Employer and Alumni

Job Shadow Handbook

Contents Welcome .................................................................................................................................................... 3

UCF Externship Program: ......................................................................................................................... 4

Job Shadow Hosts’ General Information ................................................................................................... 4

UCF Externship Program Goals ................................................................................................................ 5

Five Points to Consider: Designing a Job Shadowing Experience ............................................................ 6

Frequently Asked Questions – Job Shadow Hosts ..................................................................................... 7

Sample Agendas ...................................................................................................................................... 12

Sample Entertainment Agenda and Welcome Letter ............................................................................... 13

Sample General Agenda .......................................................................................................................... 14

Sample Healthcare Agenda ..................................................................................................................... 16

Sample Marketing Agenda ...................................................................................................................... 17

Welcome

Thank you for your interest in the UCF Externship Program! This packet contains general

information about the Program, addresses the most common employer and alumni questions,

and provides guidance on how to design your organization’s job shadowing experience.

You can sign up to be an externship host by completing our online registration form. If you

have additional questions about the program, please email Brooke Bivins, the Externship

Coordinator, at Brooke.Bivins@ucf.edu.

Thank you again for your interest in the UCF Externship Program. We look forward to

working with you.

UCF Externship Program:

Job Shadow Hosts’ General Information

• Externship = Short-term job shadowing

• Duration: Typically one to five days

o Spring Program held May 8-12, 2017

o Winter Break Program held December 11-15, 2017

• The Externship Program is open to all UCF students

• Through an externship students are able to explore careers or industries while building

their professional network

• There are no fees to participate in the program

• Hosts create a job shadow experience that provides students with an

overview their specific position and/or their profession/industry

o Students can

Perform tasks

Work on mock projects

Attend staff meetings

Shadow staff members

Interview key staff members

Observe client interactions

View demonstrations of industry-specific tools or software

Visit jobsites, etc.

• The job shadow experience provides students with an opportunity to

o Gain a better understanding of a particular job, industry, and work environment

o Identify action steps that will increase their employability

o Build their professional network and potentially identify a mentor Demonstrate professionalism in a work environment

• The Externship Program helps hosts

o Identify talent for internship and/or employment opportunities

o Mentor the next generation of professionals in the field o Connect and build a relationship with UCF

UCF Externship Program Goals

The UCF Externship Program is designed to provide our students and job shadow hosts

with a mutually beneficial experience. The program is designed to achieve the following:

• Students:

Gain a better understanding of a particular job, industry, and work environment Confirm whether the position shadowed aligns with their career interests Identify two action steps that will increase their employability

Demonstrate professionalism in a work environment

• Job Shadow Hosts

Identify talent for internship and/or employment opportunities Mentor the next generation of professionals in their field Connect and build a relationship with UCF

Five Points to Consider: Designing a Job Shadowing Experience

1. Students are job shadowing to learn and grow professionally

a. The program is open to all UCF students – freshmen to graduate students. Some

students will have a lot pf professional experience; some will have little to none.

i. Regardless of experience level, the student(s) will have many questions

b. Make sure your staff is prepared for the students

i. Pair students with staff who have the time and are eager to engage and

educate students

c. By externship week the students have devoted a semester to preparing for their job

shadowing experience; they are invested and want to learn from your staff.

2. Plan ahead

a. Design your externship experience ahead of time. This packet contains sample job

shadowing agendas. Create an agenda that will work best for the student, you, and

your organization. Externships can be observational, hands-on, or a combination of

both.

i. Observational – students may observe meetings, presentations, customer

interaction, and other workplace activities.

ii. Hands-on – students may work on projects that provide them with the

opportunity to experience the job they are shadowing. Students can interact

with students, clients, customers, patients, etc. Projects may be real or mock

projects. Examples include creating marketing campaigns, presentations to

the staff, lesson plans, and patient care recommendations.

iii. Combination – students may spend the first portion of their externship

observing and learning about the organization/industry and the second part

of the externship working on a project, assisting

customers/clients/patients/students, etc.

b. When designing your externship, consider how many days you can reasonably host

student(s) – typically an externship can span from one to five days.

c. If you need help planning your externship, review the resources available on the

externship webpage or contact Brooke Bivins, the Externship Coordinator, at

Brooke.Bivins@ucf.edu

3. Ensure alignment between your externship description and the actual experience

a. Students choose their externship based on the information you provide on the

registration form. Providing an accurate and detailed description will ensure the

best possible experience for both you and the student.

b. If you need to make any changes to your externship description please let the

externship coordinator know as soon as possible.

4. Provide an educational experience

a. Students look forward to participating in an experience that helps them better

understand a position/industry. Please avoid assigning unrelated projects such as

filling or cleaning.

5. Let us know if you are having issues – We are here to help, if you have any challenges.

Frequently Asked Questions – Job Shadow Hosts

Below are the most commonly asked questions about the UCF Externship Program. If you have

additional questions please email Brooke Bivins, the Externship Coordinator, at

Brooke.Bivins@ucf.edu. Thank you!

What is an externship?

What are the goals of the program?

How can the program benefit my organization?

Who can participate?

When and how often does the program take place?

How often can my organization participate?

Is there a minimum or maximum number of students that we can host?

Do we pay a fee to participate?

This is our first time hosting student externs, how should we prepare?

Our company has multiple locations, can we host students at each location?

How long should we host students during the externship

week?

How are students prepared?

Can we request specific students to extern with our organization?

My organization can only host students from a specific major, how can we ensure that

we only receive students from that major?

My organization is not hiring, can we still host externs?

Are we able to pre-screen externship students before they are matched with our

organization?

Does UCF provide the resumes of matched students?

How are students matched with our organization?

What if our organization is not matched with a student?

What is an externship?

An externship is a one to five day job shadowing experience where students learn about a

particular career or industry, gain workplace experience, and build their professional

network. Students are required to complete a virtual course to prepare for their externship.

Matched student(s) extern with a host and have the opportunity to observe/shadow

professionals and/or complete hands-on activities. [Back to Top]

What are the goals of the program?

• As a result of participating in the externship program, students will be able to:

o Gain a better understanding of a particular job, industry, and work

environment

o Confirm whether the position shadowed aligns with their career interests o Identify two steps to increase their employability o Demonstrate professionalism in a work environment

• As a result of participating in the program, externship hosts will be able to:

o Identify talent for internship and employment opportunities

o Mentor the next generation of professionals in their field o Connect and build a relationship with UCF [Back to Top]

How can the program benefit my organization?

Serving as an externship host provides you with an opportunity to identify talented

students for internships and/or employment opportunities, mentor the next generation of

professionals in your field, and build your relationship with UCF. [Back to Top]

Who can participate?

We invite employers, alumni, parents, and friends of UCF to host externship students.

The externship host’s organization must adhere to equal employment opportunity

guidelines and comply with UCF Career Services’ policies. Upon registering, the

externship host will be contacted if additional information is needed to verify their

alignment with the aforementioned requirements. All UCF students (undergraduate,

graduate, and doctoral) and recent alumni (within 6 months of graduation) are eligible to

participate in the program. [Back to Top]

When and how often does the program take place?

The program is offered during semester breaks in the fall and spring semesters.

The fall program is held in December and the spring program is held May.

[Back to Top]

How often can my organization participate?

Your organization can participate in as many sessions of the Externship Program as you

would like. Some of our hosts participate in both sessions each year, while others

participate in one session per year. [Back to Top]

Is there a minimum or maximum number of students that we can host?

Your organization can host one or more students. There is not a limit to the number of

students that an organization may host as long as the organization has the capacity to

provide a valuable experience to each student extern. [Back to Top]

Do we to pay a fee to participate?

Hosts are not required to pay any fees in order to participate in the program. While there is

not a fee associated with hosting students, some of hosts choose to provide students with

lunch and/or a parting gift. [Back to Top]

This is our first time hosting student externs, how should we prepare?

1. Plan out the details of your externship! There are some example agendas and other

resources in this packet or on the Externship webpage. If you have questions or

need help, please email Brooke Bivins, the Externship Coordinator, at

Brooke.Bivins@ucf.edu . We are happy to assist you plan your externship.

a. You can host one or more students in several different departments. If you

are coordinating a variety of job shadowing experiences across your

organization, determine which department(s) will participate and how

many students they will host.

i. For example, an accounting company may host a student in each of

the following departments: marketing, accounting, and human

resources.

ii. Depending on the size of your company and department, you may

be able to host one student in each department or several.

b. Decide how many days will your organization will host your student(s)

i. Choose dates that work for you/your organization

ii. Typically, you can host students for an entire week, a few days, or

one day. Please see below for further guidance.

iii. Other things to consider: any project due dates, conferences,

holiday vacations, etc.

c. Consider what kind of activities you would like students to do while

they extern with your company

i. Observational – students spend most of their externship

observing staff members at meetings, presentations, planning,

customer interaction, and other workplace activities

ii. Hands-on – students are provided with activities that allow them

to experience the job they are shadowing. These can be actual or

mock projects

iii. Combination – students spend the first portion of their

externship observing and learning about a company and in the

second part of the week students work on a project, assist

customers/patients/students, or participate in other workplace

activities

2. Fill out the externship registration form so the Externship Coordinator can process

your registration. If you have hosted students in the past, you can offer students the

same experience or change it, just let the Externship Coordinator know. [Back to

Top]

Our company has multiple locations, can we host students at each location?

Yes! When you register for the externship program you are able to enter multiple

externship site locations. [Back to Top]

How long should we host students during externship week?

We ask that you host your student externs for a least one day and for no longer than

five days during the externship week. You know your organization best, so schedule

your externs accordingly. Here are some scheduling examples used by previous

hosts:

• Monday-Friday: 9am-5pm with an hour lunch

• Monday- Friday: 10am-2pm with a 30 minute lunch

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: 10am-2pm with a 30 minute lunch

• Wednesday: 9am-5pm with a 1 hour lunch

• Tuesday: 10am-2pm, with a 30 minute lunch [Back to Top]

How are students prepared?

All student externs are required to complete a virtual orientation prior to their externship.

The orientation addresses various aspects of professionalism, including appropriate and

inappropriate workplace etiquette, communication/networking, proper attire, and privacy

standards and statues (HIPPA and FERPA). The students adhere to a syllabus and are

required to complete their assignments/tasks by specific due dates. Only students who

successfully complete the requirements are paired with externship hosts. [Back to Top]

Can we request specific students to extern with our organization?

Yes, your organization can request specific students to extern. Provide the student(s) first

and last name, telephone number, and email address or submit an Externship Preselect

form (available on the Externship page) to Brooke Bivins, the Externship Coordinator, via

email: Brooke.Bivins@ucf.edu. Preselected students will also need to complete the virtual

orientation to be eligible to extern with your organization. [Back to Top]

My company can only host students from a specific major, how can we ensure that we

only receive students from that major?

When you fill out your registration form, list any required majors or certifications in the

preferences section. Students are informed that they need to meet the employer

preferences in order to qualify for a specific externship experience. Please consider

opening your experience(s) to students from all majors or to students from a wide variety

of majors. UCF’s academic programs provide students with the transferable skills needed

to succeed in a variety of positions and industries. [Back to Top]

My organization is not hiring, can we still host externs?

Absolutely! Many of our hosts enjoy helping students and are not looking to hire any of

their externs. While some of our students see the externship program as a way to

network with professionals in hopes of landing an internship and/or employment

opportunities, others have different motivations. These include:

Confirming whether the position/field shadowed aligns with their career

interests concepts learned in their coursework to a professional workplace

Identifying a mentor

Building their professional network

Exploring a new position, organization, and/or industry

Also, some of our students are unable to accept part-time and/or internship

opportunities due to academic or athletic commitments. These students view

their externship as an opportunity to gain career experience and begin

building a professional network. [Back to Top]

Are we able to pre-screen externship candidates before they are matched with our

company?

At this time the externship program does not offer hosts the opportunity to prescreen

and select student externs. [Back to Top]

Does UCF provide the resumes of matched students?

Due to privacy regulations, the externship coordinator is not able to provide hosts with

their student(s) resumes. [Back to Top]

How are students matched with our organization?

Students are provided with a categorized spreadsheet of all of the available job

shadowing experiences and their descriptions. The students have a week to review the

list before submitting their top five externship preferences. Students are matched on a

first come, first served basis. Students are instructed to ensure that they meet the host’s

requirements and/or preferences before choosing to submit the experience as one of their

top five preferences. [Back to Top]

What if our organization is not matched with a student?

While we do our best to match as many externship hosts and students as possible, not all

hosts receive a match. Typically about 90% of hosts receive a match. Common reasons

for a host not receiving a matched student include:

1. Limited student interest in the career field

2. Location of the externship

3. Duration of the externship

If your organization is not matched with a student, you will receive an email from the

Externship Coordinator. [Back to Top]

Sample Agendas

Sample Entertainment Agenda and Welcome Letter

Hello UCF Externs!

We are very excited to work with each of you. If something looks incorrect then please let me

know ASAP. Student 1: Entertainment Business

Student 2: Entertainment Business

Student 3: Event Planning/Coordination

Student 4: Event Planning/Coordination

Student 5: Event Planning/Coordination

Student 6: Social Media We are going to set a tentative schedule for all of you and then depending on how each day goes,

we may shorten a day or change the location of where we are meeting. SCHEDULE

Monday: 10am-6pm

Tuesday: 10am-6pm

Wednesday: 10am-6pm

Thursday: 10am-6pm

Friday: 4pm-12:30am, working a live event

WHAT TO BRING Paper, writing utensil, laptop, and a great attitude! WHAT TO WEAR Mon-Thurs: Casual clothes that you would normally wear to class

Friday: Dress like you are going to a rock concert, neutral colors: black, gray, jeans, white, or off

white.

WHERE TO MEET ON THE FIRST DAY At our office, 123 Main Street Orlando, FL 328XX

PARKING ON FIRST DAY You can park in the lot for free right in front of our door.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Sample General Agenda

Company X Externship

Day One 9am-3pm

• Orientation

o Complete or submit any required paperwork Confidentiality agreements Proof of medical tests

o Introductions – staff and students o General information for the week

Parking Daily Schedule

• Arrival, Lunch, and end of day

Company rules and regulations as applies to externs

• Smoking policy

• Cell phone policy

Any other general information

o Company Background/Biography o Provide students with weekly agenda

Which department they will be shadowing Which staff member(s) will the student be shadowing

What the students will be working on/learning

• Observation

o Staff meetings o Client meetings/interactions o Presentations o Patient interaction o View court proceedings o Student lessons o Off-site observation

• Tasks or projects

o Mock sales plans o Mock event plans o Mock marketing plans o Programming tasks o Accounting tasks o Presentation of plans/ideas o Drafting of documents o Create lesson plans and present to students

• Lunch

• Tour of the facility/office

• What skills/information the student will learn by the end of the externship

• Any other material or information necessary for the students to have a great externship at

your organization

• Student questions and wrap-up

Day Two 9am-3pm

• Full day of shadowing a staff member with a break for lunch

o Students are able to observe and interact with the staff member they are

shadowing

o Staff member is able to observe student’s strengths and areas opportunity,

adjusting information as needed

Day Three 9am-3pm

• Full or partial day of shadowing a staff member with a break for lunch

o Depending on the student’s familiarity and knowledge of the field they may be able

to begin to interact with patients, customers, other staff members, or students

through hands-on activities

o Student can continue to observe staff member if that is appropriate

o Student(s) can also begin to work on a project to present to the staff

Marketing plan, construction diagram, staff schedule, accounting data, or other

applicable activity

Day Four 9am-3pm

• Full or partial day of shadowing a staff member with a break for lunch

o Interact with patients, customers, other staff members, or students through hands-

on activities

o Continue shadowing staff member

o Continue working on any project

Day Five 9am-3pm

• Full or partial day of shadowing a staff member with a break for lunch

o Hands-on interactions

o Student presentation of projects/activities

o Wrap up and any student questions

Sample Healthcare Agenda

Health Care Company X

University Of Central Florida

Career Services

Externship Program

Day One: 8:00 am – 1:30 pm

1. 8:00 am -8:30 am Registration and review of required paperwork and medical tests

2. 8:30 am- 9:00 am Welcome Address

3. 9:00 am – 9:30 am Mission, Vision and Values

4. Services Provided

A. 9:30 am – 10:00 am Hemodialysis

A. Adult

B. Pediatrics

B. 10:00 am –10:30 am Peritoneal Dialysis

C. 10:30 am – 11:00 am Dietitian Department

D. 11:00 am – 11:30 am Social Worker Department

E. 11:30 am – 12:00 pm Biomedical Service Department

F. 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm Questions/Closing Remarks

G. 1 2: 30 p m – 1: 30 pm Tour of the Facility

H. Refreshments

Day 2: 8:00 am – 12 pm

Shadow Nurse(s) and patient interaction

Day 3: 8:00 am – 12 pm

Shadow Nurse(s) and patient interaction

Day 4: 8:00 am – 10 am – “Student Graduation” and celebration

Sample

Marketing

Agenda

Company XYZ

UCF Externship — Marketing

8:30 a.m.— 4:00 p.m. 1st floor Conference Room

Agenda

8:30-9:00 Overview

Senior Vice President, Corporate Marketing Group

9:00-9:30 The Market

Director of Finance

9:30-10:00 How a Product is Created

Senior Product Manager

10:00-11:00 How to Market a Product

Director of Product Marketing

Product Marketing Manager

11:00-11:30 Financial Perspective

VP Business Operations

Senior Financial Analyst

11:30-12:00 Project Management Process

Senior Marketing Product Manager

12:00-1:00 LUNCH

Agenda (continued) 1:00-2:00 Branding

Creative Vice President

Creative Manager

2:00-2:30 Video & Photography

Video Producer

2:30-3:00 Event Planning

Author Utilization Manager

3:00-3:30 Digital Brochures

Senior Designer

3:30-4:00 Packaging

Packaging Manager Senior Project Coordinator