“The organizations are fortunate to have such competent help from eager-to-learn youngsters, and it also made me as a mentor feel proud to be there for my intern professionally and as a friend… Our experience was only a positive one, and I hope that our intern will seriously consider a career in arts management.”

Overview

What is a mentor?

According to the National Mentoring Partnership, a mentor is an adult who, along with parents/guardians, provides a young person with support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and sets a constructive example. Mentors are good listeners, people who care, people who want to help young people bring out strengths that are already there. A mentor is not a babysitter, therapist or cool peer.

What does it mean to a be a workplace mentor?

Working professionals can mentor on the job. A workplace mentor serves as a boss and a teacher. As a workplace mentor you model effective work habits, help a young person to understand the nature of the work through “real world” experiences and help them navigate through the dynamics of the work environment. You play a significant role in the life of the young person by opening the door to your profession and providing them an opportunity to work and learn valuable skills, which they would not otherwise acquire in school. Being a workplace mentor can be an immensely rewarding experience.

How much time does it take to be a workplace mentor?

In The Center for Arts Education’s Career Development Program, our workplace mentors host an intern, also known as their mentee, for 13 weeks, 12 hours per week. Other work-based learning opportunities include:

• Career Day – often hosted by a school, featuring working professionals who speak to a group of students about their career paths, job descriptions and training.
• Job Shadowing – One or more students observe employees at a company for part of or an entire day in order to gain an inside peak at the industry and work environment.
• Internship – An intern’s role is 50% student and 50% entry-level employee. He or she may intern with a company for a set period of time, typically at least one month to a year.
• Workplace visits for Educators – An opportunity for teachers and school administrators to meet with and observe working professionals in their work environment. When educators connect with the industry, they become better equipped to improve the quality of career development curriculum in their schools.

What are the benefits of workplace mentoring?

As a workplace mentor, you provide an opportunity to nurture potential employees of your company, especially young people from diverse backgrounds who may not otherwise connect with your company or industry. Many of the interns who participate in The Center for Arts Education’s Career Development Program are the first in their family to attend college. Time and again, the interns credit their experiences interning under a mentor’s guidance with improved self-esteem and self-awareness as well as the ability to communicate effectively with adults and having acquired stronger workplace skills and knowledge. As a workplace mentor, you can contribute to the improved quality of life for a young person while also benefiting your company or organization.

“This program gave me the chance to learn about myself and afforded me the opportunity to work at my dream job. It also gave me clarity as to what I want to do with my life and opened my eyes to all the opportunities kids have for the future. This program is life-altering.”

What does it take to be an effective workplace mentor?

Our expectations for all of our workplace mentors are as follows:

• Have an interest in helping youth and the ability to communicate effectively with them;
• Commit to the time necessary to support your student throughout the duration of the internship (12 hours per week for 13 weeks at The Center for Arts Education);
• Assure that the student has meaningful activities to pursue on a regular basis and provide constructive criticism and feedback in an encouraging and patient manner;
• Introduce students to workplace policies and procedures and help them to navigate any work-related questions, conflicts or challenges;
• Collaborate with your student to set goals that will benefit the workplace as well as contribute to the student’s short- and long-term career objectives.

How do I become a workplace mentor?

If you work in the arts or arts related industries in New York City and would like to become a workplace mentor with The Center for Arts Education’s Career Development Program, please email: careerdevelopment@cae-nyc.org.

No matter where you are, your community is always looking for enthusiastic professionals who are interested in mentoring a young person. To find out how to become a mentor, please refer to the websites for mentors link below (anchor link). In addition, you can reach out to high schools and colleges in your area or faith-based and/or community organizations. The National Mentoring Partnership ( www.mentoring.org), Big Brothers Big Sisters ( www.bbbs.org) and the Boys & Girls Club of America ( http://www.bgca.org/ ), can also work with you or your company to set up mentoring opportunities.

• The National Mentoring Partnership: www.mentoring.org

• Big Brothers Big Sisters: www.bbbs.org

• Boys & Girls Club of America: www.bgca.org

• Harvard Mentoring Project: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/chc/wmy2008/index.html

• Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota www.mentoringworks.org
Training tools and resources

• Workplace Mentoring Guide For Education, Business and Industry Partners of Connecticut's School-to-Career Initiative: Connecticut LEARNS. http://tinyurl.com/275hkm

• Los Angeles Workplace Mentoring Model: www.youthmentoring.org

• Public/Private Ventures: www.ppv.org
Provides leading research on mentoring and workforce development issues

• US Department of Education’s Mentoring Resource Center: www.edmentoring.org