Helpful summary
- Overview: In this MentorCruise article, we'll cover various mentorship activities that can help mentors tailor their programs and better support their mentees toward achieving their goals.
- Why you can trust us: Success stories, like Daniel Carlman's career pivot with mentor Farzad's guidance in mastering React, show how our platform has helped facilitate meaningful mentorships.
- Why this is important: Tailored mentorship activities can greatly enhance mentees' learning experiences. Mentors must confidently guide their mentees through the learning process.
- Action Points: We encourage mentors seeking to enhance their mentoring programs and offer improved learning experiences to explore different mentoring activities. This way, they can discover what works best for their mentees.
- Further Research: We recommend staying up to date with the latest mentoring trends and activities, as they can offer a clear path to help your mentees succeed in their professional journey.
Need help discovering effective mentorship activities?
Having someone on your side, offering guidance and support, can have a big impact on your skill development and your attitude towards work. A recent CNBC study shows that a startling 91% of employees with mentors are not only comfortable with their careers, but more than half of them are "very satisfied."
Mentorcruise recognizes the value of these mentoring activities. We connect professionals seeking guidance with experienced mentors who are knowledgeable and ready to help others. Our platform is focused on developing these connections.
In this article, we'll go over mentorship activities that can help drive the success of your mentorship program.
Why listen to us?
MentorCruise has matched thousands of mentors with mentees to help them accelerate their development. From workshops to skill-building tasks, we've facilitated a range of mentorship activities that foster personal and professional growth.
Our mentors, like Farzad Yousefzadeh and Sandrina Pereira,, have proven invaluable in these journeys. By participating in diverse mentorship activities, their mentees have gained insights, built networks, and achieved their career objectives, showcasing the effectiveness of our approach.
What are mentorship activities?
Mentorship activities are different ways mentors and mentees interact to help the mentee grow personally and professionally. They can be as simple as grabbing coffee or as structured as a workshop. The main aim? To create a bond and share your knowledge and experience to the mentee’s benefit.
Among these activities are regular meetings, skill-building tasks, and performance reviews. Whether it's a chat or formal training, mentorship activities are all about helping mentees progress and reach their career goals.
Why are mentorship activities important?
Boosting confidence
Mentees appreciate having a mentor who believes in their abilities. Through consistent feedback, encouragement, and support, mentees can cultivate the belief they need to follow through on their goals.
You’ll see the results in several aspects of life, from interviews and public speaking to tackling new projects.
For instance, Kyle wanted to brush up on his foundational software engineering skills and land a new job. Initially, his confidence took a hit when he faced multiple challenges and rejections from his technical interviews. However, things changed when he connected with Hossam.
Hossam provided Kyle with expert feedback and strategies on how to improve both his coding and communication skills. With his support, Kyle restored his self-confidence and secured a role as a software engineer, where he now collaborates effectively with colleagues and senior engineers.
Goal setting and accountability
Setting clear, achievable goals is a key element of personal and professional development. As a mentor, you can help your mentees identify realistic objectives and develop a plan to reach them. Additionally, mentors hold their mentees accountable, providing that extra push they might need to stay on track and make consistent progress toward their goals.
Gaining new perspectives
One of the most valuable aspects of mentorship is the ability to gain different insights and perspectives from industry leaders or experts. Imagine how much you would benefit from this advice if you were starting out.
You can share experiences, lessons learned, and different ways of thinking, which can help your mentees approach challenges and opportunities in new, more effective ways.
Things to keep in mind when choosing a mentorship activity
Goals and objectives
Understand what your mentee aims to achieve through the mentorship. Whether it’s improving specific skills, gaining knowledge in certain areas, or developing professionally, the activities chosen should directly contribute to these goals.
Adapt to different learning styles
Take into account the current skill level and preferred learning style of your mentee. Some may benefit more from hands-on experiences, while others might prefer reading, research, or one-on-one discussions. Tailoring mentorship activities to fit these preferences can improve learning and engagement.
Let’s take a look at Ryan Wilson’s experience with Jordi Scharloo as an example. Ryan wanted to switch careers into ethical hacking and cybersecurity after his retirement—which is why he connected with Jordi, a mentor with over several years of experience in the field.
At first, they handled their daily tasks over the phone, including setting goals and providing project feedback. However, Ryan wasn't comfortable learning and getting feedback via phone calls. Recognizing this, Jordi changed their communication method to Skype chats, which Ryan preferred. This adjustment significantly accelerated Ryan's growth, allowing him to achieve his goal in just three months.
Give them a dose of reality
Choose activities that offer practical, real-world application of skills and knowledge. This could involve working on live projects, shadowing you or another professional, or attending industry events. Applying what they learn in real situations can help mentees better understand the material and its relevance to their goals.
Here are some effective mentorship activities you can try
Career planning
Career planning with a mentee involves detailed discussions about their professional goals and how to reach them. This includes improving their resume, focusing on their job search, and practicing interviews. For those seeking tech positions, a mentor can guide their mentees in relevant technical skills, particularly those that would benefit their project portfolio.
Skill development
Skill development activities are customized to fit the mentee's industry and personal growth objectives. In the tech field, this could include coding workshops for learning new languages or frameworks. For those aspiring for leadership positions, it might involve role-playing exercises to enhance communication and management skills. These sessions provide mentees with a supportive environment to practice and receive helpful feedback promptly.
Take Daniel Carlman, for instance, who found himself pivoting his career by 180 degrees during his country's severe recession. Transitioning into the tech field, he faced the challenge of quickly mastering React, which led him to overlook crucial steps.
However, with the mentorship of Farzad from MentorCruise, Daniel not only grasped the basics but also developed a strong understanding of JavaScript's foundational skills.
Direct skill application
As a mentor, you can provide opportunities for your mentees to apply new skills directly in a real-world context. For example, you might oversee a small project or task that allows your mentees to practice what they’ve learned. This could be writing a piece of software code in a developer scenario, crafting a marketing plan if they’re in business, or even conducting a sample analysis in a scientific field. The key is to have a hands-on experience where the mentor can give immediate feedback.
Consider Clara's journey as an example. Eager to secure a full-time developer role, Clara recognized the limitations of self-teaching and boot camps in honing her skills. She sought personalized attention and guidance to refine her abilities through tailored mentorship and coding exercises.
This is where Sandrina Pereira stepped in as her mentor. Sandrina crafted customized coding challenges aligned with Clara's objectives, such as replicating designs from Dribble. Moreover, she provided Clara with regular code walkthroughs on platforms like Loom and had extensive discussions with her on GitHub threads.
With Sandrina's implementation of a tight feedback loop and real-world conditions, Clara's resilience and skills were built up, empowering her to pursue opportunities in front-end engineering roles.
Project feedback
Project feedback is vital for learning and growth. Whether they’re working on a business plan, software development, or marketing campaign, your experienced perspective can offer clarity. You can be the voice of reason when the mentee feels stressed.
Jimmy Jaspers, CEO of Vincitori, was able to quickly scale his startup through the expert guidance of more than a dozen mentors on MentorCruise. Aside from providing effective mentorship in the areas of growth, engineering, finance, leadership, and strategy, mentors also helped Jimmy keep his head straight on how to consistently build his business through actionable advice and project feedback.
Role-playing and scenario planning
Role-playing activities and scenario planning are interactive methods to prepare your mentees for real-world professional scenarios like negotiating job offers or resolving conflicts. These exercises improve strategic thinking and can bolster confidence in managing complex conversations and decisions.
Sharing personal career stories
As a mentor, you can share your career experiences to provide valuable lessons and insights. Your mistakes and successes can become valuable lessons for your mentees.
This humanizes the mentorship, making your advice relatable and offering practical examples for navigating the professional world. Whether it's a story about a career move or handling workplace conflicts, your narratives serve as valuable learning tools.
Discussing goal-related news or events
Offering your perspective on recent news and developments can be an extremely insightful experience for a mentee. Let them know how these changes may impact their career goals. This keeps your mentees informed and strategically aligned with industry trends.
Looking to become a mentor?
Building a rewarding career often hinges on the relationships we nurture. As highlighted, mentoring significantly impacts job satisfaction and career progress. Through mentorship activities, both mentors and mentees grow together. Mentors share their wisdom, while mentees absorb and apply it to shape their careers.
If you're ready to take the next step in your mentorship journey, consider exploring Mentorcruise.