LeAnn Cunningham, Employment Relations/Internship Coordinator
Career Development Center
Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS
Annie Cutler, Employer Relations Coordinator,
Career Services
Trinity University, San Antonio, TX

Job Shadowing Program at JCCC
Job Shadowing at Trinity University
Lessons we have learned
Designing job shadowing programs for your campus

Johnson County Community College
• Overland Park, KS; suburb of Kansas City
• 20,000 credit students, 18,000 non-credit
• Over 50 career programs; most students transfer for bachelor’s degrees
• Ranked in top 5-10 community colleges nationally
• Career Development Center has 9 staff, 2 work study
• Job Shadowing Program administered by Employment
Relations/Internship Coordinator

OVERVIEW
Student Need--Students asked for job shadowing
Developed spring and summer 2015; launched fall 2015
Philosophy and Mission—to provide a structured, educational experience that supported career decision making and students’ reasons for attending college
Preparation—discussion of program framework included dean, career counselor, academic faculty, employers and students; initial research
Hired—a graduate student intern devoted to building the program with the
Employment Relations/Internship Coordinator
Stakeholders—JCCC students, JCCC faculty, Kansas City employers
Marketing and Administration—program materials, mentor database using CSO

Spring and Summer 2015
• Hired intern to work 20 hours per week on job shadowing
• Developed job shadowing program and material content
• Met with key faculty members to gain their perspective on program
• Worked with publications department to produce materials
• Began networking with employers at Chamber events, by phone and email

Stakeholders
JCCC students: 18, 2.0 GPA and good academic standing
Faculty: Intentionally involve faculty
Social work/welfare, business, computer technology, science & biotechnology, engineering & drafting, nonprofit. Also included finance, web design, graphic design, accounting, public administration
Employers: Invited Kansas City area professionals

Benefits For students:
• Active, career exploration
• Build career knowledge
& competencies
• Increased confidence
& awareness

Benefits For faculty:
Mentoring, marketing, & meaning-making
Outcomes:
Relationshipbuilding, supporting students, & promoting program

Benefits to Employers:
Brand awareness, development & recruitment
Outcomes:
Building relationships with
JCCC and students, connecting with talent pipeline

• Increased career development and decision-making
• Enhanced ability to identify career options and select appropriate career path
• Engaged in experiential learning through observation and person-to-person interaction in the workplace
• Retention in college

Step-bystep process for
Students

Job Shadowing Student Guide http://goo.gl/3EgyLL
Job Shadowing Mentor Guide http://goo.gl/SoEigM
Job Shadowing Faculty Guide http://goo.gl/lqsbVV

Career Development Center Job Shadowing Video

• Networking through faculty and recruiters; chamber events; presentations to groups. Not so much on LinkedIn.
• Surprises along the way—random mentors sign up when they hear about it.
• Overcoming faculty resistance to sharing employer contacts
• Started small with Engineering club - had a lot of civil engineering mentors
• Mentors contact others in their company or organizations and promote the program
• Administrator and faculty enthusiasm—use the program for assignments in
Career Planning and Capstone classes
• Scope of programs we first focused on expanded almost immediately due to networking and finding excellent contacts.

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Private, liberal arts and science institution located in San
Antonio, TX
• 2,300 high-achieving, sports-playing, nacho-eating students
– 10% international students
– #1 in the West by U.S. News & World Report - 24 years in a row
– #8 Best Entrepreneurial College, Forbes Magazine
• Current president, Dr. Danny Anderson, was formerly Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at KU

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Office of Career Services (6 full-time staff)
– Career exploration
– Full-time positions
– Graduate & professional school advising
– Alumni & parent relations
• Office of Experiential Learning (4 fulltime staff)
– Internships
– Volunteering
– Course-embedded projects
“…integrates academic work, learning in the community, and career planning by bridging the gap between theory and practice while also connecting students to alumni and potential employers who can help secure career opportunities in the future.”

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Identified opportunity for a job shadowing program linked to an annual networking event held over winter break
• Original concept: job shadowing day where students all go at once and do individual visits to different employer sites
• Research approach: what do schools of comparable size, mission, and reputation provide for job shadowing?
• Research results: group shadowing trips, or “Treks,” most effective for small, liberal arts and sciences institutions

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Compiled research on scope, target audience, and age of programs
• Collected data on possible employer contacts in Trinity’s target locations
• Assessed institutional needs and resources of Trinity versus peer/aspirant institutions for supporting job shadowing programming

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Research resulted in the creation of 2 separate, distinct programs that best serve Trinity University student needs
• Tiger Treks
• Short, large-group visits to multiple brand-name employers over the span of a few days in a large city
• Group job shadowing experience, targeted at mainly first-years and sophomores exploring the “What can I do with my major?” question
• Bring a Tiger to Work program
• Resource toolkit which guides students through the job shadow process, scheduled at student’s convenience
• Suitable for students (or alumni) of any age, industry, or interest
• Focuses on guiding the experience and providing built-in reflection & support

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Held in conjunction with Making Connections, a set of alumni and current student networking events co-hosted by Alumni Relations and
Career Services in cities across the U.S. during the first week of January
• Students attend the local Making Connections event in the evening, where they connect with fellow participants and the alumni host
• The following morning, students meet at the employer site and take a 2-
3 hour tour, including:
– Site/building tour
– Professional development workshop led by employer representatives
– Networking and Q&A session with various individuals within the organization

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Established 3 target industries to connect with: business, engineering, and non-profit
• Reached out to targeted employer sites in Houston, where the largest Making Connections event is held and where
25% of our students call home
• Developed an application process and orientation workshop
• Created a marketing strategy and timeline for students, faculty, alumni, and employers

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Difficult to find a company willing and able to host larger group of students
• Brand-name or ”sexy” companies most desirable to students are also the hardest to schedule
• Initially targeted Deloitte, Houston Arts Alliance, and NASA
– Deloitte wasn’t interested in non-accounting students
– Houston Arts Alliance is under construction
– NASA said yes! … but no international students, which created a problem

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Small Tiger Trek to NASA with high-level exposure for students
– Relationships are already resulting in increased recruiting at Trinity
• Plans to expand to Dallas and Houston next year
– Winter and summer visits to employer sites and Trinity alumni who work there
• Easier to solicit employer buy-in when:
– Results in direct impact on hiring and internships
– Desire for increased brand awareness at Trinity already exists
– Strong, executive-level alumni or parent influence

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Conducted research on job shadowing guides at institutions of all levels across the country
• Reviewed resource materials
• Scheduled conversations with aspirant institutions
• Assessed internally, including review of current job shadowingrelated resources and staff approaches to job shadowing coaching
• Created rough draft of needed materials and established a plan for writing and designing the necessary content
• Identified staff members with strongest background in job shadowing-related areas, such as career exploration

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Scheduled as a summer 2016 project, with multiple career advisors involved in research, revisions, and design
• Resource guide will be available for fall 2016 students
• Targeted distribution around
Registration Day and shortly before fall, Thanksgiving, and winter breaks

Trinity University: Small Liberal Arts Institutions &
• Know your students and their comfort level – what support do they need, and in what form?
• Be willing to dedicate the time to creating quality materials
• Solicit team feedback AND buy-in to ensure institutional knowledge is respected and utilized
• Quality is more important than creating something quickly

• Cost/benefit analysis of programs
• Survey the strategic, institutional priority at the moment – how does job shadowing fit in?
• Talk to as many other career services professionals as possible!
• Handouts, guides, marketing materials are key!
– If those are solid, your program has a much better chance of success on every level
• This is not a one-person project. Never. Ever.

• Know your office, your students, and your institution
• Understand the scope and time commitment of the project
• Do the background research on why this is a priority, both for students’ sake and for administrators
• Be ready to design - marketing and associated materials are extremely important aspect of a well-developed job shadowing program of any kind
• Reach out to others - set up meetings, phone calls, and have email conversations with both internal and external constituents (students, administrators, risk management, employers, faculty, other career centers, us!)
• Financial budget
• Allow yourself time to develop a good program. Don’t rush it!

Contact us if you have questions!
LeAnn Cunningham, Employment Relations/Internship Coordinator
Career Development Center
Johnson County Community College
913-469-3598 lcunningham06@jccc.edu
http://www.jccc.edu/student-resources/counseling/career/job-shadow.html
Annie Cutler, Employer Relations Coordinator
Career Services
Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas
210-999-8321 acutler@trinity.edu
https://new.trinity.edu/campus-life/campus-services/career-services