Total shadowing opportunities
Experience a Day in the Life
The Alumni Job Shadow Program is an opportunity for students to gain insight into an industry/organization/job function of interest, make connections, and further discern how their skills, interests, and values translate to the workplace.
Using Eagle Exchange, the Career Center will match students with Boston College alumni who will serve as hosts for one-day shadowing experiences between May 13-20, 2020. Alumni hosts represent diverse industries, job functions, and locations.
Eagle Exchange is a Boston College exclusive online platform that fosters connections between students and alumni around the world. Registration and matching for the job shadow program will occur on the platform. Students and alumni who wish to participate in the job shadow program can register here.
Details:
Dates:
May 13–20 2020
Class Years:
Rising Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
Schools:
All welcome
How To Register:
Registration occurs in Eagle Exchange
Update
Alumni Job Shadow student registration is still open. We will continue to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation and provide updates.
How Job Shadow Works
Alumni Registration
Alumni will register to participate as a host via Eagle Exchange between February 11 and 28.
Student Registration
Students will register to participate via Eagle Exchange between March 9 and 20. Once students have registered, students will have the opportunity to select their top three hosts prior to March 20 deadline.
Matching Process
The Career Center will match students with alumni based on a combination of factors, including location, availability, and interests. Match notifications will be sent between April 6 and 17.
Job Shadows Begin
Students must attend a mandatory orientation via Canvas to prepare. Students and alumni will connect via Eagle Exchange and will participate in a one-day job shadow between May 13 and 20.
Host a Boston College Student for a Day
This program is in partnership with the Boston College Alumni Association and allows BC alumni the opportunity to engage with current students on their journey to finding their own career path.
As an alumni host, you can:
- Support a BC student with their career exploration
- Share your expertise and knowledge about work and careers
- Increase brand recognition and a possible pipeline for future opportunities at your organization
Alumni registration is now closed. Thank you to all who registered to host a BC student!
Host a Successful Shadow Experience
The program is an educational experience for students; it may be their first exposure to a professional environment. For other students, it will be a chance to explore a career area which they might otherwise not have exposure, or to build their professional network in their chosen career area. Below are some sample activities that could help your shadow day benefit your student match:
- Explain potential career paths within the organization and the profession
- Review a current project or case study
- Conduct a simulation of a real situation being faced by the company
- Provide a tour of the office space
- Attend staff meetings
- Arrange informational interviews and network with BC alumni and other employees
- Review current trends in the profession
Program Timeline
| February 11–28 | Alumni Host Registration |
| March 9–20 | Student Registration and Favoriting Period |
| April 6–17 | Match Notifications Sent and Student Orientation (Online) |
| May 13–20 | Job Shadows Occur |
Questions?
Email us at eagleexchange@bc.edu
“One of Boston College’s strengths is building community—both on and off campus. As an alum, I very much value taking time to help extend that community for current students.”
Host FAQs
Job shadow hosts will host students for one day, or part of one day, between May 13-20, 2020.
The alumni host registration process will require that you indicate your geographic region, availability, industry/job function, information about your professional background and identity, as well as a few characteristics about your organization. Using Eagle Exchange, the Career Center will match students with Boston College alumni based on a combination of factors in the registration form. Once registered, students will have the opportunity to select their top three hosts. “Favoriting” is taken into consideration during the matching process.
You will be contacted by a member of the Career Center staff with your job shadow match details by April 17. Please note that we cannot guarantee that all hosts will be matched with a student. Matches are primarily based on student location, availability, and industry of interest.
Yes. Please indicate the maximum number of students that you’d like to host when you register for the program. We match students with hosts based on a variety of factors including location, availability, and industry interest overlap.
You will be connected with your student match through an Eagle Exchange message by April 17. You may then exchange additional contact information to further plan your shadow.
Students greatly value the job shadow experience and, once matched, are excited for the opportunity to connect with and learn from you. After registering for a job shadow, we sincerely hope that you will be able to make alternate arrangements with any interested students. If any changes need to be made, please email eagleexchange@bc.edu and your student directly to inform all parties of the change.
Shadow an Alum for a Day
A job shadow is a one-day experience where you'll have the opportunity to follow a working professional throughout their daily activities and learn about their career field. While job shadows vary based on the organization, a typical job shadow experience may include the opportunity to:
- Explore potential career paths within the organization and the profession
- Review a current project or case study
- Conduct a simulation of a real situation being faced by the company
- Complete a tour of the office space
- Attend staff meetings
- Conduct informational interviews and network with BC alumni and other employees
- Enjoy lunch with BC alumni and other employees
- Review current trends in the profession
Student registration is open March 9–20, 2020.
Program Timeline
| February 11–28 | Alumni Host Registration |
| March 9–20 | Student Registration and Favoriting Period |
| April 6–17 | Match Notifications Sent and Student Orientation (Online) |
| May 13–20 | Job Shadows Occur |
Questions?
Email us at eagleexchange@bc.edu
2020 Opportunities
Top Locations:
- Boston
- New York City
- Washington, D.C.
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- San Francisco
- Miami
Opportunites by Cluster:
- Business, Consulting, Finance
260 Opportunities - Communication, Arts, Media
97 Opportunities - Education, Nonprofit, Social Service
124 Opportunities - Government, Law, Public Policy
81 Opportunities - Healthcare and Nursing
46 Opportunities - Science, Technology, Engineering
75 Opportunities
Featured Hosts:
- ABC—The View
- ESPN
- Angell Animal Medical Center
- Bonhams Fine Art Auctioneers
- Children's National Hospital
- Pine Street Inn
- EF Education
- Harvard Kennedy School
- Cigna
- Microsoft
- AIG
- Digitas
- WarnerMedia
- CNN
- The Broadway National Tour of Waitress
- NBC Universal—The Today Show
- Tennis Channel
- Ecotarium Museum of Science and Nature
- Goldman Sachs
- Deloitte
- New York Unified Courts
- United Nations
- U.S. Department of State
- U.S. Department of Justice
- GrubHub
- Nestle
- Save the Children
531
214
Unique alumni hosts
“Participating in the Job Shadow Program was an amazing experience and opportunity. Our host went above and beyond to ensure that we had a great day. We had the opportunity to meet executives in various departments and I am so grateful and thankful for this opportunity.”
Student FAQs
Each shadow opportunity will occur on one business day from May 13-20, 2020.
Using Eagle Exchange, the Career Center will match students with Boston College alumni based on a combination of factors including overlap in availability and location as well as industry interest areas. Once registered, students will have the opportunity to select their top three hosts. “Favoriting” is taken into consideration during the matching process.
Once a student has registered for the program through Eagle Exchange, they will be able to search through the list of alumni hosts and indicate their top three preferences. We highly recommend that students take the opportunity to favorite by the March 20 deadline.
There is not funding available for completing job shadows. If financial burden would prevent you from completing a job shadow in your area, please apply for a shadow and contact eagleexchange@bc.edu with your specific question once you’ve been matched.
Our matching process will make every attempt to match you with a host with overlapping interest areas. Please note that we cannot guarantee that all students will be matched. Matches are primarily based on location, availability, and industry area. Once registered, filter through the list of alumni hosts to determine who is offering shadowing opportunities in your location and industry of interest.
You will be contacted via email by a member of the Career Center staff with your job shadow match details by April 17.
There will be a mandatory online job shadow orientation via Canvas that will help prepare you. The session will include questions to ask during the day, what to wear, how to follow-up, etc. Students must complete the online module in order to participate.
You will be connected with your mentor through Eagle Exchange. Once connected, you may choose to exchange additional contact information.
We strongly encourage students to attend job shadows that they have been matched with. Failing to show up for a job shadow or canceling at the last minute will reflect negatively on you and on the reputation of Boston College students. In the event of an emergency that requires you to change your plans, please email your job sadow host directly, and CC eagleexchange@bc.edu at least 48 hours in advance. Failure to honor this commitment can result in loss of EagleLink access. In replacement of your job shadow experience, we ask you to reflect on the following questions:
- Is there an opportunity for you to reach out to your job shadow host to thank them, even though you are not able to attend, and arrange a time to speak or meet briefly to facilitate an exploratory career conversation?
- In addition to the above, what is one thing you can do over your summer break to help you move forward with clarifying your career goals?
Please reach out to eagleexchange@bc.edu to see if you may be reassigned.
Send a personalized thank you note to each of your hosts including what you appreciated and found helpful from the shadowing opportunity.
Job Shadow Thank You Note Example:
Dear Ms. Hawk,
Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to gain more detailed information about the (BLANK) industry. It was very helpful to learn about your position and hear your insight about the direction/growth/rewards and challenges of the (BLANK) industry. As a result of meeting you and your colleagues, I am even more interested in (major/industry of interest) and plan to take further classes in (BLANK) as you suggested. I hope to have more conversations with you in the future. Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
James Jones