Job Shadowing

Job Shadowing provides an excellent opportunity for you to increase your knowledge and understanding of a particular career field by allowing you to observe, at first hand, someone working in the field or a related area.

As well as getting a fuller idea of what a job involves, job shadowing is a great way for you to get an insight into how an organisation operates and how an individual work area fits in the overall structure of the organisation.

What might it involve?

An individual job shadow allows you to meet with someone in their place of work who is willing to elaborate on aspects of their job, answer questions and allow you, through observation, to get a flavour of what the work involves.

Timescales may vary depending on how much time an individual can offer but may be half of a day, a whole day or perhaps longer.

It can be useful to try and organise a number of job shadowing opportunities to help in your thinking. Trying a number of different job areas you are considering may help you confirm which of the career areas are of most interest and those which are not for you.

You could consider job shadowing a specific cluster of careers/jobs giving you an idea of the range and scope of opportunities in a particular area and help clarify the options available.

If you look at different organisations all working in the same field, it can give you a useful perspective on how the sector operates and the products, services, competition, and markets in which they compete.



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