Context:

March is the right time to check-in on participation, performance and health and wellbeing to ensure your mentee stays on track to persist. You should take time this month to talk to your mentee about planning for a summer internship, summer job or other career exploration experiences. 

When it comes to finding a valuable summer internship, job or other career development opportunity preparation is key.  Mentees who have done their due diligence by researching, prioritizing, and preparing for an internship have higher chances of securing one that helps them advance their life or career goals. The same goes for students who tap into their networks to guide and support them through the process. Use this conversation to explore potential internship experiences while creating a list of the resources and people and connections that will help your mentee explore and land their ideal summer opportunity.

Prompts for Communication:

Even though there is a lot to cover this month, before getting bogged down in tasks send your mentee a quick message to see how they are doing.

• What is one thing that is going well for you or that you are proud of?
• What is one thing that you are struggling with and could use some additional support with?

Celebrate and congratulate your mentee on their wins. Help them work through their challenges, by first offering a listening ear, then validating their feelings, and finally, helping them explore the resources that are available to them through their employer, program, in their community and at iMentor.

Exploring summer opportunities while exciting could seem a bit daunting to your mentee especially as they are wrapping up their program requirements or working full-time. You can kick off the conversation by talking about your personal experience with internships and how you can support them in exploring their options. How did you research, select, and land your internship? What advice do you have for your mentee? At this early stage in their post-secondary journey your mentee may be unsure of what type of internship would benefit them.  Have them start their exploration by using the career interest assessment tool in the resources section.

If your mentee is not already employed, getting a summer job may be the right opportunity for them. You can help your mentee apply for jobs, serve as a reference, and practice job readiness skills. If you feel comfortable offer the read and revise your mentees resume, think through how they might dress for an interview, or even practice interview skills.

There may be summer opportunities available to your mentee through their program. You can help your mentor research, vet, and apply for these opportunities. If your mentee is already employed, now is a good time to explore advanced on the job training programs. These on-the-job trainings may be role related, skill related or training for a more advanced role.  Help your mentee research these opportunities and determine which of these programs or trainings will take them to next step at their job and may even help them advance in their career.

Resources:

• Learn more about the value of an internship here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/11/09/internships-the-ultimate-return-on-investment-for-todays-college-student/?sh=722e228243a6
• Career Interest Survey https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Careers/interest-assessment.aspx