Apprentice - Mentor Matches
Mentoring
Mentoring is highly conductive to promoting talent within an organization because it builds relationships that allow new employees to learn intangible knowledge needed to succeed in the workplace. As ECAAP sponsors register new apprentices, it is important to make a good mentoring match.
Tips For Making A Good Match
- Involve everyone - Make sure that the apprentice and the mentor have all participated in the matching process
- Select mentors with the right attitude - Research suggests that issues such as gender, ethnicity, interest, and vocation tend to be less critical when participants have the right attitude and are willing to overcome barriers.
- Assess Personalities - Assessing if the mentor will be able to connect with this apprentice is a critical step. This can be an intuitive process, so it may be helpful to have a human relations person involved if possible. Questions to ask yourself include:
- How does this apprentice tend to behave?
- Will the mentor know how to handle these behaviors?
- Will the two have some common ground from which to establish a rapport?
- Do they already know each other? This can be a best-case scenario, or can present problems, depending on the relationship.
- How will the personality of the mentor match the personality of the apprentice?
Early on, be especially aware if the match is working or not. The earlier you address conflict, the better chance you have to save the relationship. Little misunderstandings can quickly grow into larger problems early on in the relationship.
Is This Match Working?
Watch for one or more of the following:
- Mentor and/or apprentice isn’t showing up for scheduled contracts and fails to respond to inquires
- Mentor and/or apprentice continually express frustration and unhappiness
- Mentor or apprentice engages in inappropriate behavior
- Program staff detects signs that the relationship isn’t working
- Mentor and apprentice confirm, independent of each other, that the match isn’t working
- Mentor and/or apprentice don’t attend training meetings or don’t turn in required paperwork
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