What You Can Learn from Shadowing in a New Career

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Shadowing in a new career is one of the most common ways to learn what you need to know, with added benefits. More than just watching, you become an active observer, and sometimes participant, in the work that you will be taking on sometime soon. So what are the main benefits of shadowing? From learning about required skills to highlighting skill gaps, here are a few.

The Day-to-Day Reality of a Role

You can watch TV and streaming fly-on-the-wall documentaries all you like, and some are actually in-depth and decent at showing the realities of a role. However, they don’t even come close to being there at the scene where you get a real sense of the skills, emotion, and professionalism of teams such as police, fire rescue, and paramedics. Of course, you can schedule a ride along with local EMS if you are interested in pursuing a medical career.

The Hard and Soft Skills Needed

Every job needs you to have hard and soft skills. An example of a hard skill is something technical you have studied, such as using a specific tool correctly. Soft skills relate to the inherent abilities people have that are developed, such as communication. Every role requires a combination of these, and shadowing allows you to see how these are used in the career you are thinking about, and even how you can use and develop them yourself as required.

Shadowing in a New Career Highlights the Culture

A recent survey by UJJI found that around 88% of employers and jobseekers alike believe company culture is important when choosing somewhere to work. Of course, you can spend a lot of time on new skills and new opportunities, but you may not like your new job if you don’t feel it. For instance, you might be more comfortable in a space with open LGBTQIA+ support. Shadowing is vital for getting a keen sense of the people and how the place actually runs.

Help Identifying Your Skill Gaps

Everyone has skills that come out naturally, and they find it easy. For example, some people have no trouble speaking in public and can get their points across clearly and easily. However, you might have trouble with these. When you shadow a professional in your chosen role, you will very quickly get a good sense of the skills (soft and hard) that are needed to do the job well. As such, you will also identify if you are lacking specific skills that you can work on further.

The Chance to Meet the Right People

One of the most important parts of shadowing is meeting the right people. From supervisors to CEOs, there are people along the chain who can be invaluable to your personal progression. Because of this, it is vital to network successfully at the start of a new career and mingle with the key people in the roles that can be beneficial to you. Shadowing opens up some of these opportunities by introducing you to some of the best people within a specific company.

Summary

Experiencing first-hand the day-to-day reality of a specific role is one of the greatest benefits of shadowing in a new career. Of course, you can also get a good sense of the company culture while around others, and you might get a chance to meet the people who can help your career.