How To Set Up a Mentorship Program for Student Workers

By Ashley Paskill on January 14, 2025

College students are in school to learn about the field they are studying. Whether they are interning with your company or are a paid employee, they are learning hands-on skills while they are working with you. These skills are valuable, but providing them with mentoring can take their learning one step further into developing relationships. Building a great mentorship program can be super beneficial for your student employees and interns.

Start early

As soon as you bring the student onto your team, match them with a mentor. This can be someone in the same role with more experience or a more advanced role. Either way, the student will be able to learn from the other person. Introduce them within the first week or two so they can get acquainted and allow them to set up a meeting schedule that works for them. Pairing a student worker with a mentor early on allows them time to connect with and learn from their mentor, no matter how long they are with your company.

Promote your program

The only way people will participate is if they know about it! When you hire new employees, whether they are students or experienced candidates, let them know that your mentorship program exists. You may even opt to put it as a benefit on your job listing. Be sure to tell people the basic guidelines and expectations before they commit so they know what they are signing up for. This way, they do not get overwhelmed if it requires more work or effort than they can commit to.

Cater to learning styles

Everyone has a unique way of learning. Whether it is from shadowing a mentor or talking to them and asking questions, mentoring can allow students of any learning style to gain new skills and perspectives on the field they are in. When you are pairing students and mentors, ask the students how they learn best and see which mentors would be able to teach them best in this way. When you first pair the mentor and the mentee, have them connect to ensure their personalities and learning/teaching styles will work out. This way, your student is able to learn as much as they can and the mentor is left feeling like their efforts are making a difference to help the employee grow as much as possible.

Image via Pexels

Have established guidelines and goals

Having guidelines and goals in place for what your mentors and mentees should accomplish is crucial. Otherwise, they may not know what to do or how to go about the mentor/mentee relationship. This is especially true if neither has been in this sort of program before. Help each person set boundaries and ensure that things stay as professional as possible. Each program can achieve specific goals, whether that means giving guidance to mentees or building connections amongst your team. Having set goals will give you a way to measure the success of the mentorship.

Provide training

Once your employees have been matched with a mentor or mentee, provide training to each participant so they know the expectations, guidelines, and goals. This is especially important if participants have not participated in a mentorship program, but even if they have, each program is different. There are general courses online for being a good mentor or mentee. However, you will also want to have at least one training session on your specific mentorship program to be sure everyone is on the same page with the goals, guidelines, and rules.

Check-ins

Check in every couple of weeks to make sure your mentors and mentees are benefitting from the program. This check-in also allows you to evaluate things that may need to be updated in the mentorship program. Be open to feedback and questions, even outside of your check-in. Doing so will communicate that you care about the success of the program and your employees. You may also want to provide feedback to participants, especially if certain matches seem to be struggling. When participants accomplish things together, celebrate these achievements and be sure to document them to showcase the successes of the program.

Benefits of mentorship

It may seem like a lot of work, but building a mentorship program for student employees has a lot of benefits for the student and your company. Your student will be able to learn new skills, build relationships, and make connections within their field. They will build their professional skills while also developing their personality. This is obtained through advice and guidance from the mentee. Your company will be seen as one that truly cares about its employees, and if the students are satisfied with their mentoring, they may be motivated to stay as an employee and mentor students like they were mentored. Your employees will be more engaged

Mentorship programs that cater to student workers can be beneficial to mentees, mentors, and the company as a whole. This is especially true if it is done properly with care and intention.

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