Jane Alm (centre)
is a Senior Investment Advisor with National Bank Financial in Edmonton and a
first time job shadow host with U of A Job Shadow Week. We asked Jane about her
experience hosting two job shadow participants on the same day, at the same
time.
Jing Meng (left)
is a MBA student majoring in Finance with a background in mathematics,
accounting and price analysis. This was her first time job shadowing.
Stephanie Qin
(right) is an international student majoring in Finance with a minor in
Management Information Systems. She is a senior peer at the International
Centre and first-time job shadow participant.
From our e-interview
with Jane Alm:
What is your role at
Angus Watt Advisory Group?
In my role I build relationships with clients to get an
understanding of their needs and changes to those needs. I lend my knowledge of
options strategies, wealth management, retirement planning and asset
allocation, and offer experience that ensures my clients are comfortable with
their investments and decisions so that they understand how their needs/goals
will impact them, their family, their retirement expectations, etc.
What made hosting two
job shadow participants at the same time a unique for both you and the
participants?
The two participants seemed to feed off each other with both
questions and answers. It helped them to be more comfortable and more open.
How do you think the
participants benefited from sharing you as a job shadow host?
All the members of our team participated throughout the day
so the participants had access to a diverse group of individuals in various
roles.
What did you gain as
a professional from hosting your job shadow participants?
We gained greater knowledge into their perspectives and
insight into their thought process as well as their perceptions about our
industry.
What advice would you
give to other hosts on how to manage two job shadow participants?
Preparing for two job shadowers at the same time is no
different than preparing for one participant; in fact, it is likely easier
because they ask more questions which requires less
probing as they were more
forthcoming.
From our e-interview
with Stephanie Qin and Jing Meng:
What made sharing a
job shadow host with another student a unique experience for you?
Stephanie: Sharing the job shadow actually created a supportive and
flexible environment. We both came up with different questions to ask and it
gave me a chance to hear things I never thought about before.
Jing: It was interesting to meet a fellow student
with the same career interest to job shadow with.
How do you think you
benefited from sharing a job shadow host?
Stephanie: It is always great to meet new people both from school and
diverse industry professionals. After the job shadow we shared our experience
with one another, our perceptions and ideas.
Jing: I gained a new perspective from
Stephanie and it made the experience that much better when we were able to
share each other’s point of view.
What advice
would you give to other students about sharing a job shadow experience?
Stephanie: Be sure to prepare questions ahead of time. The job shadow host
might introduce you to all of the other team members so it is very important for
participants to do some research online beforehand on LinkedIn or on the
organization’s website. This way you can have better conversations because you
have a starting point or topics to ask about.
