Alumni-Student Mentoring program

The values linked to this Program are at the very heart of our Association. Creating relationships and allowing students to benefit from the strength of this network.

A look back at the 2021-2022 Alumni-Student Mentoring Program.

A big thank you to the 165 Graduates who participated in this Program which beat all records! Your time, your advices and your experience sharing are precious!
As part of our constant drive to improve, a questionnaire was sent to all participants, graduates and students, in order to gather as much information as possible about the Program.

In the spirit of full transparency, here are the results:

• We observe a correlation between the quality of the relationship, the satisfaction of participants and the frequency of the meetings.
• The absence of physical meet-ups does not seem to have had an impact on the relationship between Mentees and Mentors. This is good news seeing that only one third of the pairs met exclusively face-to-face.
• The desire to have a long-term relationship and to collaborate with committed Mentors or Mentees was important to a majority of respondents.
• A few respondents said they would like more events to discuss and exchange views after the pandemic.

The most frequently mentioned positive points:

Mentors	Mentees
New encounters Opportunity to exchange and share ideas and knowledge The sense of purpose Be the link between the academic and professional world	An opportunity to learn Get support and answers to questions regarding the professional world Get a better understanding and insights of the work environment Having a framework from start to end

Areas of improvement:

Mentors	Mentees
Better assignment of Mentors to Mentees Better definition of goals and expectations Presentation of testimonials Ensure commitment and interest of Mentees Possibility of having several Mentees Keep better track of the relationship between Mentors and Mentees Set up regular meetings Set up a mid-program event and/or interim questionnaire	Better assignment of Mentors to Mentees Define goals Set up events between Mentees and Mentors Opportunity to interact with other Mentees and Mentors Ensure commitment of Mentors

Changes for the 2022-2023 edition

Feedback from both our Mentors and Mentees and their recommendations for improvement are always welcomed, analyzed and considered before the launch of each new edition. As the Association's office has limited resources, we have focused on the following areas of improvement:

• Better assignments of Mentor-Mentee pairs

Forming the pairs was becoming more and more of a headache. With Mentees studying, for the most part, in one of the seven Master’s degrees each comprising several orientations on one side, and Graduates with extremely diverse and varied careers on the other, names could not be drawn from a hat to form pairs. While we believe that each graduate can provide valuable advice to any HEC student, the concept of "same field" is sought after on both sides. Therefore, for a French-speaking graduate specializing in hedge funds or actuarial science to become a Mentor of an English-speaking student interested in luxury goods marketing... and vice versa... is no longer an option.

• Better ensure the commitment and interest of Mentees

The second point we wanted to improve is the commitment and motivation of the students. Indeed, the call from a student telling us that they have found their end-of-study internship and therefore no longer need a Mentor is extremely frustrating. We are saddened to think that this student has not understood that the end-of-study internship is not an end in itself, that they have not grasped that a long professional life awaits them once they have graduated and that networks must be built early.

The new process for forming pairs

Taking advantage of the new HEC Alumni collaboration platform, the methodology for forming Mentor-Mentee pairs has evolved. No more endless Google Forms, Graduates wishing to become Mentors log on to the website and create their Mentor profiles. Students can choose a Mentor based on the Graduate's area of expertise, field of work and language that best suits their needs or expectations. It is up to the student to contact the Mentor by introducing themselves and explaining their motivation. The Graduate can accept or decline the request.

The upside is clearly that the Graduate and the student choose each other, and students already show their commitment from the beginning.

The downside we discovered is that students did not show the same enthusiasm for the program this year despite repeated communication through various channels. This is frustrating both for the graduates who have not been contacted and for us, the organizers, who put a lot of time and energy into this program. Several hypothesis have been put forward. Students are no longer "catered to": they have to look for their potential Mentor, have to introduce themselves and motivate their request. The tool does not seem to be the problem; it is more the fact of having to "take the time" that diminishes their engagement. There is also the "covid effect" where students have spent two years sitting at home receiving their courses and other information directly and have perhaps lost the habit of taking the initiative. This is also observed in other departments at HEC and unil. We see more international students getting involved, do they need more advice? Probably! But does this mean that other students are otherwise better surrounded or that they do not realize what a unique opportunity this Mentoring Program is, a gift, a springboard for their professional future? The future will tell!

What seems certain, at least for this beginning of the 2022-2023 Program, is that the formed pairs are motivated. Quality takes precedence over quantity...

A very big thank you to all the Graduates who volunteer their time, give their advice, and share their experience. The students are lucky to have you...

And to the graduates who don't have a Mentee this year, a big thank you as well for offering your counseling! I am confident that the program will grow again next year and we will be counting on you!

Laetitia Fatio

Director

Further reading

Here is a collection of testimonials from Mentees in the 2021-2022 program:

"Students are often misguided and very idealistic, so it's good to have an experienced person who has been working for a long time to sweep away some of these preconceived notions and prepare students for the reality that awaits them upon graduation. This program can also offer excellent insights into a specific industry or profession, provided that our Mentor works in a field that interests us."

"Very relevant experience sharing and very valuable advice from the Mentor. After 5 years in lecture halls, hearing the experiences of someone who has been out of the classroom for several years is valuable!"

"Having someone able to answer my questions directly and honestly; having someone who knew how to help me with my first steps in a world that was still unknown to me; as a bonus: I was lucky enough to run into someone extremely kind and available."

"A nice exchange between generations and confrontation of often different points of view on the economy, politics or current events that made these moments of discussion even more interesting"

"It was clear eye opener, I had a wrong image of my career path when I chose it."

"Useful to understand the job market"

"Enriching exchanges to better apprehend professional and future life"