Job Shadow Day: E-Extra!
February 11, 2004
Congratulations on a Successful Job Shadow Day 2004!
On February 2nd, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow - and so did hundreds of thousands of “career mentors” as the 7th Annual Job Shadow Day kicked off a year of Job Shadow around the country! Early indications are this was one of the best Job Shadow Days ever! Tens of thousands of businesses participated at the launch and will continue to do so in the weeks and months ahead! Here are just a few of the highlights of what went on that day!
Highlights!
Student shadows were seen from the boardrooms of Corporate America to the Halls of Congress. Careers being shadowed this year included doctors, lawyers, retailers, systems analysts, elected officials, zoologists, NASA engineers, cosmetologists, meteorologists, librarians, nurses, law enforcement, teachers, pilots, and CEOs, among countless others.
- Kentucky
- Henry County High School participated in National Job Shadow Day on February 9. Of the 600 plus students in the high school, over 300 participated in Shadowing. Several area businesses replied to an ad featured in the Chamber of Commerce newsletter inviting business people to have students spend the day with them. The remaining students at the high school spent the morning learning how to write a resume and how to fill out a job application.
- Louisiana
- The NELA Delta Youth Opportunities 2004 Job Shadow program was a success. With the cooperation of 17 area employers, three sites in East Carroll, Madison and Tensas parishes were able to provide 32 high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to shadow professions within the service area.
- Maryland
- On February 2nd, Blacks in Government (BIG) sponsored its second Groundhog Job Shadow Day for Baltimore City youth. BIG and the Baltimore VA Medical Center provided job-shadowing opportunities to students from the Baltimore City Career Academy. This youth development program was sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Employment Development and funded by the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board - Youth Council.
- Washington, DC
- On February 5th, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hosted over 500 young people from D.C, Maryland, and Virginia. FAA points of interest included the FAA Operations Center, the National Aviation Safety Data Analysis Center, Air Traffic Graphics, Airspace Design Tools workshop, Dress for Success workshop, How to be an Attorney workshop, Interview Skills workshop, and the Principles of Flight workshop with simulator, to name a few.
We’d Love to hear your JSD 2004 stories! Just e-mail your stories and digital photos to us at press@jobshadow.org for inclusion in future E-Xtras and on the www.jobshadow.org website!
Media
There was tremendous media coverage of Job Shadow Day this year. Participating national programs included TODAY, Fox & Friends, Good Morning America, “Cold Pizza” on ESPN, CNBC, and CNN. In addition, hundreds of newspapers across the country have been running stories on JSD, including the New York Daily News, the Washington Times, the Rocky Mountain News, the Albuquerque Journal, the Los Angeles Daily News, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Orlando Sentinel, New York Newsday, the Hartford Courant, the Boston Globe, the Charleston Post and Courier, and the New Orleans Times-Picayune, to name just a few.
Internet
Traffic to www.jobshadow.org in the month of January increased 500 percent over the same period last year, with the majority of people visiting the site being new users. In all, nearly 28,000 copies of the “How To Guide” were downloaded from the website! Traffic usage indicates many more newcomers are participating in Job Shadow and that the effort is engaging even more rural communities and small employers, in addition to large employers and cities that have traditionally been involved.
Virtual Job Shadow
Virtual Job Shadow saw a tremendous surge in web traffic on February 2nd! You can use Virtual Job Shadow to keep the Job Shadow experience alive for your students in the days ahead. Visit www.jobshadow.org and click on the Virtual Job Shadow button!
It’s Not Over Yet!
The Job Shadow Initiative has grown into a yearlong effort. In the coming months, we will provide updates regarding many of the exciting Job Shadow efforts underway. Some of the high profile shadows include former world leaders, professional sports teams, major business leaders, and the heads of government agencies. In addition, keep your eyes peeled for updates on activities leading up to Job Shadow Day 2005!
Once Again, Congratulations on a Successful Job Shadow Day 2004!
A Word for Our Sponsors!
Once again, Job Shadow Day is supported by national co-sponsors Monster and News Corporation!
Additionally, the American Hotel & Lodging Association has signed on as a supporter of Job Shadow Day 2004! AHLA represents more than 11,000 members from the hotel and lodging industries worldwide.