Professional Mentoring: A Win-Win Scenario for Employers and Their Veteran Hires

Are professionally mentored job-seekers better candidates? America’s biggest companies think so. According to a recent study from mentorcliQ:

• The number of US Fortune 500 companies offering visible mentoring programs has reached 98%.
• Median profits for US Fortune 500 companies with mentoring programs were twice that of those without mentoring.
• Every US Fortune 500 company led by women and BIPOC CEOs has mentoring programs.

What is Professional Mentorship?

Professional mentorship is a structured relationship that matches seasoned professionals (mentors) with those looking to grow in their professional career (mentees). The primary goal is to foster the mentee’s personal and professional growth, helping them develop the skills, confidence, and insights needed to succeed in their career.

There are a few ways this can occur:

• One-on-one mentoring programs: Mentors are matched with mentees, either through a program or on their own. Mentee-mentor pairs participate in a co-learning relationship that follows a structure and timeframe outlined by the organization.
• Group mentoring programs: A single mentor is matched with a cohort of mentees as part of a program that is structured to provide each mentee with individualized guidance from the same mentor.
• Reverse mentoring programs: In reverse mentoring, a junior team member exchanges skills, knowledge, and understanding with a senior colleague who wishes to to build up their capabilities in a field where the junior peer has more experience.

3 Reasons to Hire a Mentored Candidate

1. Workplace Readiness: Professionally mentored employees bring stronger confidence, industry perspective, and leadership skills than those who have not been mentored. Recent data indicates that over 66% of American workers are willing to retrain and reskill for new jobs. Within the transitioning military community, that rate is even higher.
2. Simplified Recruiting: The recruiting and hiring process may be easier with a mentored candidate. A common hurdle in the veteran hiring process is translating military skillsets into civilian ones. Candidates who have gone through a professional mentorship program are often better equipped to describe their military experience and skillsets in a way that makes sense for corporate recruiters. These candidates will have strong resumes that align well with their industry of interest, due to the hands-on-help they’ve received through mentorship.
3. Elevated Business Comprehension: Mentored individuals from the military community may have an elevated grasp of business concepts beyond their non-mentored counter-parts.

Mentorship is entwined in military culture

Veterans and military spouses highly value mentorship. Every veteran who’s been in a leadership role was expected to train, mentor, and develop subordinates. RecruitMilitary is partnering with mentorship organizations to ensure long-term career results for veterans and military spouses:

Veterati: Veterati is a digital mentorship platform that supports the military community as they pursue the careers of their dreams at every point in their career journey. If your company is interested in supporting the military community at your organization with mentoring on demand, Veterati is ready to support.  Join current leading military employers  with digital mentorship on demand today with Veterati.

Still Serving Veterans: SSV provides practical advice for finding meaningful post-military work. Every career counselor is a Veteran who understands the unique needs of Veterans and their families.

American Corporate Partners: ACP’s free Mentoring Program connects post-9/11 veterans, active duty spouses and eligible military spouses (Protégés) with corporate professionals (Mentors) for customized mentorships. ACP assists veterans and eligible spouses on their path towards fulfilling, long-term careers, whether the veteran is job searching or newly employed.