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Let’s not wait for the bottom rung of the career ladder to vanish before we act. Recent insights from the Business-Higher Education Forum confirm what many of us have seen coming: AI is transforming entry-level roles, not just by automating tasks, but by raising expectations. Today’s early-career professionals are expected to perform at higher levels, with fewer structured pathways to help them get there.
Yet, across industries, we still rely on chance, hoping students and new hires will find the right mentor, develop the right skills, and gain the right exposure on their own.
That’s no longer good enough.
We must recognize that mentorship is an essential infrastructure that can meet this moment. It is not simply a one-time program, but a scalable system of ongoing connection and support embedded throughout every stage of the learner-to-career journey.
Why does it matter?
- Those who find “good jobs” early earn substantially more over time.
- Career mentorship increases career clarity, confidence, and persistence.
- Social capital: 'who you know and who knows you' is a powerful predictor of upward mobility.
- Without structure, access is unequal and outcomes are inconsistent.
What Needs to Happen Now
Call to Action for Organizations
Mentorship is not a standalone, one-off initiative. Embedding mentorship into the systems and culture you already operate—orientation, first-year experience, advising, internships, and career services—leads to meaningful outcomes that support your organization in the long term.
This allows you to:
- Surface early signals like belonging and help-seeking, so you can intervene before individuals disengage.
- Track outcomes such as confidence and career clarity, not just attendance or participation.
- Deliver scalable, personalized support without increasing staff workload.
Examples of our partners' outcomes:
- +6% in year-over-year retention.
- +8% in sense of belonging.
- +30% in career decision self-efficacy.
- $7.8M in operational ROI—through increased student success, advisor efficiency, and grant alignment.
Call to Action for Employers
If AI is reshaping entry-level roles, your talent strategy must evolve.
Mentorship effectively fills the gaps by:
- Embedding human connection and belonging into your culture, not as a perk but as a core value.
- Developing durable skills like initiative, adaptability, and motivation.
- Providing comprehensive support when middle management is stretched thin.
Examples of our partners' achievements:
- Reduced early attrition and increased engagement among underrepresented talent.
- More effective early-career development without expanding L&D or TA headcount.
- +67 Net Promoter Score from mentees and mentors.
- A share of $7.8M in total partner ROI—by improving intern conversion, onboarding outcomes, and retention.
I encourage you to see for yourself how institutions and employers are building early career momentum with mentorship that delivers measurable career impact by reading our latest summary on Career Readiness: Career Readiness Begins Here: How Mentorship Builds the Skills that Matter. To see how we are ushering in the next chapter of mentorship, where human connection and AI converge to support lifelong success, please read Mentorship Meets AI: The Infrastructure Today’s Institutions and Employers Need.
We invite you to join us in this mission.
Mentorship for All,
-Erin Mayhood, Mentor Collective CEO