Recommended Listening: “Lord Willin’” by Logic
I love logic (not to be confused with loving lamp). But I do. I love logic both literally and figuratively. The rapper Logic is phenomenal with an impressive lyrical flow, and I love the mind games that we as people will play with our own logic. Here is a personal demonstration of such logic. The following are actual events.
When I was 18 I got into an argument with my mother. She was persistent on the idea that I do a job shadow prior to declaring a college major. Her idea was for me to open up the phone book and cold call some businesses and simply ask if I could come in and do a job shadow. I was petrified. The thought of reaching out to someone I didn’t know…woof. I ducked and dodged her request with everything I had. Our conversations went like this…
“Did you call any businesses yet?”
“No mom, I’m going to though… Uhhh, next week.”
Two weeks later….
“Did you schedule the job shadow yet?”
“No mom, I’m going to though… Uhhh, next week.”
“If you don’t, you’re going to waste a bunch of money! You’ll see!”
The truth was, I wasn’t working on it. I was too afraid to reach out to people from the business community. According to my fear, my logic permitted me to spend $100,000 on an education for a profession that I didn’t know I would like, instead of cold calling a business professional. Where is the logic in that? Seems pretty illogical to me.
After college I got into my first business job, then another, and another… before ultimately jumping to the conclusion that the business world wasn’t for me.
In the end I spent $100,000 on my original degree (business) + an additional $45,000 to get educated in a profession that I found out I actually liked (education)…after doing a job shadow. (Sorry Ma!)
You can avoid the same mistake by booking your first job shadow.
Here are three ways to do it. Two involve reaching out via LinkedIn and the other is a cold email (cold refers to not knowing the person). If you have not created a LinkedIn account, I would strongly suggest doing so. The earlier you build your network, the better. Now being able to successfully land a job shadow can be tricky, so pay attention to the specifics.
Option 1: Build a Relationship
Building a brand new relationship with someone you don’t know can be tough. However, there are plenty of good people out there that are willing to help young professionals like yourself with the first steps of your career. The trick is finding them. LinkedIn has a search bar where you can literally type the job that you are interested in as well as your city. This is a good place to start. Another benefit is that you can also find professionals outside of your city, in case you were thinking of relocating some day.
Once you find a professional that you want to reach out to, use the following template below to help you with your first LinkedIn message. I will warn you that it may take several tries to land someone that is open to a phone call. The sales rule is reach out to 10 and maybe 1 replies. Keep going until someone does.
Phone Call Template:
Hello _________________,
I am currently a student at ___________________ and am interested in the _________________ profession. I came across your account on LinkedIn and I was wondering if you would be open to doing a phone call with me to talk about your position. Any assistance would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
_____(Your Name)_____
Here are some questions to ask during the phone call:
- What do you like most about your position?
- What is your biggest challenge in your current role?
- What does a day in the life consist of?
- What did you study to get into your current position?
- Any advice in terms of getting ready to start my career?
You can definitely google more but this is a start.
After you have landed your first phone call, thank them. I can not emphasize this enough. A thank you goes a long way in the professional world. It is the most physical manifestation of gratitude there is. Take the time and thank them. While your at it… See if they are open to allowing you to do a job shadow. Here is a template to use after doing the phone call.
Hello _______________,
Thank you so much for taking time out to speak with me. I really enjoyed hearing about (something you discussed on the phone call). I was wondering if you would be open to me doing a job shadow with you. If so, what is your availability on (provide dates at least two weeks in advance). Again, I am super appreciative of your assistance.
Sincerely,
_____(Your Name)_____
After you have done the job shadow, thank them again. If you haven’t added them to your LinkedIn network, now would be a good time. You never know… Some day you may be crafting a new message when you are looking for a position and they may help you.
That’s Option 1.
Option 2 – Hop Right In
This format starts with having an existing LinkedIn account as well. Do the same search except instead of asking them for a phone call, you hop right into your ask for a job shadow. This option may take a while to yield results but in the end, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here is a template you can use/revise to meet your needs:
Hello _________________,
I am currently a student at ___________________ and am interested in the _________________ profession. I came across your account on LinkedIn and I was wondering if you ever allow job shadows. I feel seeing the profession first hand will provide me with some strong guidance in terms of determining if this is a career I would like to pursue. Any assistance would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
_____(Your Name)_____
Once they respond, follow back up with a time that works for you. It is always good in your first message to convey dates. This prevents the neverending communication loophole of…Does this date work? How about this one?
Option 3 – Cold Email
If you don’t have a LinkedIn and are not ready to jump into the platform, you can always cold email. This way is going to take some googling. First you have to see what companies in your area have the positions you want. You can start by hitting the job boards. In google type “the position name you are interested in” and the word “jobs” and “your city.”
Here is what I would type: Program Manager Jobs Denver
The results should look something like this:
Once you find a company you are interested in, check out their website and see if you can find someone in that position that you can reach out to. If not, you should still be able to check LinkedIn (despite not having an account) to see if you could find who is in the position. Type “the company name” and “the position you are interested in.” Once you find your contact, put their name in google with the words email. For instance, let’s say the person is John Smith. I would put “John Smith” and “Company Name” and “Email.” Something should populate.
Reach out to them with your own variation of this template:
Hello _________________,
I am currently a student at ___________________ and am interested in the _________________ profession. I came across your info on ___(company website)___ and I was wondering if you ever allow job shadows. I feel seeing the profession first hand would provide me with some strong guidance in terms of determining if this is a career I would like to pursue. Any assistance would be much appreciated.
Thank you in advance!
_____(Your Name)_____
And of course, once you are finished, thank them.
Lord Willin, if everything goes to plan, you’ll land your first job shadow, see if you like the position and avoid wasting a bunch of money. Now that seems pretty logical to me.
Reach out if you need further guidance through my contact page.
Eric Berngen 