Becoming a Professional Mentor in the Department of Marketing & Professional Sales

Becoming a Professional Mentor is a privilege – it is an opportunity to directly affect students as they prepare for careers in marketing. As a Professional Mentor, you will have the ability to share your experience and knowledge directly with a student as you act as a coach and as a guide to facilitate your student’s professional and personal growth.

As a professional yourself, the time that you have available to invest in your student Mentee is limited. The program was developed with this in mind. Expected time commitment is dependent on your availability, but the minimum is about an hour a month with much of the contact taking place electronically (e.g., email, phone, text). The number of in-person meetings is dependent on your availability and your schedule but should occur at least twice a year as possible (fall and spring). 

ksu student with their mentor looking at computer screen

To ensure a rewarding and beneficial experience, the minimum requirements to serve as a Professional Mentor includes:

  • An undergraduate college degree.
  • At least five-years of experience in marketing or marketing-related positions.
  • An interest to interact with students and further their development.
  • Contacts or a network to assist your Mentee.
  • Interpersonal skills and a nurturing personality.

The focus of the Professional Mentoring Program is primarily professional, but counsel on personal growth and academic planning is beneficial to some students. 

The Professional Mentoring Program is where you can share your professional experience and knowledge with a KSU marketing student that is preparing to enter the professional business world. The nature of the mentoring relationship will vary depending on your interests and availability and the needs of your Mentee.

Mentor FAQs

  • The time expended in the mentoring relationship will be governed by the time available by the Professional Mentor and the needs of the Mentee. The minimum time expenditure is about an hour per month.  Professional Mentors and Mentees are suggested to meet in person once a semester and to communicate electronically otherwise.  Many mentoring relationships are more involved, however. The mentoring relationship is expected to continue until the Mentee graduates.
  • Several KSU marketing majors are pursuing their education online. Many of these students do not live close to the KSU campus. In these instances, the entire mentoring relationship will likely be pursued electronically. For these Mentees, there is no need for the Professional Mentor to have access to the KSU campus area.
  • Although there is a need to have experience in marketing or marketing-related professions and although there is a need to possess an undergraduate degree, there is not a need to have an undergraduate degree in marketing. Furthermore, there is no need to possess a degree from KSU or to have taken classes at KSU.

  • The application is available online.

  • Information on the nature of the mentoring relationship is included in the Professional Mentor Handbook.

  • graduation?
    No! Professional Mentors are not responsible for the employment of their Mentee before or after graduation. The Professional Mentor is expected to provide information and guidance that may help in the career search process, but the Mentee is ultimately responsible. Professional Mentors can be expected to encourage Mentees to use the career search resources available through the Department of Career Planning & Development at ÈâÈ⴫ý, including career fairs, etc. Any additional involvement of the Professional Mentor in the Mentee’s career search process is at the discretion of the Professional Mentor and the Mentee.