VUHRD Mentoring: Building relationships that last
Earlier this semester, the HRD department kicked off its Mentoring Program, successfully pairing around 15 students with an HR professional who is already well established in their career. The program lasts for 8 months which means that mentors and mentees are required to meet at least 8 times, either in person or virtually, to discuss a wide breadth of topics from interview skills to personality in the workplace. The overall goal of the program is to build a successful and long term relationship with student mentees and their assigned mentors- relationships that are mutually beneficial to both parties.
This year in the program there is a wide range of both students and professionals in terms of experience level, geographical location, and preferred area of HR. In fact, many of the mentors are based out of other states, and in one case another country, and all the mentors vary in terms of their level of experience and what area of HR they currently work in. The one common bond that all mentors and mentees in this program share is their ties to the Villanova HRD program. Each mentee is a currently enrolled student whereas each mentor is a graduate of the program- either online or on-campus.
To get an idea of what it is like to be a mentor or mentee in this program, we asked members to tell us what they hope to get out of the program before it started in October. Below is just a small sample of the responses we received.
What do you hope to get out of this opportunity as a mentor?
“I hope to support the development of an up and coming HR professional.”
“I’d like to gain an expanded network, especially within the Villanova community.”
“I would like to inspire a student/mentee who has chosen Human Resources as a career
prospect; to have them come to know more about the depth and breadth of the practice from an experiential perspective."
“I hope to help a young professional find their way in the HR profession by utilizing coaching techniques. From this I benefit by further strengthening my own coaching skills and the internal satisfaction of helping another grow their career.”
What do you hope to get out of this opportunity as a mentee?
“To learn from an established HR professional how to diversify my HR experience, mainly in regards to branching out of one specific function into a more well-rounded HR professional.”
“Learn from my mentor’s experience and receive advice and guidance for the next steps to build my career in HR.”
“I am hoping to learn about another facet of HR as I explore further whether I’d like to specialize in a specific area.”
For more information about the Mentoring Program, please feel free to reach out to us at VillanovaHRDMentoring@gmail.com.
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Nick Kruger is a Graduate Assistant in the Graduate Programs for Human Resource Development at Villanova University in the Master of Science in HRD program. He is a Co-President of the VU SHRM Student Chapter. Learn more about him and VU SHRM here!
