Winter Break Job Shadowing Program

Sign up to Host a Pitzer student

Virtual job shadowing will be held between Monday, January 6 and Friday, January 17, 2025, over Pitzer students' winter break.

Mission
Career exploration during the undergraduate years is critically important for Pitzer students. The opportunity to get an “inside look” at different professions or have an immersive experience in a potential career path can be a significant driver of student success in designing and executing a post-Pitzer career plan.

About

The Winter Break Job Shadowing Program is staying virtual. We’ve seen a nearly 50% increase in student participation since going virtual and we value the access this program offers to all students. Sponsored by Pitzer Career Services in partnership with the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement, the virtual job shadowing program is a wonderful opportunity to get to know a Pitzer student while giving them a window into your working world and exposing them to a potential career path.

The Winter Break Job Shadowing Program matches Pitzer undergraduates with alumni and family hosts who can give students this valuable professional experience. Our job shadowing partners can host a student virtually for as little as 2 hours to a full day.

What do the students who participate in this program learn? Through virtually shadowing alumni and family hosts, students will obtain in-depth information about what it takes to be successful in a specific profession and what roles interest them in a specific organization. During the virtual job shadowing opportunity, students might have the chance to attend virtual work meetings with their hosts, meet with staff and colleagues from other areas of an organization, and discuss ways to improve their resume or interviewing skills.

What do the hosts gain? For Pitzer alumni and families who are willing and able to host one or more students, the virtual shadowing program is a great opportunity to connect with current Pitzer students, provide mentorship and education around your career path, and really make a difference for students who are mapping out their career plans. It is also a great way to show off Pitzer’s impressive students to colleagues, clients and hiring managers. Hosts design their own virtual job shadowing agenda. Here is a sample:

Sample Agenda – Virtual Winter Break Job Shadowing – Half Day

9-10 a.m. – Introduction of your organization, discussion of mission, vision, and department’s goals

10-10:30 a.m. – Describe your career journey and what your current position entails (including likes & dislikes). Review your job description as a guide.

10:30-11:30 a.m. – Meet office colleagues/shadow online business meetings/take a virtual tour of the office

11:30 a.m.-12 p.m. – Review student’s resume & discuss interviewing

12 -12:30 p.m. – Final observations & closing

Additional Information

Students will be able to see the alumni and families who have agreed to be hosts and will have the opportunity to apply to shadow specific hosts. Hosts should be open to any Pitzer student(s) without requirements for particular majors or other qualifications. Career Services will match students with shadowing hosts by mid-November and notify both the students and the hosts. Students will then be required to directly contact their assigned host by December to arrange the details of their shadowing experience.

Please note that student utilization of a particular Winter Break Job Shadowing host “site” is dependent on student interest. Each year, we have wonderful host sites to which students do not match. You will be informed if a student matches your site or does not. If not, we hope that you will consider resubmitting an opportunity in the future.

Questions? Contact Jill Hawthorne’87, Interim Assistant Director, Career Connections & Alumni Support
jill_hawthorne@pitzer.edu