Job Shadow Aftermath Questions

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>I'm going to be a sophomore architecture student this fall and shadowed at a firm this week. The firm is really well known and does amazing work, and the guy I shadowed is is a top tier architect - and he's a really nice guy, too. Very sincere.</p>

<p>First question is, should I send a thank you letter or email? To set up the shadow, we only communicated through email, but if it's better etiquette and just nicer to send a handwritten thank you note then I will. I don't want to go over the top and seem like a brown-noser though, if it would be too excessive to send a handwritten letter. We're on a first name basis though, if that matters at all.</p>

<p>Second is, since I shadowed at the firm and was introduced to the people who work there, do I have a good chance of getting an internship there next summer? The architect I shadowed, like I said, was very sincere and appreciative of my initiative to learn more about the profession. There's no doubt that he generally likes me as a student/person. I have an awful memory...but, if I do remember correctly, he offered to let me come into the firm again later in the year if I wanted, and suggested an internship opportunity next year (I think). But I'm not sure. So with those omitted, do I still have the odds in my favor?</p>

<p>I also have great grades, am in the honors college, and my honors advisor actually works at the same firm so he knows me too.</p>

2

<p>That sounds like a great networking opportunity you had! </p>

<p>There is no need to send a handwritten note… a sincere thank-you via email will suffice, and if you shoot something over to the people you met as well, you will already put yourself at a slight advantage over potential applicants next year!</p>

<p>As for getting an internship, you may get one, but you may not. It depends on the applicant pool and the company’s needs. You could be the best budding architect in the world, but if they are looking for juniors who they can extend offers to at the end of summer, you will have a MUCH harder time getting your foot in the door as a sophomore. At the same time, they could be looking for a junior, but someone in the company could say, “Oh hey I remember that guy! Let’s get him working here!”</p>