Why Mentorship Matters

Just last week, I announced the mentorship matches for fall 2014, a semester in which we saw an increase in both mentor and mentee applications. Each year, the program seems to expand as more members become aware of the program and the benefits of participating in mentorship. Even at PRSSA National Conference a few weeks ago, PR pros continually mentioned the importance of mentorship and how that played a part in their professional success. So as the PRSSA mentorship matches begin to meet and develop their relationships, I wanted to highlight the top reasons why mentorship matters.

• Mentee benefits. Mentees receive valuable knowledge from those who have first-hand experience. They also find a source of guidance and support in their mentor. Mentees can rely on their mentors to cheer them on when they succeed and help them up when they fail.
• Mentor benefits. The relationship is mutually beneficial, giving mentors the opportunity to enhance their leadership skills. They are also able to develop a professional and/or personal relationship with their mentees, expanding their networking and hopefully creating a friendship in the process. And of course, there’s that feeling of gratification mentors knowing they were instrumental in helping another succeed.
• Success. A 2006 study done by market research firm Gartner showed that in a company, mentees were promoted five times more frequently than those who did not have a mentor. This is a perfect example of the great success that comes from participating in a mentorship program.

Mentorship is a clear win-win for everyone involved. It benefits both the mentors and the mentees but also strengthens the organization. PRSSA has many members who, thanks to the mentorship program, have passed along advice, encouraged involvement and worked to make the chapter the best it can be.

Do you have a mentor who has helped you succeed? We want to hear your story! 

How To Join the Mentorship Program at Temple PRSSA

Last fall, Temple PRSSA introduced a mentorship program for its members. The program, so far, has been incredibly successful in matching up an upperclassman, or an executive board member (the mentor) with a younger PRSSA member (the mentee) and creating a relationship where the mentor helps to guide the mentee through their journey of studying and learning to practice the art of public relations and their life at Temple here as a whole! The mentor, as an older student, is a person who can answer potential questions about the major itself, what classes to take when, resume and internship questions and anything else about Temple. Oftentimes, a mentor will serve as a role model for their mentee. 

Becoming a mentor within Temple's chapter of PRSSA has been such a rewarding experience for me. I have been able to inspire my mentee to aspire a career in a field that I am extremely passionate about. Being able to share my love of PR with someone and watching them express that same dedication to this field is something indescribable.

In order to be a mentor, you must be a dues paying member of PRSSA and be able to take the time to both meet and communicate with your mentee. The mentee must be able to meet with their mentee(s) at least once a month, and contact them on a weekly basis. This may include texting, emailing, chatting on Facebook- whatever method of communication that suits each party best outside of face-to-face meetings. The more communication the better though!

If you are interested  please feel free to contact Rachel Draghi at Rachel.Draghi@temple.edu with any questions or concerns you may have! Applications will be due on October 1st, 2013 for the fall semester.

To learn more, please visit templeprssa.org/mentorship-program/.

From Mentee to Mentor

When is it that you go from being a mentee, to becoming a mentor in your own right? I have recently gone through this transition myself and to be honest, there are no clear cut signs. As PR students, it is easy for us to get caught up in our work, head down and full speed ahead. What we have to remember is that sometimes we need to look up and look around us. Oftentimes we'll find that we have accomplished much more than we realized. We get appointed to executive boards of different organizations on campus, land a great summer internship, or even just ace a really difficult PR course. No matter what the accomplishment, we need to slow down long enough to appreciate them, not just for ourselves, but for other students around us.

With those accomplishments come experience that can be shared with others. Questions that you used to ask, you now have the answers to. "How do I apply to E-Board, what should I bring to my internship interview, and how on Earth did you pass that class?!" You now have first-hand experience that can help another student achieve the same goals or inspire them to strive for some of their own.

I know it may feel a bit intimidating or awkward mentoring someone close to your own age, but you simply have to get over it! If you have the answers that another student is searching for, wouldn't it behoove you to help them? Through your mentorship, you could potentially foster a future E-Board member or encourage them to go after an amazing opportunity. After all, at one point you were the mentee that needed guidance. It is important for us to pause long enough to recognize when it is time to return the favor. 

What experience have you gained in the past year? Have you shared it with others? We want to know!

Don't be Afraid to Ask the Intern

About a month ago, I began my internship at Sharla Feldscher Public Relations, a firm in Old City with diverse clientele. Not sure of what to expect, other than knowing I would be learning a ton from one of Philly's most seasoned and well-known PR professionals, I never would have imagined how rewarding my internship would turn out to be.

I have held five internships in total now, ranging from large non-profits to small PR agencies and as my experience has grown, a trend in the intern world has slowly begun to grow as well. In the PR blog, Flack Me, a post titled "Never Underestimate the Intern: Why PR Needs Reverse Mentoring," Kimberly Shrack goes on to explain the new-found importance of the intern in the work place.

Although interns are there to learn from the seasoned and experienced pros, we have a skill of our own that shouldn't be ignored - social media. "Reverse mentoring," a coin termed by General Electric CEO, Jack Walsh describes the idea of students teaching professionals about the web and its latest channels, applications and tools in a mutually beneficial relationship. This practice is being adopted by several large corporations and several other industries, however this mentorship is largely lacking in the field of public relations, although it is slowly becoming more realized and adopted.

My internship is the perfect example of building a mutually beneficial "reverse mentor" relationship. I have the opportunity to teach the associates of the firm about sites such as Twitter, Facebook and blogging platforms while they are able to help me with media and community relations. I am sought after when they need to know how to compose the perfect tweet and I knock on their doors when I have a question about writing the perfect headline for a release.

So if these relationships hold so much value, why is PR slacking in adopting them? A study published in the Public Relations Journal revealed 74% of respondents said their organization does not practice reverse mentoring. However, of these respondents who do not practice reverse mentoring, most could identify the benefits of such a relationship including improvement in social media skills and vocabulary (I am currently putting together a glossary of terms for my office) and involvement with a knowledgeable and enthusiastic mentor.

So while many of these relationships may be informal and occur over a casual conversation over lunch, perhaps a more structured and formalized program could lead to a more beneficial intern-employer relationship. The field of PR is drastically changing and it is the interns who are the ones helping to change it.

What are your thoughts on developing reverse-mentorships in the PR workplace? Let us know!

The Value of a Mentor

As I watched the class of 2011 graduate last week, I realized how instrumental this group of young leaders has been in raising the bar for the underclassmen that will soon follow in their footsteps. These graduates have served as mentors for all of us, which is extremely important as young PR professionals.

In her recent post on PRSay, Barbara Whitman discusses the importance of having a mentor in a digital age. While much of the PR world relies on technology and social media, Whitman talks about the value of face-to-face communication and the younger generation benefits from this type of interaction. As a former mentor, she has seen how this program benefits both the mentee and the mentor. Mentees have someone to both celebrate their successes with and help guide them through difficult challenges, while mentors improve their listening skills. Whitman emphasized that mentoring is more than just mentioning someone in a tweet, but that it is a lifelong investment in that person. In the end, a mentoring program fosters professional growth for everyone involved.

Many companies also see the value in promoting a mentoring program internally. The PRSA Job Center offers members the option to have a career coach, which is essentially the same thing as a mentor. They provide several different professionals who are available to mentor members and provide advice when necessary. Similarly, many corporate organizations like Bank of America offer their employees the option of having a mentor within the company.

During my first semester with PRowl, I looked to all of the senior members for guidance and advice. Specifically, Trish Wyatt, an Account Executive at PRowl did become my unofficial mentor. The experience for me was invaluable, to have someone there to listen, read over press releases, or even to de-stress with at the gym. After such a positive experience this past semester, I hope I can do the same for another PRowl member in the future.
Do you think it is important to have a mentor? What can individuals gain from this experience?

To read the PRsay article on the value of mentoring, click here

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Alex Crispino