Career Readiness Begins Here: How Mentorship Builds the Skills that Matter

In a recent webinar, Mentor Collective’s CEO, Erin Mayhood, and Dr. James Winfield, Associate Dean for First Year Experience, General Education, & Retention Strategies at Southern New Hampshire University, discussed the critical role of mentorship in preparing students for the workforce. The conversation highlighted the existing gaps in career readiness and presented mentorship as a powerful, scalable solution to bridge them.

The Current State: A Widening Employment Gap

The modern workforce presents a complex landscape for new graduates. Employers are increasingly seeking candidates who are "day-one ready," possessing not only technical skills but also durable skills like communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving. 

Yet significant gaps remain:

• Skill gaps persist in communication, critical thinking, and applied technical skills (BHEF, 2024a)
• Over 40% of graduates are underemployed in their first job, with long-term career impacts (Strada, 2024)
• First-generation students and students of color are disproportionately affected by underemployment and lack of access to career supports
• Internships reduce underemployment risk by nearly 49%, yet many students lack access to experiential learning
• Only 1 in 4 community college grads and 1 in 5 four-year grads receive personalized career coaching (Strada, 2024)
• Relational strategies like mentorship are key to fostering confidence, clarity, and career readiness at scale

As a result, over 40% find themselves in jobs that don't fully utilize their skills, education, or experience. This situation, known as underemployment, creates a cycle of untapped potential that can impact a graduate's career for years to come. This reality creates what Dr. Winfield calls a "disconnect."

"Higher education speaks in outcomes, the workforce speaks in skills," he explained. "How do we, you know, bridge that gap?" The challenge, and the opportunity, lies in answering that question.

Higher education speaks in outcomes, the workforce speaks in skills.

-Dr. James Winfield, Associate Dean for First Year Experience, General Education, & Retention Strategies

The Solution: Building the Skills That Matter

The webinar focused on three leading indicators of workforce readiness and how mentorship directly fosters their development.

1. Fostering Career Decision Self-Efficacy

This is a student's confidence in their ability to make meaningful career decisions. It’s the belief that "I can figure this out.” Research shows that students with high self-efficacy are more likely to plan, persist through challenges, and achieve better employment outcomes.

Mentorship provides the validation and role modeling that builds this confidence. "When a student has somebody affirming their strengths, helping them make sense of setbacks that we all experience, and modeling a path forward," Mayhood said, "that's when the internal voice for that student shifts from, 'I don't know what I'm doing,' to, 'I can do this.”

After participating in a mentorship program, students reported:

• A 23% increase in having role models who clarify their career paths
• A 12% boost in feeling affirmed by trusted individuals
• An increase from 62% to 80% in mentees with high self-efficacy

2. Encouraging Career Exploration & Preparation Behaviors

Beyond building confidence, students must also take tangible action to prepare for their careers. These career exploration and preparation behaviors include concrete steps like building a resume, attending job fairs, and networking. Such activities are proven to lead to better employment and satisfaction outcomes.

Mentors act as a crucial bridge, encouraging students to take these steps. As one student shared, mentorship makes it "a lot less scary to reach out to people when you have someone in your corner to encourage you.”

Data shows that after mentorship, students' use of career services increased significantly:

• +45% in use of career counseling or workshops (individual or group)
• +37% in use of job search support
• +22% in confidence to develop realistic employment strategies

"More often than not, I think the skills are there," Dr. Winfield stated. "But what we have to do is engage in the processing, and the connection and reflection.” Mentors facilitate this by helping students connect their academic experiences to real, employable skills.

3. Building a Sense of Belonging & Social Capital

Feeling connected and having access to networks is paramount. "70-80% of jobs are filled through network connections," Mayhood emphasized. "And so when students are shut out of those networks, it's not just a missed opportunity, it's this absolute structural barrier.” For many students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds, they are navigating a "hidden curriculum" without the built-in networks others may have. This refers to the unwritten social norms, networking strategies, and unspoken rules of professional environments often learned through established connections.

Mentorship is a direct and scalable way to build this crucial social capital. After mentorship, mentees reported:

• +21% more comfortable asking for help from established professionals
• +21% improved ability to leverage their network for job opportunities
• +19% increase in connecting with new people in careers of interest

Dr. Winfield stressed the importance of representation in this process. "If they don't see themselves," he warned, "they will continue to think that they don't belong in those spaces." Mentors who reflect students' identities and experiences can be a powerful catalyst for fostering a sense of belonging.

70-80% of jobs are filled through network connections.

-Erin Mayhood, CEO at Mentor Collective 

Mentorship in Action: Bridging the Gap to Career Readiness

The insights on fostering career decision self-efficacy, encouraging exploration, and building social capital are not just theoretical; they are being successfully put into practice at institutions across the country. The webinar highlighted how partners like North Carolina A&T State University and the Community College of Rhode Island are leveraging structured mentorship to drive tangible results in these critical areas. At North Carolina A&T, a program for over 400 graduate students is actively preparing them for diverse professional pathways by building their confidence and connections. Similarly, the Community College of Rhode Island has seen measurable increases in career decision self-efficacy and confidence among its first-generation and adult learners by intentionally matching them with mentors who support their exploration and networking.

These success stories underscore the core message of the discussion. As Mayhood concluded, "Career readiness doesn't just begin for students at graduation. It starts the moment that student steps onto campus." Building the necessary social capital, confidence, and connection requires a dedicated partnership between institutions and students—a partnership where mentorship provides the essential, structured support to thrive.

Ready to learn more?

• Download our new white paper: The Six Elements of a Culture of Mentorship
• Stay tuned for our upcoming white paper on career readiness, featuring research from this presentation

Watch the full webinar, or reach out to our team to discuss how to activate alumni at your institution.

Sources: Business-Higher Education Forum. (2024a). Forging partnerships: How business and higher education can collaborate to develop talent for the AI-powered future. https://www.bhef.com/sites/default/files/2024-BHEF-Forging%20Partnerships.pdf; Strada Education Foundation. (2024). Talent disrupted: A closer look at underemployment among recent college graduates. https://www.strada.org/reports/talent-disrupted