Should Professors Be Career Mentors?

The original purpose of the university was simple: the academic formation of its students. Over the past several decades, however, society’s perception of higher-education institutions has grown to encompass numerous aspects of student development, including career preparation. A similar shift has occurred on a smaller scale where the role of professors is concerned. Though their main responsibility is to guide students’ academic growth, professors are increasingly expected to fill the role of career mentor. Surveys conducted by Inside Higher Ed have found that a significant percentage of students and faculty believe that mentorship is a role that professors ought to fill. Given their background and position as academics, are professors equipped to offer such guidance to students?

A 2024 Student Voice survey conducted by Inside Higher Ed and Generation Lab found that 55 percent of students think that professors are “at least partly responsible” for acting as mentors. This number increases to 57 percent when limited to students aged 18-24 and to 67 percent when limited to students attending private, nonprofit institutions. Administrators and student-success professionals seem similarly compelled by the idea, with 51 percent of “student-success professionals” and 65 percent of administrators at private, nonprofit schools agreeing that professors share at least some responsibility for mentorship.

Despite growing expectations, many professors do not feel adequately qualified to serve as students’ career mentors. Yet, despite these growing expectations, it appears as though many professors do not feel adequately qualified to serve as students’ career mentors. One survey found, for example, that 70 percent of CUNY faculty believe that faculty are not trained for such a role. This lack of confidence is unsurprising: How can someone who’s spent his or her entire life working within the university advise students looking to pursue careers outside of academia?

Although professors may see their mentees as younger versions of themselves, they must recognize them as unique individuals. To address this, universities can encourage practices similar to one at CUNY, where career fellows assist faculty in incorporating career preparation into the classroom and teach professors how they might guide students through career explorations. Additionally, professors are often part of forums, group chats, and email lists relating to industries in their fields, meaning they may have useful connections and be aware of little-known internships or other career opportunities that could benefit their students. This knowledge, combined with brief training from career experts, could equip professors with the abilities needed to mentor students.

Aside from the aforementioned training, the role of the professor-mentor does not require extensive skills. Roel Snieder, W. M. Keck Distinguished Chair of Professional Development Education at Colorado School of Mines, believes that there are three main traits needed for a successful professor mentorship. First, and perhaps most important, is the trait of perspective. Snieder explains, “The mentor must see their mentee for who they are, not as a clone of themselves.” Although professors aren’t necessarily taught to mentor, those who have received mentorship themselves “tend to be imprinted” by their own background as mentees. Although professors may see their mentees as younger versions of themselves, they must recognize that their mentees are unique individuals with their own aspirations and goals for the future. It’s only through this recognition that professors will best be able to serve students as career mentors.

The second of Snieder’s three traits is trust. Students must trust their professor-mentors to speak candidly, to take their role as mentor seriously, and to have students’ best interests at heart. One way professors can begin to build rapport is to “signal their own humanities,” perhaps by sharing past college or career experiences. Sebastian Alvarado, a CUNY biology professor and career-success leadership fellow has found that when he shares such stories about himself, students are more likely to be open with him.

A final important aspect of professor-student mentorships is fun: The two participants should enjoy each other’s company and look forward to mentoring sessions in order for them to each give their full effort in such a relationship.

The question remains: Should professors assume the role of career mentor? It seems as though they should. Many students naturally look to professors for career guidance, because these professors are presumably familiar with opportunities in their fields and are often connected with people who are in a position to hire new graduates. With brief career training and the incorporation of Snieder’s three recommended traits, many professors will be able to successfully advise students during their career explorations.

Sophia Damian is a student at Wake Forest University and a Martin Center intern.