Connect @ Iowa Lakes

During a Job Shadow, students come into your business and spend part of a day, a minimum of two hours, learning as much as possible about what you do. Students will observe and interact with you to see if this career is a good fit for them. During Job Shadow experiences, it is recommended to provide a company tour to show your facilities and expose students to all aspects of your business. 

One of the best ways to show young people that there are many career opportunities available locally is to host an internship. You will work with students to provide them with a head start on their careers through hands-on academic career exploration. Internships are 45 – 90 hours of on-site learning for students tart the summer before their junior year through the spring term of their senior year. In turn, employers can meet and understand their future workforce and nurture the relationships necessary to fill critical positions. 

Share your career path and experience with a small group or an entire classroom. Career speakers open students’ minds to opportunities they may have never considered and inform them about educational and experiential requirements for your career field. 

Career panels are an in-school opportunity for students to interact with professionals in a wide variety of career areas to learn about what it takes to prepare for a specific career and what it takes to succeed in the world of work in general.

Businesses that participate in a mock interview can teach students how to present themselves in a business setting and share in-depth information about workplace readiness, resume writing, and interviewing skills. Through this process, you will conduct a short interview and provide feedback to the student. 

Increase interest in your business or industry by participating in a career fair or career event. Career fairs and events allow you to showcase your career and talk to students in an informal setting. Students explore a variety of career paths and become more comfortable talking with potential employers.

Allowing a teacher to spend a summer “on the job” in an area of business related to their subject area is an integral part of providing teachers with real-world practices to infuse in their classrooms. The insights teachers gain from their experiences allow them to:

• Facilitate the use of real-world examples, as more teachers are utilizing contextual learning.
• Encourage communication between education and the workplace.
• Enhance a teacher’s understanding of all aspects of an industry. 

Connect @ Iowa Lakes provides a valuable career exploration tool you can use to help your students understand that what they’re learning in school applies to real-life.

You can enhance your curriculum and expand your industry knowledge by spending time at a worksite directly related to your classroom.

As students get older and start following a more clearly-defined educational path toward a career, they can get hands-on experience through job shadows and internships. These experiences help students make more informed career decisions.

• Worksite Tours
• Speakers
• Mock Interviews
• Job Shadows – Student Requested
• Internships – Student Requested
• Teacher Tours & Externships