Chemical Engineering May 2020 - 54

FIGURE 3. Mentors have vast experience in making decisions for their own personal career path, which
can be helpful to young engineers who are in the decision-making process for finding an internship, as
well as for advice about future career opportunities
Making the mentorship work
Mentorships require effort on both
sides to be effective, and this should
be a point of focus from the outset by
both the mentor and student. Mentor
assignments are often made on
an arbitrary basis as an interested
student is paired with a mentor. The
relationship has the best chance of
working and being effective if there
are common interests between both
parties. The primary area of focus
should be commonality in technical
interests. For example, a student with
interest in structural design may not
align with a mentor who has a focus
in the environmental area. Common
personal interests, such as sports,
for example, are also beneficial in
establishing alignment. It is perfectly
acceptable for either party to suggest
a " breakup " if alignment is missing. It
will eventually be unproductive and a
struggle for both mentor and mentee
if the two parties are not meshing,
and early on is a good time to seek a
new mentor/mentee relationship.
Generations. Generational differences
must be considered in making
a mentorship effective and workable.
More than likely, most mentors
are from the Baby Boomer generation.
It has been well documented
that this generation sees the workplace
differently than Millennials or
Generation Z. The Baby Boomer
generation places more focus on
working and often find its worth in a
solid work ethic. Later generations,
on the other hand, place more focus
on work-life balance and may not
subscribe to a mentor promoting a
strong work focus. As an example,
54
the mentor co-author of this article
tried to guide a mentee to what he
thought was a great opportunity with
a superb company, even though it
was at a location requiring relocation.
The student, on the other hand,
was more focused on location and
considered the job secondary. Such
a difference in viewing the landscape
requires understanding and open
discussions by both parties, but can
be viewed as positive, since varied
viewpoints are considered.
Trust. More than anything, it is important
to develop a level of trust
between mentor and mentee. There
is no special formula for this, except
to have an open mind to the viewpoints
on both sides, and a respect
for differences of opinion. The process
is best started by the mentee
outlining his or her goals. The mentor
can then springboard off these goals
in planning his or her guidance.
The process is two-way between
mentor and student as both share
knowledge and ideas, with the goal
of bridging the gap between academics
and the professional world.
Hopefully this exchange, openness
and trust will result in the student
finding a successful path into a rewarding
job.
Communication. There are numerous
forms of communication between
mentor and mentee, including
phone, email, video and personal
meetings. The best approach is likely
to use all of these forms depending
on circumstances. Both parties
are often busy, so email and phone
are appropriate during these times.
When time and logistics permit, it
is worthwhile to have face-to-face
meetings. It may also be possible to
attend a common activity together,
such as a seminar. More than anything,
it is important to maintain open
and continued communications, but
not to the point of being bothersome
for either party. It is quite common
for mentor and mentee to develop
friendships that are maintained well
into the mentee's career.
Limits. Finally, it is important to
have an understanding of the limits
of a mentor. The advice provided
by a mentor serves as guidance or
a sounding board, but not the main
crutch of a student. The mentee is
still responsible for determining his or
her path forward. Also, the mentee
should not have unrealistic expectations
of the mentor. The mentor coauthor
of this article has experience
in which he was teamed as a mentor
with foreign nationals, and they
had an expectation that he would
find them jobs that would prolong
their time in the U.S. When it was
conveyed that this is not a realistic
expectation, the mentees ended
communications. It is certainly reasonable
for a student to request resume
review and guidance, career
options and constructive feedback,
but laying out the mentee's job path
should not be expected.
■
Edited by Dorothy Lozowski
References
1. Rentschler, C., Career Guidelines for Young Engineers,
Chemical Engineering, pp. 56-59, January 2018.
2. Shahani, G. and Rentschler, C., An Engineer's Guide
to Networking, Hydrocarbon Processing pp. 21-23,
August 2016.
Authors
Carl Rentschler, P.E. is an
engineering consultant specializing
in project management, business
development, client relationship
management and procedure
development (210 Main Street,
Akron, PA 17501; Phone: 717951-4772;
Email: rentschl@ptd.
net). He has more than 40 years of
varied engineering and management
experience in the power and petrochemical fields,
with three international engineering-procurement companies.
He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Penn
State University and an M.Eng. in civil engineering from
Cornell University.
Peter Capitano is a senior in
college,
currently studying civil
engineering at Penn State University.
In May 2020, he will be graduating
and starting a full-time job
at a medium-sized company.
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