As you become a successful business owner in your own right, you should give back to the business community at large. Accelerating other people’s learning and career growth by investing time and insight can be very rewarding. None of us has all the answers, especially when we are starting out, and there will be times when help and advice from someone who has already “been there” could help someone else avoid making the same mistakes we made ourselves.
Furthermore, when you take the time to mentor someone, you and your company often benefit from this relationship!
What Do I Need To Know About Establishing A Mentorship?
Here is some information that could be helpful to you as you consider becoming a business mentor:
- Understand Mentorship. If you are considering bringing an intern on board, start by considering their work schedule, what they will do for your company, and how they would benefit from the internship. Internships are about more than just getting cheap or free labor. As a mentor, you will teach your intern about the business environment, how to interact with colleagues and superiors, and how business models work. Business mentorship is about much more than completing menial tasks and running to Starbucks!
- Understand Your Mentee. Everyone has expectations; you’ll be telling your intern what yours are, but remember to ask them what they are expecting from their relationship with you. A mentee should be able to say to you, as the mentor, precisely what they’d like you to do for them, whether it’s to make an introduction, write a recommendation for them, or just provide some business advice.
- Understand Your Limits. When you’re mentoring someone, you might feel obligated to give them advice immediately. However, not all feedback is helpful, and knowing the difference is critical. A good mentor knows when to hit ‘pause’ during a conversation.
- Understand Your Business Better. Fresh eyes mean fresh ideas. A person new to your organization will see things you have missed; they might create a better way of doing something or catch a redundancy costing you money. Mentoring is a unique opportunity to step outside your day-to-day to comprehend how the world looks through someone else’s eyes. Who knows where those fresh ideas could lead you?
How Do I Find Business Interns?
Once you’ve decided you want to begin building business mentor relationships, you need to find the interns! There are several ways you can find likely candidates:
- Ask your business associates and business owners in your network to recommend people they think would be a good fit for your company.
- Connect with area colleges, universities, and trade schools; these locations always have job boards you can use to post your internship opportunities.
- Contact a mentorship-matching organization like Maistro Mentor!
Businesses want interns that offer original insight, add value to workplace operations, maintain respect for culture and values, and strive for growth overall! Here at Maistro Mentor, we help you find the perfect internship candidates for your company!
Maistro interns are professionally educated, trained, and strategically matched with businesses for roles that meet their interests.
Contact us today for more information!