Developing the Detroit Region’s talent pipeline is complex, long-term work, and it can be difficult for employers to understand how they can make a more immediate impact. Fortunately, there is one thing regional businesses can do now that will contribute to talent development: encourage their employees to mentor students and recent graduates.
Connecting with a mentor helps students grow their professional network, practice foundational skills like communication and follow-through, and increase their confidence. This is especially true for students who are the first in their family to attend college. Often, these students aren’t able to leverage relationships that their parents developed while they were in college when it comes time to land a first job or internship. This social capital is critical to economic mobility, as it is often who we know rather than what we know that helps us land jobs and advance our careers.
How to Get Started With Mentorships as an Employer
CareerSpring is a resource that connects advisors to students. It serves first generation and low-income students as they prepare to begin their professional careers, offering information, advice, and job connections.
Here are some comments that CareerSpring advisors shared after their virtual meeting with a student:
- “I enjoyed speaking with Joyce yesterday. I thought Joyce was prepared, eager, and asked great questions. I found her to be open to feedback and appropriately challenged the feedback I provided.”
- “Casey came with a great attitude and wonderful questions! She saw that I spoke French so we did the meeting in French. I encouraged her to leverage CareerSpring more too. Casey is doing amazing, and I am excited to chat again.”
- “Engaged well and was appreciative of the time spent. Open to feedback and came in with a clear question to discuss.”
- “I enjoyed the conversation with Arsalan. He had great questions about leadership style and was inquisitive about my background.”
Employers play a key role in developing the next generation of talent, and facilitating mentorship opportunities is a great way to work in this space. To learn more about CareerSpring and its benefit to companies, attend the Detroit Regional Chamber’s webinar, Mentorship to Drive Talent Development, on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 11 a.m.