Shadowing Experience on Resume: How and When to Put it

A resume is an important document that job seekers use to market themselves. An employer is often interested in a job seeker’s skills and the value they will bring to the company. So, the resume needs to be well organized and outline the strong points of an employee.

Job shadowing is one of the options people transitioning from one career path to the next can use. Students too can use it on their resumes to impress their potential employers. Let us learn more about how to include shadowing in resume throughout this article:

What is Shadowing?

Some people confuse job shadowing with internships. But, these two have different aspects. With job shadowing, learners observe how employers in particular roles carry out their duties. They do not put their hands on the tasks but instead follow their mentors around like a shadow.

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It is up to a learner to ensure they maximize their learning time with their trainer. They ask as many questions as they would like answered and only take a few days or weeks to shadow. A company may give them a similar task with their personal working space after they are done learning and see how they perform. Once they are done, they can add this shadowing experience on resume to increase their marketability.

Should I Put Shadowing Experience on My Resume?

Can you put shadowing on a resume? Yes! Shadowing is a great way of showing your determination to learn new skills. When transitioning jobs, putting shadowing on resume instead of leaving an unemployment gap is a smart move. Ensure your shadow experience is relevant to what you are applying for. Otherwise, it will not make you stand out from the pool of other candidates.

Even when you are not experienced enough for the position you want to fill, and the employer sees you have put some effort to learn, you will definitely have an advantage over the others.

How to Put Shadowing on Resume

After gaining the skill you were hoping to, the next step is to learn how to put shadowing on resume. As we mentioned, a well-organized resume is a winning one. Because hiring managers have many applications to go through, it only takes them a few seconds to disqualify a candidate.

A job seeker needs to add shadow experience on resume in a captivating manner. Instead of copying someone’s template, it is advisable to go through a job description first and note the keywords used. Using this information, you should craft a resume that is relevant to the description.

Also read: How to pad out a resume.

Also, when you use job-specific keywords, you explore your creative side. Well, keywords should be used in a natural and rich way. Show off your presentation skills on this part.

When you are a new job seeker or individual transitioning careers, there are several ways on how to describe shadowing on resume. Do not let this experience be hidden by other job experiences if you are an experienced professional. You can highlight it in the job summary section, making sure a hiring manager will notice it to grab their attention.

When writing it as part of the job experience section, make sure you write a proper heading with an accurate timeline. Here, talk about the professional you shadowed, the skills acquired, and tasks accomplished if any.

Another unique way of how to list shadowing on resume is by adding it in the education section. Because this part is a top section of a resume, a hiring manager will be interested to continue reading your resume.

It helps when you include your contributions during the shadow period. Instead of just mentioning that you followed and observed a particular professional, go ahead and show what you can do. If you improved some figures, make sure you include them and other achievements that can boost you.

Examples of Adding Shadowing on a Resume

Still not sure about how to create a shadowing resume? Here is how:

Example1: As Part of the Job Summary Section

Shadowed the General Manager for two months, with a total of 40 hours. I gained important managerial skills and aided in day-to-day operations such as going through departmental reports, analyzing competitors’ development projections, and creating weekly objectives.

Example 2: As Part of the Job Experience Section

If you want to use this layout, here is how to list job shadowing on your resume:

Job Shadow – Food and Beverage Service

Marriott International – Maldives

June – August 2019

• Followed food and beverage manager and observed the routine activities
• Greeted and welcomed guests according to the time of the day
• Learned insights about the food and beverage service sequence
• Learned how to talk with dissatisfied and angry guests
• Learned insights on cost and stock control

Example 3: As Part of the Education Section

Want to know how to write shadowing experience on resume in the education section? Here is how:

Princeton University – 2017

Bachelor’s Degree in Education; Early Childhood Development

• Completed a 40-hour shadow experience observing a kindergarten teacher. I contributed by helping with academic activities relevant to children in this age group, such as finger-painting, psycho-motor activities, and reading.

Key Takeaways

Photo by João Ferrão on Unsplash

So, should I put shadowing on my resume? Before considering it, here are a few takeaways:

• There are specific ways to put shadowing on resume to make it stand out. Job seekers should learn to maximize their resume visibility.
• Another important takeaway on how to add shadowing to resume is to make sure you are as specific as possible. Includes things such as who you shadowed, timeline, and place.
• Use relevant keywords for the job add to show the employer you are keen and detail-oriented
• Use active verbs to make your resume interesting and enticing within the first few seconds employers take to disqualify candidates.

Why Listing Shadowing on Your Resume is Important

Sometimes, you get torn between pursuing a particular career path. Job shadowing gives you an opportunity to experience what it is like to work on that career. Because it is a short-term experience, you can choose to continue growing in that part or drop it if you don’t like the experience.

A shadowing experience resume shows an employer you are an action taker. Before considering applying for that position, the hiring manager sees your commitment to becoming successful in it through such exposure.

A resume shadowing experience prevents having a gap for professionals changing careers. When you are experienced, some companies are hesitant about taking you in when they find that gap. Get tips on how to put shadowing experience on resume from a professional third party to capture the gap with that exposure.

When You Should Not Add It

Do you put shadowing on your resume and when? Yes, it gives a recruiter something extra about your aggressiveness. But, not all times this experience is irrelevant. That is why before you consider this option, learn how to put job shadowing on resume.

For example, if you shadowed in a job that provided you with skills that are not relevant to the position you want, do not add it. The experience won’t make sense to the job description provided and can be a gateway to your disqualification. So, knowing how to add shadowing experience to a resume and when prevents such unfavorable results.

Also, when you are a skilled professional and not transitioning careers, adding this experience is not important. How to describe shadowing experience on resume is more important to those in the first stages of building their careers. So, this part will only make your resume as an expert bulky without adding value.

Also read: What is resume fluff?

Conclusion

Are you considering using a shadow experience you had in your job search documents? Don’t just do it for the sake. Learn how to include shadowing on resume from a person who has done it before, resume writing professionals or coaches. Ask them important questions such as how do you introduce yourself when shadowing? Remember you are competing with other competitive candidates for the same position. So, it is up to you to ensure your resume beats the rest.

For secretive and shy students we have this guide about hiding confidentiality on resumes.