Mentoring Intern and Freshers

In any organization, be it a small startup or a large corporation, employees who are new to the workforce need guidance and support to be successful. This is especially true for interns and freshers ( newcomers with no work experience). A mentoring program can help these individuals learn the ropes, develop essential skills, and make valuable connections.

In an effort to support the professional development of young people, many organizations have created mentorship programs that pair interns and freshers with more experienced employees. By providing guidance and advice, mentors can help their protégés navigate the challenges of entering the workforce and acclimating to new company culture. In addition to developing their skillset, mentees also benefit from having a supportive sounding board as they develop their career path.

When done correctly, mentoring can be beneficial for both the mentee and mentor. The mentee gets personalized coaching and support, while the mentor has an opportunity to share their knowledge and expertise.

Creating a culture of mentoring in the organization

As a business leader, you may be wondering how to best support the growth and development of the organization and align it with the growth of the interns and freshers on your team. To begin with, ensure that these team members feel supported and motivated in their roles.

Get to know them: Spend some time getting to know your interns and freshers on a personal level. Ask them about their interests, goals, and what they hope to gain from their time on your team is an obvious first step

"Tell me about your longer-term career objectives." How often do you say this to someone you're managing or mentoring, only to have that person give you a blank expression in response? Maybe they have indicated that they do not really know what their career goals should be, or that they think there might be opportunities to advance at your company, but lack clarity on how do you help or how would you get it started.

If you're a leader, people are often looking to you for guidance. Now your challenge is how do you help them develop their career goals and set realistic expectations?

The benefits of mentoring for the mentor

Mentoring interns and freshers can be a rewarding experience. It can help you develop your leadership skills and also allow you to share your knowledge with the next generation of workers.

Here are a few tips on how to mentor interns and freshers:

• Be patient – remember that they are still learning and may make mistakes.

• Take the time to explain things – don’t just tell them what to do, but explain why it is important.

• Don't be afraid to give them advice everyone is a little nervous on their first day.

• Mentor, should provide guidance and advice when needed, but also give mentees the space to grow and make their own decisions. By doing so, they will be able to grow and become the best professionals they can be. In order to develop and maintain a mentoring relationship, it is important that both the mentor and mentee understand the benefits of this type of interaction. Mentors should be aware that their mentees may not always accept advice or best practices from others.

The benefits of mentoring for the mentee

The workplace has been evolving and with that, the way we bring in new talent has changed too. It's no longer just about hiring the best and brightest, but it's also about teaching and nurturing them. This is where mentoring comes in.

Mentoring can be a great way to help interns and freshers transition into the workplace. It can help them learn the ropes, make connections, and get a better understanding of the company culture. It can also be a way for more experienced employees to give back and help shape the next generation of workers.

Recommended organizational practices

Career dissatisfaction is becoming an increasingly dominant challenge in modern society, as was revealed by a recent poll. Three out of four workers who participated in the survey reported feeling dissatisfaction with career opportunities at their own company. At the same time, four in five businesses stated they expect to face a shortage of necessary skills and knowledge among their employees. How can such a discrepancy exist?

Now to explore it further, let's first try to understand how the term "Career" is perceived by different people for many a career is an individual's journey through learning, and work, simply a job or series of jobs that they have held over time. For others, a career may be defined as a series of positions in a particular field or sector that share common characteristics or lead to advancement towards a specific goal this outdated idea of linear career progression has root in the word “career.” earlier meant “road,” and not long ago, this concept was useful. When we envision a career, we imagine a direct path with a final destination. Career growth meant attaining incremental increases in prestige and compensation. You could look at the past and use it as a gauge of the future — taking the steps that others took to get to where they got, it is a process that involves planning, setting goals, and taking action to achieve those goals. Many people also believe that a career is something that should be actively managed throughout one's life, in order to maximize satisfaction and success. This vision of career growth no longer matches reality. We no longer need to be good at predicting the future; we now have to succeed when the future is unpredictable. We need to evade traps with paradigms for personal and professional growth.

Create clarity on new age "Career"

Tell staff members that it is okay and even better not to have a premeditated career path in mind. Excessive eagerness for a particular career can shipwreck the career of an individual. Instead of titles, staff members talk about liabilities, responsibilities, and changes in lifestyle that they would like to experience.

Start with making them write down their answers to

• What do you enjoy?

• What strengths can you build on?

• Why do you want to do less of that work and more of what you enjoy?

• How could you achieve that dream if you left your job?

Develop skills diversity.

create skills and capabilities that will be transferable from the workplace to your life in general. As an example, focus on communication, self-management, and writing, as they are useful for a variety of fields. Expand your career capital beyond commercializing a singular specialty.

Good points to work on are

• Of the skills we'd like to grow on the team or in the company, deciding on your favorites will help us move forward.

• Which skills would be most helpful for increasing your influence over the team?

• What skills or challenges are standing in your way?

Gamify & Rewards and recognition (R&R celebrations)

How do we deal with a world where organizations are increasingly getting flattered? Bygone are days of pyramid structure and associated positions and power. Recognizing growth and achievements through rewards and for skills earned badges, and certifications help employees and organization map progression

Good way leaders and teams work out:

• How to establish that one has achieved his goal?

• How do we gamify this goal? What s level 1? How about level 2?

• What are the next moves?

• How will one know they have achieved it?

Improve and innovate, start small and grow.

For the growing complexity and unpredictability of the market, run small experiments to discover the best fit. To ensure that spirit of experimentation thrives, launch opportunities for staff to train in areas that are particularly of interest. Leaders and managers encourage experiments among their teams and are equipped with the tools and methods required to identify and recognize successful experiments.

• Good challenges to throw:

• What segments of the business interest you the most?

• What approach might you take to test your interest level?

• Who can you work with?

• What have you learned through past experiments?

The hardest part of grappling with a new paradigm is acknowledging that you will not the capacity to identify your next step. The fantastic thing is that every experience is worth something, so you can embrace every opportunity that comes your way. Each job and each relationship is a kind of key that may give you access to a future opportunity. The keys are not required to tie together. You can see yourself as an inter-connected participant in an ecosystem of opportunities and goals. The previous paradigm was a linear model, where you had to get things right to get access to the next level.

Conclusion

In order to create a strong and lasting relationship with your mentee, it is important to establish trust and communication from the beginning. When meeting your mentee for the first time, take the time to get to know them as an individual. What are their interests? What motivates them? By taking an interest in their lives, you will be better equipped to help them grow both professionally and personally.

Mentoring relationships can be incredibly rewarding for both parties involved and orgnisation.

An effective way to help onboard new hires and ensure their success is to create a mentorship program within your organization. By having a more experienced employee take a new hire under their wing, you can set your new employee up for success and help them acclimate to your company culture. Not only will this help retain top talent, but it can also create a more positive work environment for everyone involved.