Date posted:
Tue 10 December 2019
Earlier this year a work shadowing programme was piloted for the students at the University of Liverpool Management School. Following its success, they would like to run the programme in 2020, this time including the University’s Law School students. They are looking for professionals to accommodate a student to shadow them for a day (or two half days) to allow them to gain some experience of a professional working environment.
The shadowing day would likely take place between February and June 2020 to allow a good ‘window’ for availability on both sides. In order to maximise students’ learning, the onus would be on them to contact you directly and liaise with you to agree a suitable date for the shadowing to take place. Selecting a day where you have meetings, for example, would be beneficial for the student (providing it’s appropriate for a student to attend).
The aims of the project are to:
• Offer an opportunity for students to see a professional office working environment
• Introduce students to a sector or profession they may be interested in pursuing
• Encourage learning about professionalism (how to act professionally, engage with a range of people at different levels, punctuality, appearance)
• Allow students to experience organisational ‘culture’
• Afford students the opportunity to gain confidence in asking questions and encourage curiosity
• Allow students to learn how professionals behave (e.g. email etiquette, negotiation, decision making, time management etc)
• Widen the student’s personal network
Here are some of the students’ comments from this year:
“XXX was so friendly and was happy for me to be with him at all meetings, giving me a real insight into his day-to-day. And he provided me with some valuable feedback and has advised that should I wish to go into the industry to keep in touch, so a really great contact to have. Overall a fantastic opportunity which I must express my gratitude for!”
“Firstly, I got to observe a quarterly board meeting in which they discussed their current position and future plans. In the office, I observed the creation of social media posts and went along to various meetings with clients. I would definitely recommend another student to take part in a shadowing day. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience which I learnt a lot from.”
“I had a great day – it allowed me to make connections and learn a bit more about the industry. Everyone made me feel very welcome and some people took the time out to speak to me about their departments. They also gave me the option to sit in on different meetings etc which was a great opportunity. I would happily do it all over again and hope to work for them in the future.”
We do hope you can support this initiative. If so, please respond directly to Hazel Kennedy at the Management School h.kennedy@liverpool.ac.uk, who can then look to match you with a student.