Benefits of Mentoring
"Mentoring works best when it focuses on the entire person versus focusing on skill development alone."
Most mentoring programs are designed for the benefit of mentees, and they encourage participants to come into a relationship with specific goals and expectations. The benefits of mentoring, however, often extend far beyond the relationship's initial purpose and affect everyone involved: mentees, mentors, and the organization.
Benefits for Mentees
- Access to a support system during critical stages of college and career development
- Insider perspective on navigating their chosen career
- Clear understanding and enhancement of academic and career development plans
- Ability to develop mentoring relationships in industries where mentoring is not readily available
- Enhanced understanding of the importance of mentors
- Exposure to diverse perspectives and experiences
- Direct access to power resources within the professions of audiology; speech-language pathology; and speech, language, and hearing science
- Identification of skill gaps before leaving school
- Greater knowledge of career success factors
- A lasting career network
Benefits for Mentors
- Exposure to the emerging talent pool
- Ongoing attention to mentor's own career development
- Satisfaction from imparting wisdom and experience to others in the profession without a huge time commitment
- Enhancement of coaching, mentoring, leadership, and management skills
- Chance to be exposed to a diversity of thought, style, personality, and culture
- A way to recruit employees for the mentor's industry/company
- Feedback loop to students and school regarding curriculum needs
- Greater knowledge of recruiting success factors
- A way to "give back" to their association
- A lasting career network
