How to put shadowing on resume

If you expect your resume to stand out from the rest, it’s important to include shadowing experience. 

Shadowing is a great way for students and recent grads to gain valuable experience in an industry before committing and getting their foot in the door. 

To learn more about how you can put this on your resume and other essential facts about shadowing, read on!

Job shadowing definition and how it helps you learn about a potential career? 

Shadowing helps new graduates and early career professionals learn more about a potential career choice. 

Individuals who are shadowing gain first-hand knowledge of what it’s like to work in their chosen profession or company. 

A good shadowing experience allows the individual to ask questions and observe how things are done so they can compare their own skills and abilities with those required for the job.

What are the different types of shadowing?

Different shadowing programs and experiences are available to individuals who want to explore a particular profession or company. Here is a list of popular choices:

• Short-term shadowing, which lasts for a few hours to a few days
• Long term shadowing, lasting several days to several months

When deciding what type of experience would be best for you, consider the length of time needed to observe the profession or company and ask questions. 

You should have a clear learning goal from the shadowing experience and how it will shape your future. 

Why should you consider job shadowing?

Job shadowing is an excellent way to gain practical experience that goes beyond the classroom. 

It’s an opportunity to network and learn about different types of career options that you might not have known existed. 

It can give a distinct edge in your resume and higher education applications. Let’s look at some benefits:

• Helps you decide the career path you’d like to take in the future
• Gives you a better understanding of the nitty-gritty in certain jobs
• Guides you on the career direction you should take
• Builds your resume and allows you to add different types of experience that only job shadowing can give, beyond just working part-time or summer jobs. The type of position is not limited to a specific job but rather a way of gaining more experience and understanding the professional world around you.
• Gives you first-hand experience that can’t be learned in a classroom or by the book

How to gain valuable shadowing experiences

The best preparation for achieving a flourishing career is to gain real-life work experience. 

Shadowing provides you with an opportunity to observe and ask questions about the day-to-day work of someone in a specific profession or company. 

Keep these tips in mind when exploring options and preparing for your shadowing experience:

1. Reach out to companies: Reach out to companies of interest, explaining why you are interested in shadowing them. Be open to feedback on your experience. Irrespective of it being a long-term or short-term opportunity, be sure to figure out who the point of contact is that you should reach out to before your shadowing experience begins.

2. Be prepared: Prepare ahead of time by learning as much as you can about the profession or companies of interest. Read online resources, browse their website and social media pages, and search for information on professional associations they are registered with. Your timely preparation will help you gain a better understanding of the daily responsibilities of the profession.

3. Uncover what you want: Think about what you want to learn from this opportunity. Determine your goals? How can you ask questions and connect your learning to skills required for the job or profession? Come up with intelligent answers when asked why you are interested in shadowing them. Initiate conversations without asking too many personal questions.

4. Always ask: Be prepared to ask questions during your experience and take notes in a journal or on your phone. It is good to have a list of topics you want to cover beforehand to capitalize on unexpected opportunities.

How to find shadowing opportunities

Okay, so you are ready to start shadowing but how to find those good opportunities? Here is how you can get started: 

• Ask friends, family, or people you know who work in that profession if they can set something up for you
• Contact the companies directly (email/cold phone calls)
• Check out search engines like Google, Indeed, LinkedIn or Career Builder to find potential opportunities
• Ask your school counselor or librarian for ideas on finding opportunities
• Look out for flyers around your community.

How to put shadowing on resume example

There’s a lot you can do when it comes to putting shadowing on a resume. 

Simply mentioning that you shadowed someone in your field of interest won’t impress your employers. 

However, if you put together a well-written job description, employers will be impressed with how thorough you are. 
Include a heading for shadowing.

1. Create a shadowing experience section on your resume. 

Include a heading for shadowing. Alternatively, you could write the work experience and put shadowing in parentheses like this:

Nurse Assistant (Shadowed nurse in a hospital setting)

2. Add precise and actionable bullet points to go under the shadowing experience section. 

Here’s an example of what you may include:

• Shadowed nurse in the hospital setting
• Shadowed midwife at the birth center
• Observed director of HR department while they investigated discrimination claims against employees

3. Create a list of soft skills and transferable skills you gained from the shadowing experience under a separate heading titled “skill set.”

• Time management – Keep up with multiple deadlines while working in a fast-paced environment.
• Interpersonal communication – Communicated efficiently and effectively when faced with challenging customers or employees.
• Teamwork – Worked with different people and personalities to accomplish a shared goal.
• Stress management – Managed pressure and demonstrated composure when under stress.
• Ability to work under pressure – Delivered excellent results even in high-stakes or stressful situations.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment – Adjusted quickly to change and completed tasks accurately under pressure.

4. Create a list of references.

This is important as employers can contact them directly and find out more about your shadowing experience. 

5. Source 2-3 job shadowing reference letters that corroborate your experience. 

Here’s a Job shadowing reference letter template.

Job shadowing reference letter template.

Here’s an example:

Name: John Doe 

Contact Information: [phone number] [email] [address]

Position: Vice President of Marketing and Sales, ABC Corp. 

I have known Liam Buckley for the past three years while he shadowed me at my current organization, ABC Corp. During his time with us, we had formal and informal meetings to discuss his progress and development as a marketing and sales professional. Under my supervision and guidance, Liam assisted with different marketing and sales tasks, including trade show preparation, budgeting, graphic design creation, and email marketing campaigns. Liam’s strong work ethic, communication skills, presence of mind, and dependability made him a pleasure to work with. I would be happy to provide more information on his development as a professional during the shadowing period.

Job shadowing on resume – 4 Best practice tips

Ready to start job shadowing? Before you update your resume, consider these best practice tips that’ll elevate your resume and keep the recruiter engaged!

1. Use strong action verbs when listing responsibilities

Some of the most powerful verbs to use when describing your experience with job shadowing are:

• Supervised
• Supported
• Trained
• Managed 
• Organized 
• Researched
• Developed
• Collaborated 
• Evaluated 
• Planned 
• Coordinated
• Administered 
• Investigated 
• Instructed
• Coached 
• Influenced
• Critiqued
• Aided
• Influenced
• Presented 
• Communicated

2. Use descriptive phrases and sentences when writing your skills set

Descriptive phrases speak volumes about your skillset and achievements. Your potential employers can have a clear picture looking at them:

• Developed sales strategy for new products.
• Assisted with organizing trade show materials.
• Managed budgeting process and expense reports.
• Ran computer simulations to test marketing strategies for optimal results
• Tracked, organized, and maintained daily sales figures using Excel spreadsheets to create weekly reports for management.
• Collaborated with internal team members to prepare marketing materials, including email blasts, flyers, and posters.
• Researched and implemented email marketing strategies.
• Collaborated with internal team members to prepare marketing materials
• Conducted research on competitor products which led to increased product knowledge and sales numbers.
• Analyzed data collected from email campaigns to measure their success and determine the next best actions for future marketing strategies.
• Researched and implemented email marketing strategies.
• Gained insight into workplace culture and learned how people interact with each other inside

3. Include measurable achievements

Citing measurable achievements helps potential employers understand your credibility in your previous job roles. Let’s look at some examples:

• Increased sales volume by 20% compared to last year.
• Reduced time spent on budgeting from 10 hours to 2 hours per week.
• Reduced email marketing response time from 12 days to 3 days.
• Improved client satisfaction from 9.6 to 10 after resolving a billing issue.
• Coordinated with the marketing team and helped them achieve 2X email open rates.
• Increased sales volume by 20% compared to last year 
• Reduced time spent on budgeting from 10 hours to 2 hours per week 
• Reduced email marketing response time from 12 days to 3 days 
• Improved client satisfaction from 9.6 to 10 after resolving a billing issue

4. Match your experience to the job description

When listing your job shadowing experience, be sure to mention any skills required by the position and align with what you can offer. For instance, if an ad calls for a “problem solver,” this is most likely related to dealing with challenges and solving problems on the job (especially since many employers look specifically for this sort of potential)! You should also think carefully before deciding how best to highlight those activities! Highlighting your shadowing experiences in a result-oriented way will have a positive impact on your employer.

Start shadowing today to gain valuable work experience

Shadowing gives potential employers a fair idea of your skills and competencies while also giving them insight into how well-rounded you are as a candidate for their company. 

It’s important to note that when putting shadowing on your resume, be sure to include the projects or assignments and the organization you have shadowed in. 

It helps your future employers know every fact of your shadowing experience and how it is relatable to the position you have applied for!