Externships & Shadowing

Here you’ll find guidelines for job shadowing to learn about careers. For industry-specific advice, be sure to check out the Career Communities.

The Externship Experience

Grinnell students connect to, learn from, and enjoy their time with alumni hosts through the Externship Experience. First through third years spend time during spring break 2026 shadowing alumni virtually or in person. Students witness first-hand how alumni navigate work-life alignment, often attending meetings, trying sample projects, engaging in informational interviews, and exploring a new community (for in-person externships) while enjoying a homestay. Questions? Email: The Externship Experience.

Externship squirrel looking through binoculars

Externship Information for Students

Get started with your externship experience application!

Externship squirrel looking through binoculars

Externship Information for Alumni Hosts

Thank you for your interest in hosting an extern!


Professional & Personal Thank You Notes

At a recent leadership conference, CLS Senior Director Dani Perkins heard from multiple employers that while cover letters are often ignored in the hiring process, post-interview thank you notes may be added in the plus column to a candidate’s hiring …

By Robin Bourjaily
Robin Bourjaily Assistant Director, Exploratory Career Community
Read more

What Is an Externship (and How to Get One)?

Choosing a career path can be difficult and even nerve-racking when you’re applying to jobs but don’t even know what a day in the role would look like. Externships, typically short programs where you shadow a professional, can help give …

Read more

What is Job Shadowing? Definition, Benefits, and How to Set It Up

The job search is exciting because there are so many options for what you can do — but for the same reason, it can also be overwhelming. How can you figure out what you want to do if you don’t know …

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Resources

Please note: Externship Experience Grants apply exclusively to Externship Experiences listed through this website. If you have any questions, please …

Get Ready

Please note: The 2026 application period is now over. Information here may be helpful for this year’s externs.

New this year: Students will be submitting their applications directly to hosts during the application windows. You will receive an …

Externship hosts, please download a copy of this memorandum for your records, complete the Signature Page, and upload that page …

Externship Experience Alumni Hosts

Meet Sasha
  • Urbandale, Iowa
  • Operations Manager, Founder, CEO Collabry, Iowa Black History Research Collective
Meet Kari
Meet Maggie
  • Anchorage, Alaska
  • Archaeologist Bureau of Land Management, Anchorage Field Office
Meet Jenny
Meet Leonard
Meet Shannon
Meet Deepit
  • Montclair, NJ
  • Head of Corporate and Policy Communications Chime
Meet Liyan
Meet Kendra
Meet Rochelle
  • San Francisco, CA
  • Senrior Planner and Landscape Architect University of California, San Francisco
Meet Joy
Meet Graciela

Build Skills

LinkedIn Learning courses are available to all current students.  For Alumni Access please visit LinkedIn Learning to start an account.

Contact Us

Phone
(641) 269-4940
Address

John Chrystal Center
1103 Park Street
Grinnell, IA 50112

Hours

Monday 8:00am–5:00pm
Tuesday 8:00am–5:00pm
Wednesday 8:00am–5:00pm
Thursday 8:00am–5:00pm
Friday 8:00am–5:00pm
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