Being Productive During Spring Break Job Shadows

Being Productive During Spring Break Job Shadows As some Illini hit the beaches down south or binge-watch Netflix shows they missed while studying for midterms, I decided to do something different with my break. In January, I saw that the College of Media was offering a spring break job shadow program. Currently a sophomore Advertising major, I thought it would be a great way to get ahead on my future job search and see what kind of companies I would want to work for as an intern  and post-graduation. All I had to do was go to an informational meeting one  afternoon in January. Then in February I went onto I-Link, a  job board just  for Illinois  students, and I started to apply for the shadows. Whats cool about the job shadow program is that Illinois  grads are  willing to host students for an afternoon or even a full day at the companies they work at. It made me want to do the same once I have a career in the advertising field, because it would remind me of where I came from. I ended up getting job shadows at Starcom Mediavest Group, Groupon, and Scranton Gillette Communications. Starcom is a media agency that helps brands decide where to put their ads, whether its Facebook or ESPN. Located in downtown Chicago, it was such a cool office space, and there were lots of young people working there. This would make for a fun time, meeting lots of cool, fun co-workers who share the same passions as  you. Groupon was my favorite job shadow. Groupons headquarters are also in Chicago. The office was huge, and tons of Illinois  grads worked there who were  willing to give advice to Illinois  students like myself. They spoke highly of their time at Illinois  and said they wouldnt be where they are now  without it. Finally, for my third and final job shadow, I went to a Chicago-area communications agency called Scranton Gillette Communications. They help publish trade magazines for home builders, among other countless industries. The Illinois  grads there  loved their jobs and explained what business to business agency is  like. Job shadows are great because if you do like a company you shadow at, youll now  have a contact in  the company, making it easier to get a job there. These job shadows gave me a better sense of what I want to do post-graduation and taught me how far an advertising degree from Illinois  can take me. Daniel Class of 2018 I’m an Advertising major in the College of Media. I’m from a northwest suburb of Chicago called Buffalo Grove. I chose Illinois because it was the first university in the entire world to offer an Advertising major, which is pretty cool!