In today’s fierce academic and professional world, employers and higher education often look for unique experience opportunities on your resume. In a sea of internship and job seekers, standing out can be a challenge. One way to bolster your resume and learn valuable experience about your professional area of interest is to do a mentorship. Mentorships or mentorship programs typically include one-on-one mentoring conducted between an experienced professional and someone looking to learn about their specific profession or industry first hand. Mentorship programs can be formal and conducted through a large company with a large number of mentors and mentees using a structured mentorship. Mentorships can also be rather informal and mentors and mentees can be mutual friends or professionals willing to help each other learn something new.
Many times, unpaid internships are advertised as a mentorship program, where young professionals assist a professional or company for a mentorship and networking opportunity in return. When I was an eager freshman in college looking to learn more about my major and the communications industry, I had the opportunity to work with a local non-profit during the summer. I assisted with office tasks, wrote press releases, helped improve their social media, and conducted research on a variety of topics. In return, I taught valuable information about the company and industry I was working in by my mentor and other members of the office staff. I had the opportunity to learn about what every member in the office did daily and helped them complete important projects. I even had the opportunity to get to know the CEO of the company and learn directly from the person in charge. I attended all company events, networking luncheons, and volunteer events where I was able to connect with other industry leaders.
Another type of mentorship that you can take part in is a reverse mentorship. Reverse mentoring is when a younger professional provides an older professional with new, more updated industry knowledge. The young professional can assist the older professional with emerging technology, social media, and other newer trends and tools that can be used to increase efficiency. For example, while I had an older mentor working at the non-profit, I also taught things to my mentor and the rest of the staff that I was learning in my college classes. I held company-wide social media and technology presentations teaching older staff members how to properly use their personal and company social media accounts. This was a great opportunity to reflect on what I was learning in the classroom and improve my presentation skills as well. Like my mentorship experience, both people in the mentorship can be teaching the other person something valuable, making it a mutually beneficial relationship. This opportunity helped me realize what I liked and didn’t like about the job and industry, helping me narrow down what I was interested in doing in the future!
Does a mentorship sound like something you’re interested in? Do you want to learn more about a certain professional, company, or industry? The first step in getting involved is finding a mentor or mentorship program! It can be intimidating to reach out to working professionals. However, most people are happy to help out an up-and-coming young professional and remember what it was like to be in your shoes. You can reach out to a professor, teacher, family friend, or professional at a company you are interested in. Social networking sites like LinkedIn and places like your career services center or school counselor are great places to start looking for a mentor. Some programs can be as long as a few months or as short as a few sessions so there is something for everyone. Also, with the popularity of platforms like Zoom and Skype, it is becoming easier and easier to connect face-to-face with potential mentors all over the world.
Another great place to start is right here at America House! America House will be conducting a mentorship program connecting aspiring young professionals with mentors at companies in a variety of fields. This is a great opportunity to build a relationship with someone successful in their field and grow as a young professional. If you are interested in learning more about the program and want to get involved, check out this page.
Being a part of a mentorship, whether you are the one doing the mentoring, being mentored, or both, can be an extremely rewarding experience. Because the global pandemic has made networking and job-searching much more challenging, being part of a mentorship program is a great way to learn something new and improve upon your professional skills during this challenging time. Once you find a mentor, the most important thing to do is ask a lot of questions, take notes, and learn as much as you can so you can apply those skills later on. One day you may even become the mentor and help other people achieve their dreams!
Vocabulary list:
Fierce (adj): Intense, Competitive
Bolster (v): support or strengthen
Networking (v): interacting with others to exchange information and develop professional or social contacts.
Press Release (n): an official statement issued to newspapers giving information on a particular matter.
Reverse (n): the opposite or contrary to that previously stated.
Emerging (v): become apparent, important, or prominent.
Mutually (adv): an action done by each of two or more parties toward the other or others.
Up-and-Coming (adj): someone making good progress and likely to become successful
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hailey Womer is a third-year student at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York pursuing a dual major in Public Relations and Political Science. With interests in communications, public diplomacy, and politics & government, she hopes to use communication to grow the passions of the public and advocate for others. In her free time, you can find her editing social media content, engrossed in the fashion trends of the season, catching up on the latest political buzz, or on a philanthropic mission to make the world just a little bit brighter!