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Why Your Teen Should Be Job Shadowing

job shadow

Do you remember being a teen and it seemed that every adult you met asked you what you wanted to be when you grow up? Hopefully you were one of the few that knew exactly what you wanted from birth and didn’t even bat an eye when drilled with this question. More than likely, you were like me, clueless about your future, and began to come up with either outlandish responses or tried to say as little as possible. Heck, some of us adults still don’t know how to respond to that question. One of the best things that happened to me after high school was a class assignment that asked me to job shadow someone in my chosen field. I learned more by shadowing, then I ever did reading a text book.

What is job shadowing

Job Shadowing is tagging along with someone in the workplace for a period of time, which allows someone exploring that career path to see what the day to day experience is like. Being a shadow gives one the chance to ask questions as things are happening. It basically gives the student a glimpse into their possible career.  Let’s explore how job shadowing will benefit kids.


 

What can job shadowing do for our youth

If your youth get started with shadowing early on in High School, it’s going to guide them with their future after graduation.  Shadowing will give teens a good idea about “next steps” after high school.

Many kids go to college because that’s what kids do or learn a trade because that’s what their parent did. Shadowing can help your kids possibly avoid years of going down the wrong path.

These are ways that job shadowing will benefit our kids:

Real World Experience

All that book work is great, but nothing compares to hands on learning. When you job shadow, it will allow you to visualize yourself doing the job that you think you will love. It’s hard to get the little day to day nuances of a job if you’ve never actually been on the job itself. We can hear stories or be taught what it’s like, but it’s just not the same as being there.

Resume Builder
If you conduct yourself professionally during your shadow, and assuming you still want to follow that career path afterwards, your shadow can be a great future resource for you in landing a job. It’s always easier to find a job when you have some sort of connection with someone versus just sending your resume with the hundreds of other applicants.

Explore your interests
 Again, if you start as an early teen, you could try several different shadowing opportunities to really find what works for you. It could allow you to think outside the box and try things that may interest you, but never thought about as a career. Maybe it helps you to see what you don’t want to do or maybe you find something that turns out better than anticipated.

Prepare for Adulthood
Allowing your teen to take the initiative to find a shadowing opportunity will continue to prepare your child for adulthood. Your child will get to experience what it’s like to be a working adult, as well as what it’s like to go after their career on their own.
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What it takes to get the job

Your teen has the opportunity to learn the steps needed to become what they want to be. They will have an insider’s track on what education, skills, connections, and experiences are needed to land their dream job.

Save you Money– Post High School education is expensive. Starting a degree/career path only to find out sometime later that it’s the wrong career can be a costly mistake. If you already know what you want and what it takes to get there, you will be in a better position to not pay for unnecessary education.

How can we find an opportunity to shadow someone

When I was interested in getting into Athletic Coaching, I knew nothing about coaching as a career. I had an interest in sports from my playing days and was excited about the possibility of coaching as a profession. I began to reach out to anyone in coaching to get more insight and offer to volunteer to learn more. Below are tips that will help you find the right opportunity.

Be proactive– Don’t be afraid to make that phone call or email to ask for a chance to shadow. It may not happen with the first person you try, but you will find someone that will be willing to help you out.

Network– Talk to friends and family to see if they know of anyone in your career path. Many people in your circle of friends probably know someone that does what you want to do. Having someone that can speak on your behalf will make it that much easier to get that shadowing opportunity.

Social Media– Scour the various groups on Social Media to connect with people that are doing what you are interested in doing.

Research– Find places of employment in your area in your interested field. Make contact with HR reps to coordinate a shadow opportunity.

How to prepare for your job shadow

The last thing you want to do is make a negative impression on the job site. Preparing for you job shadow can be similar to preparing for your first day on the job. Doing a few things beforehand will help to maximize your job shadow experience.

  • Be on time
  • Bring something to jot notes on
  • Be polite and professional to those around you
  • Come prepared with your questions, make a list before you go
  • Dress the part
  • Be clean and well groomed
  • Be a good listener
  • Show respect, put your phone away
  • Be prepared to adapt if your shadow isn’t able to spend every second with you
  • Get contact info, it could help you land your job
  • Send a thank you note

Helping your kids learn about job shadowing and how it can help them answer the “what do you want to do” question, will set your youth up for future success.  

1 Comment

  1. Michelle

    Great post! I think it’s a great idea to send teens out for job shadowing. It’s one thing to say what you want to be when you’re older but it’s important that they completely understand what that job entails so they can decide if that’s really something that they want to do.

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