Juniors and seniors in high school are provided the opportunity to go into the community and explore various careers that they may be interested in. Whether or not students know what career they want to pursue does not determine if they are able to job shadow, as it can help them narrow down their interests.
South Bismarck’s High School’s Career Advisor, Shannon Balerud, works to ensure that every student has a chance to look in every direction and narrow down career interests at both Bismarck High School and South Central. Students can schedule an appointment, and meet with their career advisor with any questions that they may have.
“I would describe job shadowing to a student as an experience where they are able to go out into the working world and follow a professional around,” Balerud said. “They get to experience that specific career to figure out if it’s something they may like to do or not.”
The process of job shadowing begins with the first scheduled meeting. Students must fill out a job shadowing application that includes the occupation they are interested in shadowing, when they would like to be on the site, and other information about them. To begin, a permission slip with signatures from the student, and from the parent or guardian is required.
“A student’s first step would be to come and visit with me. From there, we discuss possible areas of interest, and different goals, and narrow it down from there,” Balerud said. “Some students know exactly what they want to do, and some aren’t quite so sure.”
Though high school students are not able to start job shadowing until their junior year, looking into it as early as freshman year will get them ahead in their future career exploration. It can give them ideas in mind for jobs they may want to shadow in the future. As soon as they are able to, students can shadow as many different professions as they would like once they do their first time. The most common jobs that students will shadow are engineering, the medical field, the police force, and education.
“I would recommend job shadowing to all students, even if they think they know exactly what they want to do,” Balerud said. “It’s still good to get out in the community and shadow a profession because it can solidify that ‘yes, this is right for me,’ or they may realize some things that they didn’t know were a part of that profession that makes them think that they want to look in a different direction.”
Besides being an upperclassman, there are a few other requirements for students. Students are expected to prepare beforehand by doing research on the profession and the company they are going to be working with, as well as knowing what they hope to gain from the experience. Having questions ready before they go and keeping a notebook with them will help students evaluate after, which can ultimately help them decide if they still like that job.
“I call it a student orientation, where we cover how to dress, and what to do with your phone. We’ll talk about sending thank yous and how to properly do that,” Balerud said. “We go over a full list of items to prepare the students so that they’re able to present themselves professionally at the job shadow.”
Not only can job shadowing help students narrow down their interests, but it can also open new doors for them as they go through it. Creating contacts and getting to know these businesses through job shadowing can give students great opportunities.
“Employers are so excited to have high school students come into their company and see what they’re all about and see what the careers are all about within their companies,” Balerud said. “If they find a student who is ready and willing and wants to learn and wants to be a part of that company, It could lead to part-time work, a potential internship, and additional job shadows.”
Job shadowing can help any student. Not only does it show students what the career they are interested in is actually like, but it can also introduce them to careers they may not have known about or considered before the experience.
“We have great support from your administration here at BHS,” Balerud said. “They believe that students should be able to go on as many job shadows as is helpful to them.”
