Mentoring Your Intern


Outcomes of Effective Mentoring
  • Contributes to employee motivation, performance, and ongoing training
  • Enables new interns to acclimate more quickly to an organizational culture and become productive
  • Provides encouragement for the intern to advance in their profession
  • Inspires mentors to develop leadership skills and advance in their own careers
Qualities of Sussessful Mentors and Interns
  • Mentor:
    - Utilizes strong listening skills
    - Offers frequent and honest feedback,
    - Works to understand the intern's strengths and weaknesses
    - Focuses on the intern's professional as well as personal growth
  • Intern:
    - Displays commitment to professional as well as personal growth
    - Possesses a willingness to learn
    - Displays trustworthiness and objectivity
    - Listens effectively, asks questions, and connects classroom knowledge with experiences
Methods to Enhance the Internship Experience
  • Introduce interns to co-workers and key contacts within the organization. An official welcome will help interns feel part of the team.
  • Utilize the “Buddy System.†New interns can benefit from peer mentors who can show them the ropes and supplement formal training programs designed to accelerate their productivity and sense of belonging.
  • Communicate job expectations in a clear and concise manner. Encourage interns to ask questions to clarify job responsibilities.
  • Facilitate the achievement of performance expectations through feedback and a formal performance appraisal.
  • Assign the intern challenging tasks and projects that offer growth opportunities matched to the intern's abilities and interests.
  • Provide shadowing time for interns to observe how managers manage time, people, and resources.
  • Include interns in staff meetings and related professional activities when possible.
  • Familiarize student interns with company rules and policies.
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