Job shadowing: what it is, how to ask and 35 questions to ask

What is job shadowing?

Job shadowing means spending time with someone while they do their job, to see what the work is really like. A shadow follows a host for anything from a few hours to a few days, watches, and asks questions in the gaps. It goes by other names too: career shadowing (mostly in schools), work shadowing, and employee or workplace shadowing when it happens inside a company.

It's useful for four kinds of people:

• Students testing a career before choosing a major, a course or a first job.
• Career changers checking that a new field looks the same up close as it does online.
• New hires learning the job from someone who already does it well.
• Employees eyeing an internal move seeing another team's work before applying.

The first half of this page is for the shadow: how to find an opportunity, what to do on the day and 35 questions to ask. The second half is for employers running a job shadowing program.

Types of shadowing

Most job shadows are the first kind. The others are what companies use once shadowing at work becomes part of how they train people.

1. Observation shadowing. You watch someone do their job for a few hours or a day and ask questions in the gaps. The most common kind, and the right start for students and anyone exploring a career.
2. Hands-on shadowing. After watching, you try small tasks with the host beside you. It suits new hires and people moving into a role inside the same company.
3. Reverse shadowing. The roles flip: the experienced person watches the learner do the work and gives feedback. Some companies also use the name for a leader who spends a day with a frontline employee.
4. Peer shadowing. Two people at a similar level in different roles or offices spend time in each other's day. Each learns how the other's work affects their own.
5. Cross-department shadowing. Someone spends a day with another team: sales with support, engineering with customer success. It's the fastest way to fix a handoff that keeps breaking.
6. Virtual shadowing. Any of the above over a video call: you join the host's meetings, watch a shared screen and debrief between calls.

Virtual job shadowing on Zoom or Teams

Desk jobs shadow well over video, and it means you can shadow someone in another city. The setup is the same on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet:

• The host forwards the day's meeting invites, or adds the shadow as a guest, with the other attendees' agreement.
• The host shares their screen while doing focused work and talks through what they're doing.
• Keep a separate chat open between host and shadow for questions during meetings.
• Book two or three 15-minute debriefs between calls instead of one long one at the end.
• Don't record meetings without everyone's consent, and keep the shadow's camera on so attendees know who's there.

How to find job shadowing opportunities and ask for one

Few companies advertise job shadowing. Most shadows happen because someone asked one person directly.

Where to look

• Your school or college career center. Many keep lists of alumni and local employers who host shadows, and some run shadowing days.
• Alumni from your school. A shared school is the warmest cold contact there is. Search your alumni network or LinkedIn by school and job title.
• People you already know. Ask family, friends, teachers and former managers who they know in the field. A warm introduction gets a yes far more often than a cold email.
• Professional associations. Local chapters of a field's association often have members happy to help newcomers, and their events are a good place to ask.
• Your own employer. If you already have a job, ask your manager or HR whether you can shadow another team. Many companies say yes to a day or two, even without a formal program.

How to ask

• Ask for a short, specific slot: half a day or a day, not "some time".
• Say why them, in one sentence. Generic emails get generic silence.
• Offer to fit around their schedule, including a video call if that's easier.
• Follow up once after a week. Then let it go and ask someone else.

Job shadowing request email

Fill in the brackets, cut anything that doesn't fit, and keep it this short.

How to job shadow: before, during and after

A shadow day goes by fast. A little preparation turns it from a pleasant visit into real answers about a career.

Before

• Confirm the date, start time, address or video link, and who to ask for at reception.
• Ask what to wear, and whether you'll need ID or a confidentiality form.
• Read up on the company and the host's role so your questions go past the basics.
• Write down three things you want to find out, and pick your questions from the list below.

During

• Arrive ten minutes early, phone on silent.
• Watch first and save questions for the gaps between tasks or meetings.
• Take notes on paper; typing during meetings can look like you're not listening.
• Don't share or photograph anything on screens or desks.
• Thank each person who spends time with you, by name.

After

• Send a thank-you note within a day.
• Write down what surprised you while it's fresh: what you liked, what you didn't, what you still don't know.
• Connect with your host on LinkedIn, if they're on it, with a short note.
• Follow up on any introduction they offered, and tell them later how things turned out.

Thank-you note template

The detail is what makes it land: name one moment from the day and one thing they said.

35 questions to ask while job shadowing

These questions to ask in a job shadow are a menu, not a script. Pick five or six that matter most to you; nobody wants a 35-question interview. Open questions get the best answers, so follow up with “What makes you say that?”

For more ways to get past one-word answers, see our open-ended questions examples, which include 25 job interview questions worth reading before a shadow day too.

Job shadowing vs internship vs mentoring

Three ways to learn from someone who does the job. They differ mostly in how long they last and whether you do real work.

They work well in sequence: a shadow day to test the field, an internship to build experience, and a mentor once you're in.

For employers: running a job shadowing program

A good shadow day takes about an hour of planning. This agenda fills a day from 9:00 to 2:45 with a mix of watching, conversations and breaks. Copy it and change the times.

Job shadowing checklist for hosts

What the host and HR need to do before, on and after the day. Print one per shadow.

Confidentiality and safety basics

None of this is legal advice; rules vary by state, industry and site. Check with HR before the first shadow visits.

• Paperwork. Ask HR whether visitors need to sign a confidentiality or visitor agreement, and whether insurance or site rules cover them.
• Screens and data. Keep customer data, personnel matters and financials out of view. Step out or pause a screen share for sensitive calls.
• Other people's meetings. Ask customers and colleagues before a shadow sits in. Most say yes; asking is what keeps it that way.
• Physical safety. In labs, warehouses, kitchens and sites, the shadow wears the same protective gear as staff, stays out of restricted areas and never operates equipment.
• Visitors under 18. Check with HR on any extra requirements, such as a parent or guardian's consent and closer supervision.
• Watching, not working. Keep it observation unless HR agrees otherwise. Once a visitor does real work for the business, pay and employment rules may apply.

Shadowing new hires? It fits inside a wider plan: our job orientation guide covers day one, and onboarding activities and welcoming and onboarding new employees cover the weeks after. For a group of summer shadows or interns, start with our intern icebreakers.

Connect the shadowing cohort

Shadows learn one role in depth but rarely meet the rest of the company. When you host a group at once, give them an hour together.

Team Discovery Challenge is a hosted scavenger hunt combined with show and tell: teams race the clock to find unique and meaningful items, and the stories behind them get a new group talking. It runs about 60 minutes on Zoom by default (Teams, Google Meet or Webex on request), so shadows in different offices join on equal terms, and a group split across time zones can run it as two sessions. Book about 2 weeks ahead. More formats for groups of new starters are on our new hire onboarding team building page.