If you had told me 20 years ago when I was just starting out as an academic advisor that one day I would be mentoring new professionals, I probably would have laughed out loud. Not only am I a somewhat shy introvert, but as a first-generation college student, I would also rate myself fairly high on the imposter syndrome scale. The social stress and self-doubt that accompany these characteristics seemingly work in opposition to qualities needed to be an effective mentor. The notion that I would have the wisdom, skills, and experience to help develop new advisors would have seemed preposterous. To my surprise, I’ve found that mentoring graduate assistants and new academic advisors in the First Year Advising Center has actually gone a long way toward debunking my imposter syndrome and bolstering my confidence in the workplace.

Mentoring is about so much more than just task training. It’s also about processing the challenges and stresses of starting a new position and helping someone form their professional identity. The knowledge and abilities a person with imposter syndrome doesn’t give themselves enough credit for are often highly valuable to someone who is just starting out in the field. Mentoring a new employee is a great reminder of everything you have learned over the course of your career and will help you realize how far you yourself have come as a professional.

An important part of mentoring is also modeling positive behaviors, such as demonstrating a growth mindset when facing challenges and having patience as you develop competence in your work. Through mentoring, I found it was pretty hypocritical of me to beat myself up for not being perfect while at the same time telling my mentees to show themselves grace when they made a mistake. Setting a good example of these behaviors for the sake of your mentee is a valuable way to practice the same qualities yourself, which in turn allows self-confidence to flourish.

If you are a new mentor or interested starting, below are a few ideas to help you structure time with your mentee:

• Ask mentees to reflect on challenges and successes they’ve had that week or month
• Discuss mentee’s top five Clifton strengths and how they can leverage them in their work
• Help set personal and/or professional goals for the semester or year
• Form a mini book club – read and discuss books together throughout the year:
  • Two recent favorites I’ve used are The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown and I Hear You by Michael Sorensen
• Use NACADA resources to guide your meetings:
  • The New Advisor Guidebook and Academic Advising Approaches are my go-tos
  • NACADA Clearinghouse articles also provide great talking points

Meghan Peterson
Assistant Director – First Year Advising Center
South Dakota State University