Untapped Potential community members benefit from our Industry Mentors. In fact, they are invaluable to our success. Thus, we talk about Mentoring often. Mentors help create our professional setting for returners to visualize themselves in a professional setting. That environment 'ups' their confidence to return-to-work. Key mentors may review a resume, or our UP Profile, to make sure the terminology is current. They might meet for a live or virtual coffee or participate in our Mock Interview giving our Candidates feedback on their elevator pitch or their STAR interview responses. Our Mentors can give you the lay of the land sharing how the industry has changed since you left. Mentorship is so valued.
I first learned about the difference between Mentorship and Sponsorship when I encouraged our Candidates to attend the inaugural event of the Women's Leadership Center at the then all female university: University of St. Joseph of Connecticut.
They shared that there is a difference between mentorship and sponsorship and there is a difference in how men and women are mentored by leaders. That difference impacts the # of women in senior roles.
Sponsors can help by:
✅ Ensuring you have the right experiences for long term advancement
✅ Speaking highly of your work when the right ears are listening
✅ Improving your visibility in your workplace, representing you when you are NOT in the room
Check out this new community of leading STEM professionals is on a mission of helping underrepresented groups build sponsors for their career advancement. They have worked hard to put together a tremendous program to help! Check out Unveiled: Bridging the Gap to Sponsorship! You can be part of the pilot that will not 'assign' you a Sponsor but help you take the steps to develop a Sponsor in your organization.
Sahana Mukherjee, SHRM-SCP, a Crain's NY 2022 Notable HR Leader and a member of Forbes HR Council founded Unveiled to bridging the gap to sponsorship. Her mission is to unlock innovative approaches for maximizing human potential. Launching Unveiled: Bridging the Gap to Sponsorship with a team of STEM leaders is one way she is doing just that.
Email unveiled.bridgingthegap@gmail.com to learn more about participating in the pilot cohort.