MENTORS INFORMATION

Guidance and Important Dates

Key Dates:

• September      16th: Mentee Assignment
• October           14th: Mentor Check-In Call
• November      8th: Formal Conclusion of Fall Program

Congratulations!
 

We are thrilled to confirm your participation as a mentor for Kollab Youth's Workforce Development Program! As a mentor, you'll have exclusive access to our mentor platform. To get started, please follow these steps:

1. Fill out the Mentor Profile located at the bottom of this page. Upload your headshot, share your expertise, and more.
2. Create an account on our mentoring platform by visiting KollabMentors.org.  This platform serves as a valuable tool to guide your mentees effectively.  It provides insights into their backgrounds, allows you to track progress, and facilitates engagement.
3. For instructions on creating your account, click here.

On Monday, September 16th, you'll receive your mentee assignment via the platform. Expect an email notification from Sari Chaparro regarding your assignment.

Once you have your mentee's contact information, reach out to schedule your initial meeting. Introduce yourself as their Kollab Mentor, and consider including your bio and headshot for a personal touch. Please CC Sari Chaparro (schaparro@kollabyouth.org) in this email. Don't forget to provide your mentees with your availability and virtual meeting link.Kollab Youth has provided a weekly meeting outline for mentors to follow. Feel free to share additional resources such as articles, books, or introductions to professionals to enrich your mentee's experience.

Important Reminders:

• If you don't receive a response from your mentee after the initial contact, please inform Sari Chaparro promptly.
• If you missed the Mentor Orientation, we recommend watching the recording for valuable insights. 

Mentorship for Kollab Participants:

Kollab participants aged 16 and older have the opportunity to be paired with a professional mentor who can offer guidance, motivation, emotional support, and role modeling throughout the program. Mentorship covers various areas including career exploration, goal setting, networking, resume building, and job interviewing. While mentorship is primarily conducted online, arrangements can be made for in-person meetings with assistance from the Kollab team.Participants will engage in weekly mentor meetings lasting 20 to 30 minutes. Mentorship is available year-round in cohorts.

During mentor meetings, mentors seek feedback from participants on various aspects including master class sessions, desired follow-up information, support for career goals, and overall program experience. It's encouraged for participants to socialize and provide feedback.
Additionally, mentors may conduct "mental health check-ins" with mentees to offer support during stressful times. Resources are available for both mentors and mentees.

For more information, refer to the Mentorship Information Packet.

• Mentorship Outcomes: Insights from Kollab youth on their expectations from mentorship.
• Mentor/Mentee Guidelines: Guidelines provided to mentees to understand the essence of mentorship.
• Kollab Kwiz Mentor Links: Participants complete a personal brand quiz to aid mentors in understanding their personalities and facilitating growth.
• Kollab Resources: Collaborations with organizations to provide resources for internships, jobs, education, and mental health support.

Some useful tips from Mentors:Here are some prompts/tools I used with my mentees that seemed to work well. -1st week challenge - find/connect with me on Linked In. 

Then the next week I gave them some ideas for their Linked In page and encouraged them to connect with every professional and peer participating in Kollab -Conversation about their future vision for their lives (follow up to their master class assignment GPS for Success). 

Follow up questions about what their life might look like in 5, 10, 20 years from now (where do they live? with whom? how do they spend their free time? what are they studying? where are they working? are they volunteering?)

- I shared with them my professional journey which started in a very different place then where I am now. They are very interested in how one opportunity leads to the next. I encouraged them to stay open as their talents may find applications in fields they have not yet considered (often because they don't yet know about these career pathways)

-The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need  Got them both this book (link above) - The Adventures of Johnny Bunko by Daniel Pink. Japanese anime style career guide about finding purpose through work. 
- Most of all encourage them to talk about what they got out of the sessions and what questions the Kollab content is making them ask themselves. The more they talk about it the deeper an impression this great experience will make. Connect them with people in their desired fields too so they can keep learning and networking post program. 

Example Emails from Mentors to Assigned TeensHello,  I hope you and your loved ones are well. I am your Kollab Program Mentor for the "Summer" Session. I can't wait to hear about how your week has been. Also, as an ice breaker when we meet, I would like you to share about something that inspired you this week and why.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I’m excited for our mentoring session together this Friday at 1:00 pm. If this time doesn’t work for you, let me know other times that may work better for you.
As an ice breaker I’d like us to share about someone who inspires us and something we’ve learned during this Kollab Program.

In addition to being a mentor, I’m also on the Advisory Board for the Boys & Girls Club Alliance of Los Angeles and Kollab. Professionally I’m a Vice President for Global Account Management with Robert Half, which is a global human capital, internal audit, financial, operations, technology, governance and risk consulting firm. Here’s a few links where you can learn more about me and my firm:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorgemarquezrhsa/https://www.roberthalf.com/about-robert-halfProtiviti (Wholly Owned Consulting Subsidiary of Robert Half) – https://www.protiviti.com/

Looking forward to learning more from each other, sharing opportunities and growing collectively.
The Journey is the Destination!

Thank you! Please reach out with any questions or concerns. 

Best Regards, 

Brendan Barry

Program Coordinator & Data Analytics 

Kollab Youth Workforce & Career Development Program

programcoordinator@kollabyouth.org