Are you ready to take your alumni association to the next level?
Implementing a mentoring program can provide new opportunities to engage alumni, foster important relationships with existing students, and connect alumni to one another.
Mentoring Programs in Action
Northwestern University
Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois—one of the best universities in the United States—started its mentorship program in January 2016. According to Annie White, the Director of Engagement and Career Advancement, the benefits of an alumni mentoring program can include:
- Facilitating career connections and professional development within your community
- Increasing meaningful engagement for both alumni and students
- Continuing to add value to the student and alumni experience
University of Melbourne
Other universities have experienced similar successes, with the University of Melbourne’s Mentoring at Melbourne program preparing students for lives of professional contribution, leadership, and to be active global citizens. Their structured, one-to-one mentoring relationships impart crucial guidance and support students in the early stages of career planning.
University of Los Angeles
Similarly, the University of Los Angeles (UCLA) Alumni Mentor Program—now in its 17th year—has helped foster meaningful relationships between alumni and current students, creates connections that prepare students for a successful future, and leaves a lasting impact on its campus community.
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits many universities have seen come out of their own mentoring programs.
Top 3 Perks of Alumni Mentoring Programs
Networking
Connecting those students about to graduate or your recent alumni with those in industries they aspire to work in not only gives them a foot in the door, but also opens them up to new opportunities. Students can learn what it’s actually like to work in that industry and position, and see if it’s right for them or not quite what they expected.
Additionally, having a well-connected alumni network is not only of value to your alumni, but also to your institution as a whole. Continuing to foster those relationships and maintaining a connection with potential employers, industry experts, and more is a great advantage and source of knowledge.
Career Guidance
People attend educational institutions to hopefully advance in certain industries, and while university might teach them theoretical foundations, it might not do enough in educating students on how certain industries work in real life.
That’s why mentoring partnerships are truly valuable; they offer those real-world glimpses into and advice about a dream career mentees only have an academic connection to at this point in their lives.
Knowledge Sharing
An alumni association mentoring program doesn’t only have to pair alumni with students. In fact, pairing your alumni with other alumni in the same industries or working in the same capacity is a great way to continue supporting them and their learning past graduation.
Participants will not only be able to share tacit and industry-specific knowledge, they’ll also learn new hard and soft skills from one another.
At the end of the day, mentoring is a great value-add to your alumni association — as these three benefits are why people join and remain active in alumni associations in the first place!
Ready to learn more about how a mentoring program could benefit your alumni association? Book a demo and we’ll show you how.
