Applications Due April 19

The University of Vermont’s Career Center has rolled out an expanded global job shadowing program for the summer of 2018 designed to help domestic students build their global networks and international students find jobs in their home countries. 

UVM alumni in 19 international organizations in nine countries have agreed to host a total of 33 students for one or two-day shadows. UVM launched its international job shadowing program, one of the few in higher education, last year with positions in three countries. 

The deadline for students to apply is April 19. Interested students should submit a resume and short essay to Kim Ead, international career counselor in the Career Center, describing why they want to participate in the job shadowing program and why they’ve chosen a particular host.

Students who qualify will be placed in job shadows on a first-come, first-served basis. The application form is here. 

Quality and quantity

Ead said she was pleased with the quality, as well as the quantity, of job shadowing opportunities this year. She cited positions with the World Wildlife Fund’s Pakistan office in Lahore, the global supply chain company KLG-ITM Logistics in Shanghai, the International Atomic Energy Commission in Vienna, the global consumer goods firm Li & Fung Limited in Hong Kong and the media giant News UK in London as examples.

The program is geared both to international students seeking a shadowing experience in their home country and to domestic students who are studying abroad, said Ead.  

“In today's interconnected world, having an international experience is valuable for all students,” she said. “It allows domestic students to build their global experience and global network. International students also have that opportunity, but if they are unable to find work in the U.S. when they finish at UVM, they are also creating a network in their home or other country that can support them in a more permanent job search.”

According to a survey conducted by LinkedIn, 80 percent of jobs are filled through networking.

“Reach out any time”

Ryan Brucato, a senior in the Grossman School of Business, took advantage of a two-day job shadow at Bleacher Report in London when he was studying abroad in Vienna last summer. The shadow was hosted by UVM alum Jessie Shaw, director of business development at the sports website, which has editions in multiple countries.

“I went through both days with him and looked at the tasks that he did,” Brucato said.

He also had the opportunity to talk with 20 other people in the office. “It was really interesting to see what they did, how they get this content to people all over the world.”

The chance to build his international network -- with Shaw at the center, who said Brucato could reach out to him at any time -- was also a positive.

“One of my concentrations in marketing is global business, so it really did help from that standpoint, too,” he said.  

For one international student: an internship and a job offer

For international student Ying Wang, a senior accounting major from Shanghai, her job shadowing experience last summer in Shanghai was doubly beneficial.

Wang spent a day observing Ruby Hsu, an international student who graduated from UVM in 2016, in the human resources department of Shanghai U-Learn Education Group, an international educational organization.

At the end of job shadow, the company offered Wang a two-month internship, which she began the next day and, more recently, a permanent position after she graduates in May. 

Before talking with Ead, Wang was “confused about what a job shadow was. I didn’t know what I should do in that day,” she says.

Today she urges all international students to learn about and experience a job shadow.

“It’s a really good opportunity to talk with someone from your home country with similar experience,” she says. “You can learn how they got their job, so you have more experience and knowledge when you want to find a job for yourself.”

International job shadows are available for the following positions in the following organizations:

 

 

PUBLISHED

03-06-2018
Jeffrey R. Wakefield