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UK Job Shadow Program

Job Shadowing Logo

 

The University of Kentucky (UK) has created the UK Job Shadow Program to give students an opportunity to “shadow,” observe, and follow someone in their potential career field. All job shadow placements are coordinated by UK’s Stuckert Career Center. This program is intended to support students exploring their academic major and to provide early exposure to professional career pathways.  

 

The UK Job Shadow Program will be offered for both fall and spring terms. These opportunities are set for a short period of time, anywhere from 2-15 hours with one host site over 8 weeks. 

Estimated Program Timeline

Host Site Registration July 01 to August 15- 

Student Application Submission August 24 to September 18

 

Fall  

  • September 21 to September 25 - UK Job Shadow confirmation  
  • September 21 to September 29 - Voluntary student opt out period/student orientation/OLE requirements due 
  • September 30 to October 02 - Student(s) will send introduction email to host site coordinators  
  • September 30 to December 02 - Job shadow experience  
  • December 07 - Student program activities due 
  • December 10 - Student wrap-up meeting 

Spring  

  • February 01 to February 05 - UK Job Shadow confirmation  
  • February 01 to February 12 - Voluntary student opt out period/student orientation/OLE requirements due  
  • February 15 to February 19 - Student(s) will send introduction email to host site coordinators  
  • February 15 to April 16- Job shadow experience  
  • April 19- Student program activities due 
  • April 22- Student wrap-up meeting 

Responsibilities of an Employer Hosting

  • Design the site experience.
  • For one student or a group of students.
  • Choose days of availability between January 5 and March 31 to share with the student(s).
    • For half a day or a full day. At least 4 hours of on-site experience.
    • Count in travel time for the student to and from the Lexington campus.
  • Attend one UK Job Shadow Orientation for employers.
  • Respond to student correspondence.
  • Keep the student(s) informed of any changes to agreed-upon details of the shadowing experience.
  • Email expblue@uky.edu if there are any issues or questions.
  • Host student(s)!
  • Complete post-experience survey.

Employer Application Information

Employers will have the opportunity to apply to be a UK Job Shadow host between July 1 and August 15. Applications are submitted through a UK Qualtrics Form. Items that are requested in the application include:

Employer Name

  • Employer Description (One Sentence)
  • Employer Website Link
  • Employer Industry
  • Employer Contact 1 Information
  • Employer Contact 2 Information
  • Physical Address of the job shadow experience. The address should be within 2-hour drive from the Lexington campus.
  • Select the type of job shadowing opportunities you are willing to provide from a curated list.
  • Provide academic majors or minors you are interested in hosting. Review list UK academic programs.
  • How many students are willing to host? You can provide individual or group experiences.
  • Describe the job shadow experience. (2-3 sentences) If offering different experiences at multiple locations, please list as location 1, location 2 and so on. This description will be provided on the student application.
  • Optional Information
  • Required forms or procedures that we should advise students to anticipate.
  • Additional space for you to provide anything else you would like us to know about.
  • Choose an Orientation date and time.

Employers will be notified by August 20 that they have been accepted to host or if there are issues with the application that will need to be rectified.

Student Application Information

Students will have the opportunity to apply to be a UK Job Shadow participant between September 15 and October 15. Applications are submitted through a UK Qualtrics Form. Items that are requested in the application include:

  • Student Information
    • Contact Information
    • Updated Resume
    • Confirm good academic and Conduct Standing with the University of Kentucky
    • Confirm that you are 18 years or older
    • Confirm that the University of Kentucky will not provide financial and transportation services for this experience
  • Job Shadow Interest
    • Choose Career Communities
    • Choose Career Area of Focus
  • Review Employer List
    • There will be 25+ employers listed
    • Have a way to write down your employers of interest and their location to include the information in the next section.
  • Choose Three Employers of Interest
  • Choose Orientation Date
  • Short Essay: Why are you interested in participating in the UK Job Shadow Program?
  • Risk & Liability
  • Student Code of Conduct Review
  • Signature for Confirmation of Submission

Student Orientation

Students that will be participating in the UK Job Shadow program will be required to attend an orientation. All orientations are completed virtually through Microsoft Teams. During the orientation the content that will be reviewed will include:

  • What is job shadowing?
  • How is the UK job Shadow Program structured?
  • UK Job Shadow timeline
  • Review of steps for students who wish to opt-out or decline the experience.
  • What are the student participation expectations
  • What to do if there is an issue?
  • Completion of experience process.

Students are to choose an orientation date in the UK Job Shadow application. Once the employer application is confirmed an Outlook calendar invite will be sent to the student. If the date and time provided is not suitable then the student can contact expblue@uky.edu to choose a different date and time that is offered. Typical student orientation dates will occur between October 15 and November 15 of the fall academic term. 

Matching Process

The UK Job Shadow coordinating committee will review all student applications between based on a set of criteria (listed below). Students and host sites are matched based on the responses they share in the student application and host site registration. If a successful match is found, students and host sites will be connected to their pairing via email. 

 

Matching data points would include: 

  • Student Major/Minor 
  • Career communities 
  • Career area of focus 
  • Student’s three host sites of interest