Become a Volunteer Career Coach and/or Mentor

Thank you for your interest in serving as a volunteer Career Coach for the Young Professionals Career Engagement Program. We are very pleased that you are willing to offer your time and efforts to assist young adults successfully transition from their academic years into their professional careers.

These individuals may have done well in school, but sometimes struggle with initiating or developing their careers. This disconnect may cause the young adults to not realize their full career and earnings potential. In addition, they may put off critical life decisions such as serious dating or marriage because of their concerns about supporting a family.

Our objective is to provide young adults with the opportunity to connect with and learn from professionals in their chosen field of interest. Professionals like yourself share their experiences and knowledge with young adults in order to help them prepare to enter the workforce as a confident, committed and ethical professional.

Our program is divided into two options for the young adults:

The first option is the Introduction to a Professional. This option is open to all individuals that have an interest in exploring one or more career paths. We introduce them to leading professionals in their chosen field of interest so that they can learn from them about the challenges and rewards of that profession, the education necessary to enter that profession, and best practices to be successful in that profession. This option is especially helpful for individuals who are curious about various professions and want to do some preliminary exploring before committing to an education plan.

The second and more interactive option is the Young Professionals Career Coaching Program. This option is available for those individuals who have completed or nearly completed their formal education and are now ready to begin their career. This option includes a coaching relationship utilizing the assistance of volunteer Career Coaches who are experienced professionals working in a variety of occupations. The Career Coach helps the young adult to (1) settle on a career to pursue, (2) learn job search skills, (3) polish their resume and cover letter, (4) prepare them for job or informational interviews and (5) connect them with professionals in their career field of interest for the purpose of conducting informational interviews.

The most important duty that you will be providing as a Career Coach is to be supportive of the young adult, to listen to their concerns, and to help them develop a plan for achieving their goals. You are also being called upon to share your career experiences and to introduce the young adult to your professional network.

To apply to become a Career Coach select the “register here” link below.

Also, check out the guidebook tab on our website. There you will find helpful resources to assist you in your coaching efforts. Together with your young adult, you should focus on those resources that are most applicable to their needs.

The program is open to married and single individuals ages 16-35. There is no cost to participate in the program. The program utilizes the volunteer efforts of local chapter members of the BYU Management Society.

Again, thank you for your interest in becoming a Career Coach. We appreciate your willingness to help young adults jumpstart successful and meaningful careers.

Eleven Tips to Help You Develop a Successful Coaching Relationship with Young Adults:

1. Develop a passion for working with your young adult. This can be an incredibly rewarding experience for both of you. This is also a great opportunity for you to give back to your profession and to the community.
2. Set the right expectation. Don’t sugarcoat the advice that you give to them. You are not interviewing them for a job; therefore, your advice should be straightforward and honest. Give them candid advice helping them to be well prepared for job interviews and a successful career. The young adult should also recognize that they can never have a second chance to make a first impression.
3. Work to change the mindset of the young adult from looking for a job to building a career.
4. Your meetings with young adults should be conducted in a public place such as a library, church, restaurant or office. If they are under the age of 18, it may also be wise to invite them to bring a parent to the meetings.
5. Get to know your young adult. What are their career interests and concerns? Share with them your own career story and the rewards and challenges of your occupation.
6. Identify which of our resources are most applicable to the young adult’s progress and then develop a plan for reviewing those resources with them.
7. Plan to meet with your young adult monthly for at least five meetings if you are in the formal coaching program with them. If you are completing an informational interview with him or her, you only need to meet with them once. You are welcome to continue meeting with your young adult for as long as you both believe it is helpful.
8. We provide at the beginning of each section in the guidebook, Discussion Questions for Young Professionals and Career Coaches. These questions are intended to help you initiate a meaningful discussion with the young adult about the information contained within that section.
9. Help them to develop their professional resume so that it looks appropriate for the career that they are seeking.
10. Conduct mock interviews with them. Help them to understand that in order to stand out in an interview, they must first thoroughly research the industry, the company, and the position for which he or she is applying. It is also helpful for the young adult to review the biography of the interviewer, if available, so that they may understand areas of common interest with the interviewer. The biography is often available on the professional’s company website or on their LinkedIn profile.
11. When you believe that the young adult is ready, introduce them to your professional network for the purpose of conducting an informational interview with these professionals. These informational interviews are very important and key for them in exploring or jumpstarting their career. We can’t overstate enough the importance of the young adult conducting informational interviews. Not only will it help jumpstart their career, but it will also give them valuable opportunities to improve their interviewing skills. Note that it is the young adult’s responsibility to schedule the informational interview with the professional after your introduction to them.
    We hope that you find these hints helpful in working with your young adult.

What is the purpose of an informational interview? The informational interview is truly the secret weapon for helping you explore your career interests, learn about what it takes to be successful in a career, and create a network of professionals that can help you to jumpstart a career.

An informational interview helps you to gain a better understanding of a career field, company or industry to determine if it is a good fit for you. For instance, a business student can use his or her education to pursue a career in a variety of industries. How is a student supposed to know if he or she would do well within an industry without being exposed to its virtues and challenges? The informational interview provides you with valuable information concerning the rewards and challenges of a profession, what education is needed to enter that field and best practices for succeeding in that field.

In order to truly be exposed to a variety of interesting career possibilities, you should conduct interviews with professionals in a variety of industries to determine which industry or occupation appeals to you the most. You should conduct a minimum of 8-12 informational interviews that are either industry specific or cover a variety of industries that you are considering for a profession. You will be amazed at how much these interviews will help you.

One of the purposes of your education is to help you to think and to learn to adapt to different environments. You should not be surprised if you decide on a career path that may be different from your formal academic major. For example, a music major became a paralegal. A finance major can decide to pursue a career in commercial construction.

An informational interview can be used to gain exposure to industry leaders in a non-threatening manner. It is a conversation, not a job interview so the stress level is generally lower. You should not inquire about a possible job opening during the interview as this tends to dampen the spirit of the meeting. If the professional is interested in offering you a position, don’t be surprised if he or she asks you to apply for that position. This is not an unlikely scenario if you are well prepared for the interview and present well

The informational interview is a wonderful opportunity for you to practice your interviewing skills and to prepare for job interviews in a non-threatening environment. Remember that you are asking the professional for his or her help in preparing to jumpstart a career. Most professionals want to “give back” to their professions and help the next generation to succeed. Besides, the informational interview is also a great opportunity for business professionals to get exposure to top notch young adults ready to start their professional careers.

How do you make an informational interview most effective? You should be ready to ask the professional for advice on jumpstarting a career in that field. You should also seek to impress the professional with the level of research you have done to prepare for the interview.

Examples of great questions to ask in an informational interview include:

Success: “Please tell me about your own career path and what has helped you to be successful in your career.”

• Rewards and Challenges: “What do you consider the most important rewards and challenges of being in this profession?”
• Trends: “What trends are most impacting your business now?”
• Insights: “What interests you most about your profession/your employer?”
• Advice: “What can I be doing right now to prepare myself for a successful career in this field?”
• Resources: “What resources should I explore next?”
• Research: “During the research that I did to prepare for this interview, I noticed that your group works closely with middle market business owners. Can you tell me more about the services that you offer to them?”
• You should ask the professional for personal introductions to other professionals that may be able to also help you to prepare for a career in that industry.
• You should ask the professional if he or she would be willing to continue to mentor you periodically. It is important to keep the professional in your mentoring network both before and after you have accepted a position.
• You should ask the professional for advice on the next steps to take to successfully pursue a career in that field. In addition, you should seek to develop additional rapport with the professional and periodically touch base with him or her to keep the relationship intact.
• Eliminate the word, “job” from your vocabulary. Always think in terms of a position and career. A potential employer will be impressed if you indicate that you are excited about developing a career in that profession

Your Career Coach should be prepared to introduce you to his or her professional network using these steps:

• The Career Coach should ask permission of the professional before an introduction is made. That way, the professional will be expecting your contact.
• The Career Coach should include your resume and cover letter in the introductory email. There are examples of these introductory emails in the chapter leader’s resources.
• The Career Coach should instruct you beforehand how to respond to the introduction. That response should be made no later that 24-48 hours after the introduction. You should copy the Career Coach on your initial email correspondence with the professional. That way, he or she is assured that you are following up on your introductions before they take the time to make additional ones.
• You should also be prepared to set up your own information interviews locating interview candidates from local articles, directories or other sources.
• Your Career Coach should encourage you to develop a network of mentors and drip on them periodically. You should update your mentors periodically on your career search

How can a Career Coach help you to be well prepared for an informational interview with a professional?

• Introduce stress into a mock interview with you.
• Encourage you to dress properly for the interview, to smile, to give a firm handshake and to show quiet confidence.
• Help you to eliminate filler words from your speech such as “you know”, “you guys”, “like”, and “um”. During a mock interview, your Career Coach should document how often you use these words, write them down after the interview and then discuss those with you after the mock interview.
• You should conduct a web search prior to the interview to learn how to conduct an effective informational interview for that profession or industry.
• You need to be your own best cheerleader and show quiet confidence that you are a great fit for that profession.
• You should conduct research for an informational interview as if it were a real job interview. (industry, company, division or department, team, interviewer).
• You should prepare intelligent questions that show that you have done a good level of research to prepare for that interview.
• If needed you can state during the interview, “This interview is very important to me. May I please reference my research notes that I prepared for this interview?”

What type of feedback should a Career Coach provide to you after a mock interview?

• Provide candid, but encouraging feedback.
• Were you dressed properly?
• Did you smile and appear confident?
• Did you have good questions and answers?
• Did you do enough research to prepare adequately for the interview and to ask intelligent questions?
• Did you ask for introductions to other professionals?
• Did you ask if the professional would agree to mentor you in the future?

After an informational interview with a professional, you should:

• • Send the professional a hand-written thank you note following the interview.

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Follow-up with an email stating the following:

• Thank the professional again for taking the time out of their busy schedule to meet with you.
• Comment on something that you learned from the interview and consider attaching an article on that topic that may be of interest to the professional.
• Indicate that you will be following-up with them to keep in contact and seek their advice on additional questions that may come to mind.

We hope that you find these interviewing hints helpful. The more informational interviews that you conduct, the better your interviewing skills will become.

The Art of Effective Mentorship: Empowering Growth and Success

Hello, and thank you for your interest in becoming a mentor with the Young Professionals Career Engagement Program. The purpose of this video is to share some best practices for being a mentor. The mission of our program is to help individuals ages 16-30 launch successful careers through mentorship with seasoned professionals in their field of interest.

Mentoring is a role in which seasoned professionals share their career story and advice with individuals interested in exploring or jumpstarting a career.  A mentor/mentee relationship is special in that it allows mentors to use their expertise and wisdom to help mentees gather insights and direction that would be difficult for them to develop on their own. This advice is often offered through an initial informational interview that the mentee schedules with the mentor and follow-up discussions.

A good mentor will inspire others to see the potential within themselves, provide guidance and support, and be a role model. They encourage, nurture and empower those whom they mentor to land their dream position and flourish in their careers. They provide gentle pushes to challenge mentees to achieve more than they thought possible.

They share stories not just about their career successes, but also about overcoming adversity, obstacles and failures. It is often through those challenging times that one finds personal growth and character development.

A mentor strives to understand the unique needs and goals of each mentee and tailors their approach accordingly.  Some mentees may be ready to start their careers while others are still exploring various career options. It is important to actively listen to the challenges and aspirations of your mentee.

Mentors share what it takes to be successful in a career and life. Mentors discuss industry trends, educational requirements and what are the most important rewards and challenges of that occupation.

Mentors share advice on the importance of networking and proven methods for doing so. They encourage mentees to develop their own network of trusted contacts that can offer them career and life advice.

Mentors offer guidance based on their experience and expertise, but also encourage independent thinking, exploring new opportunities and problem-solving. They provide constructive feedback in a supportive manner, focusing on strengths and areas for improvement. They are a source of encouragement and motivation, especially during those times when mentees doubt themselves. They celebrate successes and milestones with the mentee, no matter how small, to boost confidence and morale.

Mentors offer mentees advice for maintaining balance in their lives. They explain that a successful career can have a meaningful and positive impact on society.  They encourage skill-building and professional development.

We named our effort the Young Professionals Career Engagement Program because in order for it to be successful, mentees must be engaged in their own career development. Mentoring is a two-way street. The mentor can share knowledge with mentee, but the mentee must act upon that advice to be successful.

In conclusion, effective mentorship is a transformative journey that requires patience, empathy, dedication and time. By understanding our role as mentors, we can truly make huge positive differences in the lives of others. This oftentimes occurs when the mentee’s confidence is lacking and they need guidance and encouragement to move forward.

Thanks again for your interest in being a mentor. You can make a real difference in the lives of those that you mentor.