however, after the huge encouragement I received I’m definitely looking into it. Like one of the camera men told me, ‘there’s no Spanish cooking show on the Food Network ~ yet’. It could me mine!” (First year student shadowing Food Network producer.)

“My shadow showed me that there are many more options for an art or art history minded person besides the museum or artist routes.” (Senior shadowing Director at Sharon Arts Center in New Hampshire.)

“It showed me that other industries (I never thought would intrigue me) really interest me!”
Job shadowing really helps to adjust you towards becoming more professional and work oriented.” (Senior shadowing alum in Corporate Relations).

“After speaking with my sponsor and her assistant, I decided to look at a school that I had previously discounted. Since then I have been accepted to that school and will be going there in the fall.” (Senior shadowing a photographer.)

“It was a great great way to see all the different aspects of HR at such a big financial firm. There are a lot of different roles one can have in HR and now I understand what they are, how they work together, and which I am most interested in.” (Senior shadowing HR professional at Morgan Stanley.)

“This job shadowing experience has really inspired me to pursue the advertising industry, as opposed to public relations, which was until now the career path I assumed I would choose. It has also convinced me that I could actually be happy working in NYC, something that I had previously doubted.” (Senior shadowing account executive at Zoom Media.)

“It has reassured me that my decision of going into the medical field is what I want to do , but I realized that I want to work more with children.” (First year student shadowing a physician assistant.)

“This actually made my career plans more confusing but it was a great experience! It reminded me why I had originally considered a medical profession to begin with. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to go into nursing until I actually did my job shadowing. One of the highlights was meeting with a patient who was in a lot of pain and watching my sponsor treat her holistically rather than just attending to her symptoms.” (Senior shadowing a nurse.)

“This experience has set my career plans after Skidmore. I am researching all the PA programs that are offered by colleges and universities.” (First year student shadowing a physician assistant.)

“I really appreciated having to write up a resume because, while frustrating at the time, I am now really glad I have it.” (Sophomore student shadowing an emergency room physician.)

“It definitely helps to prepare yourself before your shadow and to research a little bit about the organization and this definitely helps you to feel more comfortable about entering a foreign environment.”

“Definitely be there! These are very busy people who have set aside time to help you. Be open to talking with everyone at the location because if you find that; for example, producing isn’t the job for you, you might like to look into editing tapes. Get comfortable with the people by asking as many questions to learn the most you can.”

“Talk to as many employees as possible and find out how they got their start in the field, very interesting…”.