[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/upasana.jpg” caption=”Placed with physiotherapist and McMaster graduate Rajan Suppiah, Upasana Banejee recently joined a number of McMaster students participating in Career Services’ annual Job Shadow Week. The week offered students the opportunity to choose from nearly 100 job placements, many with alumni working in their chosen field.”]Careers are not like cars – you can't test drive a job before you devote time and energy into getting it. Unless, of course, you're Upasana Banejee.

Placed with physiotherapist and McMaster graduate Rajan Suppiah, Banejee recently joined a number of McMaster students participating in Career Services' annual Job Shadow Week. The week offered students the opportunity to choose from nearly 100 job placements, many with alumni working in their chosen field.

“I chose a field that I was interested in but didn't really know a lot about,” said Banejee. “After working with Rajan, I now know that physiotherapy is a career path that I would thoroughly enjoy.”

Job shadowing gives students the opportunity to engage with mentors from the careerLINKS program who teach students about what they do for a living and how they got into their current career. It also allows them to network and meet valuable contacts in their industry.

“Rajan was really motivated, which really helped me learn the many different aspects of the job,” said Banejee. “I was amazed to see his dedication to his patients. I can't think of a better way to learn about physiotherapy than through this experience.”

Banejee added that she thoroughly enjoyed the job shadow and would highly recommend it to any McMaster student, regardless of whether they know that they are interested in a particular field or not.

Career Services offers a variety of tools to help students develop resumes, hone interview and networking skills and perform successful job searches. If you missed Job Shadow Week but would like to be connected with a careerLINKS mentor, drop by Career Services or check out their website.