The Michigan ACE Network seeks to empower women professionals by providing outstanding professional development and networking opportunities. In the tradition of great cutting-edge programming, the Michigan ACE Network for Women Leaders in Higher Education has developed a dynamic new opportunity to enhance the professional skills of future women administrators, The Michigan ACE Network Job Shadowing Program.
 

Through this job shadowing program, Michigan women will have the opportunity to explore new career options through one-on-one work-related learning experiences with successful women professionals in higher education institutions. The Michigan ACE Network Job Shadowing Program directly addresses the objectives of Goal 5 of the 2003-2008 Strategic Plan by Linking Women Leaders at All Levels to One Another.

The Michigan ACE Network Job Shadowing Program provides an opportunity for women in the state to link with women leaders at various 2-year and 4-year public and private institutions that participate in the Michigan ACE Network for Women Leaders. Women currently holding positions of leadership in which other women are interested will voluntarily share information about their jobs through on-site job shadowing experiences and formal dialogue about opportunities and challenges of their work environment.

Why Should You Participate in the Job Shadowing Program?

The Job Shadowing Program offers participants the opportunity to explore career options that provide upward mobility in specific areas of interest. Shadowing introduces program participants to individuals who have expertise and experience in professional positions to which program participants may aspire. Participants may spend a business day, or a portion thereof, with professional women who, in turn, seek to encourage the advancement of women in higher education leadership positions.

Experiences are flexible and available for:

• A few hours (Informational Interviewing)
• Half day
• Full day

Who Should Participate in The Job Shadowing Program?

Women leaders who aspire to senior administrative positions in higher education should participate in this program. Women who want to learn how other women successfully moved into and retained upper-level leadership positions at institutions of higher education should immediately become involved.

Benefits

The Job Shadowing Program provides participants with access to specific information and useful guidance on how to progress successfully in specific professional areas. The program demystifies the career advancement process. In addition, the program provides an on-the-job experience that offers participants the opportunity to:

1. Engage in one-on-one interaction with experienced and respected women professionals
2. Set realistic career plans
3. Gain insight about career options and benefits
4. Network with other women leaders
5. Investigate position benefits

Primary Responsibilities of the Participant

1. Apply for the job shadowing experience by completing the application and letter of inquiry and submit it directly to the selected leadership volunteer with a copy to your Institutional Representative.
2. If selected, the participant must then:
   • Contact the leadership volunteer to set a date for the shadowing experience and establish outcomes.
   • Complete a thorough search via the web on the university/college and the position of interest
   • Prepare questions to use as a guide (Informational Interviewing)
   • Interview the professional being shadowed
   • Observe the daily duties and responsibilities of the professional being shadowed
   • Complete an evaluation of job shadowing experience (To Be Developed)
   • Prepare a thank-you note to the woman professional you shadowed and indicate what you learned as a result

Primary Responsibilities of the Leadership Volunteer

1. Complete the Leadership Volunteer form and submit it to the State Coordinator with a copy to your Institutional Representative.
2. When contacted by the participant, set a date for the shadowing experience and establish outcomes.
3. On the date of the shadowing experience, complete these tasks at minimum:
   • Demonstrate and/or discuss the job and daily responsibilities with the participant.
   • Advance the knowledge of the participant about the job; how the job fits into the institution's structure and how the position relates to other departments/employees.
   • Provide realistic one-on-one insight concerning the position.
   • Allow the participant to attend "typical" meetings as an observer so she can watch you interact with colleagues, determine how you chair a meeting (if appropriate), observe your informal behaviors, assess meeting outcomes, etc.
   • Introduce the participant to your colleagues and allow her to interact with them about their jobs and how your position "fits" within the university/college.
   • Help the participant gain an overall understanding of the work you complete your university.

02/19/04