What is Job Shadowing?

Job shadowing – first-hand learning from a job owner

Job shadowing is a method of on-the-job learning in which a person (often an intern, young professional or someone looking for a career change) accompanies an experienced employee for a period of time to observe their day-to-day work and tasks.

The aim of job shadowing is to gain a better understanding of the day-to-day work, requirements and responsibilities of a particular job or position.

The ‘shadow’ learns first-hand what a particular job really entails, while the mentor has the opportunity to pass on knowledge and perhaps gain new perspectives on their work. The duration of the observation can vary, from a few hours to several days, depending on the purpose and depth of insight to be gained.

Areas of application of job shadowing

Job shadowing is used in various areas to provide learning and development opportunities. It is often used for career guidance to give pupils and students an insight into different professions. It is also used for employee induction as part of onboarding, as new employees get to know the work processes and corporate culture more quickly through observation. Job shadowing is also used in professional development to enable employees to learn new skills. Finally, it is a useful tool in management development to prepare future managers for their tasks.

Opportunities and risks of job shadowing

Job shadowing offers both opportunities and risks. The approach offers the following opportunities:

• Participants can explore different professions before committing themselves.¹
• New employees understand the work processes and corporate culture more quickly.
• Relationships between experienced and less experienced employees are strengthened.

And the following risks are conceivable:

• Because job shadowing is often short-term, it can offer superficial insights. In addition, the mentor may want to ‘advertise’ their job and therefore mainly emphasise the positive aspects (also known as the Hawthorne effect²).
• If the mentor is poorly chosen or has little time, the experience may be less effective.
• In addition, the presence of a ‘shadow’ can disrupt the flow of work.

In a way, the balance between these factors determines the success of job shadowing.

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[1] A student internship is, to a certain extent, a form of job shadowing.

[2] The Hawthorne effect describes the phenomenon that people change their behaviour when they know they are being watched. In job shadowing, this can lead to the mentor consciously or unconsciously changing the way they work in order to make a better impression. This can lead to the ‘shadow’ getting a distorted view of the actual day-to-day work, which can detract from the authenticity and learning effect of the experience.

There is a similar approach from another professional discipline: apprenticing. Apprenticing is a type of field research in which an apprentice carries out the work of a user in order to gather more knowledge. Companies use this technique, for example, in the course of determining requirements for the development of software and systems.

Here you will find a dossier with findings on the effects of job shadowing. It draws on the research literature and national practice examples, and shows how the approach can benefit students. It also provides guidance on how to design effective programmes.