3 Strategies for Successful Mentorships

When I began college, the First Year Experience program introduced me to three potential mentors by the first day of class.

• Elizabeth, a senior peer
• Dr. Rose, a music professor
• A staff member who I can picture but have otherwise forgotten

Although all three mentors were kind and supportive, none was the right fit, and I hardly spoke to them after the first semester. They were assigned to me because I took Dr. Rose’s class on the history of MTV (I wasn’t a music major; I just liked music videos). And it was never clear what I was meant to gain from these relationships outside of weekly sessions on topics like time management and study skills.

If you’re leading a formalized mentoring program—or thinking about starting one—you know that creating strong mentorships is a tricky business. Research and practice tell us that how these programs are structured is essential to a successful pairing. Following are strategies for shared goals, the mentor-mentee fit, and the role of the mentor that can help mentorships at your institution flourish.

Source: The Jopwell Collection / Unsplash

Understanding Shared Goals

Mentoring in higher education can serve many purposes:

• Easing the college transition
• Increasing social belonging
• Encouraging persistence and graduation
• Building academic and/or career skills
• Facilitating post-college career transitions

Whatever the purpose of your mentoring program, it must be clearly articulated and understood by both mentor and mentee. Ideally, these goals are driven by what the mentee needs, rather than determined by program architects. As an incoming student, I was given three mentors without a clear understanding of why. Years later, I mentored three graduating students from my alma mater, and they had no idea what to do with me. I couldn’t infuse purpose into the relationship; they had to bring their own goals to the table.

Although mentorships should be mentee-driven, that doesn’t mean mentors shouldn’t benefit. Faculty mentors, for example, often accrue tangible benefits when a mentee works as a research or lab assistant. Staff mentors can leverage mentees for new perspectives on campus policies and program ideas. In my work, student interns provide a fresh look at how today’s college students are communicating, living, and thinking about higher education, career planning, and mental health. The best mentorships are not a labor of love but a win-win.

Finding the Right Fit

Once the goals for a mentoring program are established, mentors must match to mentees. Depending on those goals, mentors could be:

• Near peers
• Faculty
• Staff
• Alumni
• Industry experts

Matching isn’t unlike dating: Although technology can help us align mentees and mentors on demographics, interests, and availability, these relationships need to happen organically. Instead of assigning students to mentors, it may be beneficial to provide a forum for mentees to find mentors, like a mixer or “mentor fair.” That way students can observe the breadth of mentors available, see how many fellow students are also seeking mentoring, and informally relate to mentors before being paired.

No matter the goals of a mentoring program, equity should be ever-present. Mentors for underrepresented students must help them navigate educational and career pathways in which they face barriers due to their race, gender, or other characteristics. While the ideal mentor is typically someone with a shared background, this pairing may not always be possible. Appropriate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training must be a prerequisite for mentors working with students who need this kind of additional support.

Providing Unique Opportunities for Mentees

Meetings between mentors and mentees often become general check-ins in which the student shares life updates and the mentor provides advice, but mentors should take a more active role in integrating mentees into academic and professional spaces. This could include:

• Personally showing campus resources to students
• Introducing the mentee to others in their professional network
• Providing a behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of a career
• Recommending the mentee for academic and professional opportunities

Along the way, a mentee may require additional support to deal with feelings of inadequacy, stereotype threat, or mental health challenges. Importantly, a mentor is not a therapist, surrogate parent, or a savior. What a mentor must be able to do, however, is connect students with the appropriate help. This responsibility requires not only awareness of all campus resources but also comfort with making direct handoffs to student services, counseling, and other offices so students feel supported throughout the process.

A Relationship Like No Other

In grad school, I recruited a senior undergrad to walk around campus with me and hand out surveys for my dissertation. We kept in contact after she graduated and spoke several times about her own plans for grad school. I shared advice about where to go (and, importantly, where not to go) and I was so happy to watch her earn her Ph.D. I again provided advice as she followed my same path from academia to industry. I take credit for about 0.001 percent of her amazing success, but it’s still one of the proudest achievements of my career.

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In the end, we all need both mentors and mentees, so I encourage you to leap at those chances. Formalized mentoring programs that establish clear goals, find the right match, and provide specialized opportunities will allow both mentor and mentee to be enriched by the relationship.