Job Shadow

Often students do not know or are unsure of what they want to do as a career. Many careers look interesting but the student is uncertain about what happens on the job day to day. A job shadow can help students decide if a career field is something they would like to do or not. An excellent resource for job shadow information is The Yakama Tribal School Job Shadow Program.

What is a Job Shadow?

A job shadow is an observation of a person actually working at the job the student is interested in. The job shadow can last one hour or up to half the work day. The student is prepared to ask specific questions about the job.

Making a Career Choice

Students must have some idea of what career fields seem interesting to them. The student can write a list of every career that sounds interesting to them. Click on the Vocational Interests List link above for a list worksheet and a template. When a list is completed, it can be prioritized with the three most interesting areas.

For students having difficulty making a list of career interests, students can look at Vocational Biographies, talk to family members and friends, or visit the career center. Sometimes a career interest inventory can be helpful for students having difficulty pinpointing a career interest. Considering past volunteer activities can help a student know what types of jobs they might like or dislike.

Students need to be aware of their personal likes and dislikes in job characteristics. Someone who likes to work indoors, sitting down would probably be unhappy working on a construction site. To determine a student's work style, click on this link Comparison of Student and Job Work Styles. A template may be downloaded for the student to use. In the first column "YOUR WORK STYLES", the student selects all the items which describes them best. More than one selection may be made in each area, if appropriate.

Researching Career Choices

When the student has pinpointed up to three career fields, the student can begin developing questions about field(s).
What do you need to know about the career field? Write down some questions.

Using the career center, the school library, the public library, and internet, answer as many questions as possible. While researching, the student may think of more questions. If so, write them down.

With this information, the student can compare their personal work styles to the career's styles.
How well does the career fit your style?
Is this field still something you would be interested in finding more about? Why or Why not?
The Job Shadow Questions link above gives examples of common questions to ask and provides a template which may be downloaded.

The Job Shadow Visit

When the student has determined from their research that he/she would like to know more about the field, a job shadow may be set up. The job shadow gives the student a chance to see the job in action. The questions created and answered while researching, will be used again. The questions will be answered this second time from the viewpoint of local businesses and job markets.

With assistance from school staff, the student determines which local businesses are suitable for a job shadow. School staff and/or the student may set up an appointment for the job shadow.

The student needs to dress appropriately for the job shadow and be on time. The student should bring their list of questions and be prepared to take notes. While at the business, he/she should either ask for a business card from each person spoken with about the job or write down their first and last names.

After the Job Shadow

After each job shadow, there are four tasks for a student to complete; thank you notes, a summary of the job shadow, the Comparison of Student and Job Work Styles form, and the Reflections Page.

1. Immediately after the job shadow, thank you notes should be sent to each person spoken to.
   
   
2. Using the notes taken during the job shadow, the student summarizes the answers to each of the questions. Compare the answers during the research phase to the answers given from the workers at the job shadow. Are they very different?
   
   
3. Using the Comparison of Student and Job Work Styles form, the student selects the characteristics that fit them best in the "YOUR WORK STYLES" column. A downloadable template of this form is included in the link above. In the "ORGANIZATION'S WORK STYLES" column, select the items in each area that describe the job you visited best. Compare your personal work styles to the job shadow organization's styles.
   How many items match?
   Do you think this job would be a good fit for you? Why or Why not?
   
   
4. Complete the Reflections Page . This link provides a downloadable template. Think about the job you saw. Is it something you would like to do?

Reflections

Comparison of Student and Job Work Styles