JA Job Shadow (Blended)^®

JA Job Shadow Blended Model is a comprehensive experience that helps students design an individualized career path. Supporting blended as well as self-guided activities, JA Job Shadow provides a design-thinking structure for career exploration.

Students develop a deep understanding of their talents, interests, and values through a career interest assessment. The result is a broad list of career possibilities. Through informational interviews, students narrow down the list to identify their top potential career opportunities. They interact with professionals in a workplace site visit and during a multi-hour job shadow experience in a career area of interest. Reflection and analysis move students toward their target career or back to their list to explore another option.

Program Highlights
• Part of the JA Work and Career Readiness Pathway and is designed for Grades 9–12
• Personalized approach to career planning for students
• Flexible implementation based on local need
• Extensive self-guided learning experiences
• Real-world view of the workplace, including off-site and on-site contact with professionals
• Current career-planning tools to enhance networking skills, interview skills, and online profiles

Pillars of Student Success	Entrepreneurship: Minimal	Financial Literacy: Minimal	Work Readiness: High

Program Implementation	Program Grade-Level
Classroom Based	Grades 9-12

Program Sessions

Finding Your Future (Site Visit Sessions)

Students find out what to expect during the program. They learn about the design-thinking approach called Design for Delight and begin to examine their own career interests and motivations. They also learn about Career Clusters and take a personal career assessment.

Career Informational Interviews (Site Visit Sessions)

Students discuss their top three career choices. They prepare to conduct informational interviews during the upcoming site visit, as well as with professionals in their fields of interest. They create an elevator pitch to describe themselves positively to potential employers.

Site Visit (Site Visit Sessions)

Students visit a local company for a tour, Human Resources presentation, informational interviews, and a series of learning activities.

Site Visit Reflection (Site Visit Sessions)

Students analyze and share their responses to their site visit and informational interview experiences and write a professional thank you note. They begin to develop a resume and online profile. They also research additional informational interview subjects and potential job shadow opportunities.

Interviewing for a Job (Job Shadow Experience Sessions)

Students explore appropriate and inappropriate job interview behavior. They become familiar with common job interview questions and techniques and practice mock interviews. They adapt their accomplishments into stories to tell on job interviews.

Job Shadow Prep (Job Shadow Experience Sessions)

Students conduct research into the company, employees, and industry in which they will be job shadowing. They develop a list of questions to ask and prepare for the logistics of the day.

Job Shadow Experience (Job Shadow Experience Sessions)

Independently, students “shadow” a professional to gain insights about the day-to-day responsibilities and environment in a chosen career.

Job Shadow Reflection (Job Shadow Experience Sessions)

Students will share observations from their independent job shadow experiences and consider their personal career paths in light of those experiences. They write professional thank you notes to their hosts.