Can I shadow someone at work for free?

[FranksBank]

If I ever had time to rejoin the work force?

I was a PA for 5 years. Began studying to become a nurse, left because my Dc1 is disabled.

DC2 is also disabled. And it means I am a carer full time now, and have been for 4.5 years.

If I do rejoin the workforce, would companies be willing to let me 'shadow' a PA/EA for free? Just so I can see if it's a job I can still be in, albeit very Junior as I'd been out for so many years

I wouldn't be looking to try and get a job offer. I would just be on hand to run light errands in exchange for their time and showing me how things are done now, if it's a lot different to when I was last in a private workforce.

Really appreciate any advice

very very very unlikely

That's a shame. I suppose a lot of it will be down to data protection now, in addition to practical reasons

Potentially, if you framed it as “work experience” and all you wanted was to shadow for a day or two. But it depends on the workplace, it wouldn’t be really possible where I work because almost everything contains sensitive information about individuals/companies and so you wouldn’t be clear to access those materials without having a signed contract of employment which includes confidentiality etc. They’d also have to be careful giving you anything to do as it would then come under unpaid work and for this reason alone I think most companies would say no to this request because it would potentially open themselves up to claims of working & no pay.

Hi, don’t sell yourself short - you do not have to work for free. Be confident that you have marketable skills

I think I’d tackle it this way:

• talk to friends and acquaintances or on local SM and gather some ideas whic are the good local employers. Send a cv on spec and monitor them for opportunities.
• volunteer to support a charity in an admin support role, this will be better than working for free in a private company
• contact the local library or search online for free IT skills training courses

It's going to depend a lot where you work, whether things have changed dramatically (how many years are we talking?) Some places will now be using AI tools for taking minutes and apps for managing calendars etc. it isn’t tricky to get the hang of 🤫

If you started in nursing, did you consider looking for a part time job in a healthcare admin role? Badly paid but LOADS round my way. They are constantly looking for efficient people with a level head and god people skills to manage data and coordinate their departments. With your PA experience, a bit of nursing training, and experience of your kids’ disabilities I’m sure they would bite your hand off to get you working, Plus there ARE flexible or at least part time opportunities if you keep hunting.

Thank you @PriyaPT

I was last in a role about 5 years ago now. Use to Microsoft Outlook, Edexcel

What are you wanting to get out of the shadowing process, exactly? Is it that you specifically want to see what particular roles involve, or are you just looking for general insights into how offices and workplaces operate these days. If the latter, volunteering for a charity might be an option? Though they will probably ask for a minimum time commitment to make it worth the effort of inducting you etc.

Reach out to all sorts of places, but if you have the time to do this for free, could you do volunteering? It's great experience.

Could you join a temp agency? Doing admin/reception type tasks? Once they know you're good then you might stand a better chance of getting a full time role with one of the places you've temped at? If you start off doing reception then that could lead into a more senior PA type role.

I went back to work in a similar role with a much bigger gap than you. My "in" was via agency temp work - that might be worth a try?

You were last a PA 4.5 years ago?

That is really not very long ago Op.

If you were good at your job before, you’ll be good at it now!

So just apply for jobs

Agree with temping.

A company is unlikely to agree to shadowing as there is nothing in it for them. You could try and frame it though as asking to be a paid intern for a month doing admin.

I think you should just apply for jobs though, being a PA hasn't changed that much in a few years apart from increase in setting up virtual meetings.

I agree with other posters about joining some agencies and doing temp work , it has the added bonus of very little commitment so you can leave if you don’t like a place .

Yes, just apply for jobs. Some things might have moved on; I barely used sharepoint 5 years ago for example but you can get up to speed on things like that using YouTube. Diary management, meeting booking etc are still the same.