Section 2. Recruiting Mentors for Your Programs

• What is recruiting?

• Why do you need to recruit?

• What makes a good mentor?

• How do you decide what qualities you're looking for in a mentor?

• How do you attract potential mentors?

• How do you choose good mentors?

• Tips for conducting an interview

The success of any community-based program depends in large part on the commitment, preparation, reliability, and abilities of the people who participate or volunteer. These qualities are especially important in a mentoring program, where mentors build relationships with young people over time. If you're setting up such a program, you'll want a thoughtful recruitment and screening process that helps you identify people who can build safe, respectful, and supportive mentoring relationships.

What is recruiting?

Recruiting is the process of finding and inviting people to join or participate in your organization. Recruiting for a program brings together people who share an interest in its goals. For a mentoring program, this means identifying people who are willing to invest time in building supportive relationships with young people and helping them pursue their own interests and goals.

Why do you need to recruit?

You need to recruit enough qualified mentors to support the young people who want to participate in your program. Mentors may leave because of changes in work, family responsibilities, health, relocation, or other circumstances, and new young people may join the program over time. Ongoing recruitment can help your program maintain enough well-prepared mentors without rushing people into relationships before they have been properly screened and trained.

Recruitment also gives you an opportunity to reach people who may not have thought of themselves as mentors but who have the commitment, experience, skills, and willingness to learn that could make them strong partners for young people.

What makes a good mentor?

Many different kinds of people can become effective mentors. There is no single profession, personality, age, educational background, or life path that defines a good mentor. Strong mentors can come from throughout the community and may bring a wide variety of cultures, identities, occupations, experiences, skills, and perspectives.

Before deciding what qualities your program should look for, think about people who made a positive difference in your own life. They may have been teachers, relatives, coaches, neighbors, co-workers, friends, community leaders, or others who encouraged, challenged, supported, or believed in you.

Think back to your childhood and adolescent years. Who did you admire? What made those relationships meaningful? The qualities you remember may help you identify some characteristics that matter in mentoring, while also reminding you that young people themselves should help define what they value in a mentor.

Consider questions such as:

• Who did you admire when you were younger, and why?
• What qualities made you trust or respect particular adults or peers?
• Who helped you explore interests, goals, or possibilities that mattered to you?
• How did the people you looked up to change as you grew older?
• What kinds of support helped you pursue your goals?
• What qualities made you feel respected and understood?
• Who do you consider a positive mentor or role model now, and why?
• What qualities do you value in supportive relationships?
• What qualities do you value in close friends, colleagues, or community members?
• What values would you want a mentor to communicate through their actions and relationships with young people?

Now that you've reflected on qualities you value in supportive relationships, consider which of those characteristics fit what your program hopes to provide and what young people themselves say they want from mentors. Your organization should develop clear criteria for mentors, but those criteria should reflect the goals and perspectives of the young people involved rather than only adult assumptions about what makes a good mentor.

How do you decide what qualities you're looking for in a mentor?

Your own experiences can provide useful ideas, but they shouldn't be the only basis for deciding what makes a strong mentor. Develop your criteria by combining research and program requirements with input from young people, families, community partners, and others who understand the experiences and goals of participants.

The group will probably want to answer questions such as:

• What will mentors actually be expected to do?
• How much time and for how long will mentors need to commit?
• What qualities, skills, experience, and preparation will mentors need?
• What qualities do participating young people say are important to them?
• What safeguards, boundaries, training, and supervision will the program require?

What will the mentor be doing?

First, think about the kinds of activities mentors may take part in with their mentees. The specific role should depend on your program's purpose and on the interests and goals of the young people involved. Mentors might:

• Support mentees with homework, studying, or educational goals when that is part of the mentoring plan
• Share skills or specialized knowledge, such as car maintenance, coding, cooking, music, art, budgeting, or other areas of interest
• Help young people identify and work toward goals they choose for themselves
• Introduce mentees to educational, cultural, recreational, professional, or community opportunities that match their interests
• Help young people build networks and learn how to connect with people, organizations, and resources that may support their goals
• Support the development of communication, problem-solving, self-advocacy, planning, and decision-making skills
• Explore shared interests and learn from one another

The activities themselves matter, but the quality of the relationship matters just as much. Mentors should be able to listen, communicate respectfully, maintain appropriate boundaries, follow through on commitments, support young people's agency, and recognize when a concern requires help from program staff or another qualified professional.

For how long do we want a mentor to commit to reach these goals?

Some things to keep in mind as you think about the length of commitment you are asking for:

• A mentor's activities and responsibilities will vary from program to program and from one mentoring relationship to another
• A mentoring relationship may change as a young person's interests, circumstances, strengths, and goals develop
• Mentoring works best when relationships have enough consistency and time to develop trust while also respecting participants' changing needs and boundaries

Your group should decide what kind of commitment is realistic for the program. Many relationship-based programs ask mentors to commit for six months, a year, or longer so that the relationship has time to develop. Other programs may focus on a short-term project, transition, or specific skill and therefore use shorter commitments. Whatever model you choose, make expectations clear before mentors and mentees are matched.

What qualities and qualifications would be ideal in a mentor?

The qualities you seek should be connected to what mentors will actually be asked to do. Depending on your program, important considerations may include:

• Reliability and ability to follow through on commitments
• Communication and listening skills
• Relevant life, work, community, or educational experience
• Patience, respect, and genuine interest in working with young people
• Ability to support young people's growing independence rather than trying to control their decisions
• Experience communicating and building relationships across differences
• Emotional maturity, self-awareness, and sound judgment
• Knowledge or skills relevant to the program's goals, when appropriate
• Commitment to young people and the community
• Cultural humility and openness to people with different identities, experiences, abilities, and perspectives
• Ability to maintain healthy interpersonal and professional boundaries
• Willingness to learn, receive feedback, participate in training, and seek support when needed

Remember that adults designing the program may not value exactly the same qualities that participating young people do. A mentor who looks ideal on paper may not necessarily be someone a young person feels comfortable talking with or learning from.

For that reason, involve young people in deciding what qualities matter in mentors. Focus groups, listening sessions, surveys, youth advisory groups, and other forms of participation can help you understand what young people want from a mentoring relationship.

Examine your selection criteria for assumptions or biases before you begin recruiting. Requirements should relate to the actual mentoring role and to participant safety, not to stereotypes about what a mentor is supposed to look like, how they communicate, what kind of family they come from, or what educational or professional path they have followed.

How do you attract potential mentors?

Potential mentors may not seek out your program on their own. People often have work, caregiving, education, community, and other responsibilities, and some may not realize that mentoring opportunities are available or that they have something valuable to contribute. Effective recruitment means reaching people through the places, networks, and communication channels they already use.

Some ways to get the word out include:

• Hold an informational meeting or virtual session that explains what the program does, what mentors are expected to do, and what support the program provides
• Share information through schools, colleges, libraries, community organizations, recreation centers, workplaces, faith communities, and other local networks
• Inform parents, caregivers, families, and community members through newsletters, email, text messages, social media, community meetings, or direct outreach
• Invite people you know who may have the qualities and commitment your program needs
• Ask current mentors, volunteers, participants, and community partners to share the opportunity with their networks
• Ask youth leaders and community organizations to suggest networks or communities where potential mentors may be reached
• Invite businesses, professional associations, labor organizations, colleges, alumni groups, and other institutions to share the opportunity with interested members
• Use local media, community newsletters, websites, volunteer platforms, and social media to explain the mentoring opportunity

Recruitment materials should describe mentoring realistically. Be clear about the time commitment, training, screening, supervision, activities, boundaries, and support mentors will receive. Avoid presenting mentors as rescuers or suggesting that young people need adults to "save" them. Emphasize relationship building, shared learning, opportunity, and support.

Try to recruit from a broad range of communities and networks. A diverse pool of mentors can give young people more possibilities when identifying someone with whom they share interests, experiences, identities, languages, professional goals, or other meaningful connections.

How do you choose good mentors?

Once people express interest in becoming mentors, the next step is a fair and thoughtful application and screening process. Screening helps the program understand each applicant's interests, experience, expectations, reliability, and readiness for the role while also protecting the safety and well-being of participants.

The application process

A strong application process should be consistent, relevant to the mentoring role, respectful of applicants' privacy, and appropriate to the level of responsibility mentors will have. It should help your program identify people who are likely to build safe, dependable, and respectful relationships with young people.

Possible screening tools include:

• Application - a form that asks for information relevant to the mentoring role, such as contact information, experience, availability, interests, languages, skills, reasons for wanting to mentor, and ability to meet program expectations.
• Interview - a structured conversation that allows the program to learn more about an applicant's approach to mentoring, communication, boundaries, reliability, problem-solving, expectations, and willingness to learn.
• Reference checks - conversations or written responses from people who can speak to an applicant's reliability, judgment, interpersonal skills, and ability to work appropriately with others.
• Background and safeguarding checks - depending on the program, setting, jurisdiction, and activities involved, these may include criminal history checks, sex-offender registry searches, child abuse or neglect registry checks, driving-record reviews, or other screening required by law or organizational policy. Background checks should be one part of a broader safeguarding process rather than treated as proof by themselves that someone will or will not be a good mentor.
• Short-answer questions - questions about an applicant's expectations, goals, experiences, approach to working with young people, and response to realistic mentoring situations.
• Scenario-based questions - prompts that ask how an applicant might respond to situations involving boundaries, disagreement, confidentiality, cultural differences, safety, missed meetings, or a young person asking for help outside the mentor's role.
• Skills and interests inventory - a form that helps identify an applicant's skills, languages, interests, community connections, hobbies, professional experience, and other information that may be useful when making appropriate matches.
• Orientation or pre-match training - participation in an orientation can help applicants understand the role before they make a final commitment and gives program staff another opportunity to observe how applicants engage with training, feedback, and program expectations.

Avoid screening requirements that do not have a clear relationship to the mentoring role. A person's grade point average, family structure, home furnishings, income, educational prestige, or ability to perform well in a traditional interview may reveal little about whether they can build a reliable and respectful mentoring relationship.

No screening process can predict exactly how someone will behave in every mentoring situation. That's why selection should be combined with strong training, clear boundaries, ongoing supervision, regular check-ins with mentors and mentees, and procedures for responding to concerns.

Mentoring programs have a particular responsibility to protect young people's safety while also treating them as people with strengths, rights, preferences, and voices in the mentoring process. Keep a clear checklist of application requirements, interviews, training, references, safeguarding checks, and other steps so that the same basic process is used consistently for all applicants.

Reference checks

References can provide useful information about how an applicant follows through on responsibilities, communicates with others, handles feedback, exercises judgment, and maintains appropriate boundaries. Rather than relying only on general recommendation letters, your organization may find it more useful to ask references the same structured questions related to the mentoring role.

• Confirm that the reference is genuine and understands the applicant well enough to comment meaningfully on relevant qualities.
• Consider the nature of the relationship between the applicant and the reference when interpreting the information provided.
• Ask references about qualities that actually matter to your program, such as reliability, judgment, communication, respect for boundaries, consistency, openness to feedback, and ability to work with young people or across differences.

Written responses

If you ask applicants for written responses, keep the questions relevant to mentoring rather than trying to uncover private details about their lives or personalities. You might ask:

• Why are you interested in mentoring?
• What do you hope a young person might gain from the relationship?
• What do you hope to learn?
• How would you respond if your mentee's interests, values, or goals were different from your own?
• How would you handle a situation in which a young person shared something you were unsure how to respond to?

These responses may give you useful information about an applicant's expectations, self-awareness, judgment, and approach to relationships without requiring unnecessary personal disclosure.

Skills and interests inventory

A skills and interests inventory can provide a quick picture of experiences and interests that may help with matching. These might include professional knowledge, hobbies, languages, cultural or community connections, educational interests, arts, sports, technology, trades, and other areas the applicant is comfortable sharing.

Matching should not rely on a single characteristic. Shared identity can be important to some young people and less important to others. Ask participants what kinds of connections matter to them rather than assuming that people should be matched solely because they share a race, gender, disability, profession, neighborhood, or other characteristic.

Tips for conducting an interview

Interviews give both the program and the applicant a chance to learn more about one another. A structured and welcoming interview can help you evaluate qualities relevant to mentoring while also giving the applicant enough information to decide whether the role is right for them.

• If the applicant has completed an application, review the relevant information before the interview so you don't make them repeat unnecessary details.
• Prepare a consistent set of questions in advance. Using similar core questions with all applicants can make the process fairer and help interviewers compare information that is actually relevant to the mentoring role.
• Welcome the applicant and introduce everyone involved in the interview. Follow the applicant's lead regarding handshakes or other physical greetings.
• Make sure the interview setting is physically and communication-accessible and offer reasonable accommodations when needed.
• Give the applicant your attention, but don't treat eye contact as a requirement. Communication styles vary across cultures, personalities, disabilities, and neurotypes.
• Focus primarily on the content of the applicant's responses, examples of past behavior, understanding of boundaries, willingness to learn, and ability to meet program expectations. Be cautious about using posture, eye contact, accent, confidence, or other subjective impressions as evidence of someone's suitability.
• Let applicants finish their responses before asking follow-up questions or offering comments.
• Ask open-ended and scenario-based questions that give applicants opportunities to explain how they think, communicate, set boundaries, respond to differences, and solve problems.
• Make sure applicants understand the program's expectations, time commitment, boundaries, supervision, safeguarding requirements, and procedures for raising concerns.
• Encourage applicants to ask questions about the program and mentoring role.
• At the end of the interview, thank the applicant for their time and explain whom they can contact if additional questions come up.
• Explain the next steps in the application process, including any remaining documentation, reference checks, background or safeguarding checks, training, and expected timeline.

Interviewers should also receive guidance on fair and consistent selection practices. Questions should relate to the mentoring role and program requirements, and organizations should avoid making decisions based on stereotypes or characteristics unrelated to a person's ability to mentor safely and effectively.

In Summary

Recruiting mentors is one of the first steps in building an effective mentoring program. A strong recruitment process helps your organization reach a broad range of potential mentors, clearly explain what the role involves, and identify people who are prepared to build safe, dependable, and respectful relationships with young people.

Selection should focus on qualities that matter to mentoring: reliability, communication, respect for young people's agency, appropriate boundaries, sound judgment, cultural humility, openness to feedback, and willingness to make a consistent commitment. Screening can help identify potential concerns, but it should be combined with training, supervision, participant feedback, and ongoing support.

Most importantly, involve young people in defining what they want from mentors and in evaluating whether mentoring relationships are working for them. A strong mentoring program doesn't simply recruit adults it considers impressive; it recruits and prepares people who can listen, learn, build trust, and support young people in pursuing their own goals.