Best Mentoring Practices for Undergraduate Research

Historically, mentors are individuals with advanced experience and knowledge who are committed to providing upward support and mobility to their mentee’s careers (Hunt & Michael, 1983; Kram, 1985a). Mentors help their mentees by providing two general types of behaviors or functions: 1) career development functions, which facilitate the mentee’s advancement in the organization; and 2) psychosocial functions, which contribute to the mentee’s personal growth and professional development (Kram, 1985b). The presence of a mentor has long been associated with an array of positive career outcomes, including—but not limited to—career satisfaction (Fagenson, 1989), higher incomes (Chao et al., 1992; Dreher & Ash, 1990; Whitely et al., 1991), more mobility (Scandura, 1992), and more promotions (Dreher & Ash, 1990; Scandura, 1992) than individuals who have no mentors. Mentoring has also been found to reduce organizational turnover (Viator & Scandura, 1991) and have a positive impact on job satisfaction (Koberg et al., 1994) and organizational socialization (Ostroff & Kozlowski, 1993). Indeed, these mentoring outcomes and basic tenets have remained consistent to this day.