By Janis Siegel, Jewish Sound Correspondent
Like a shidduch, the matchmaker who transforms life by pairing the right life partners, the Hadassah women’s organization and Hillel at the University of Washington want to supercharge young Jews’ professional life — but without the attendant pressure and drama.
The two organizations have themselves partnered together to accept a total of 20 young men and women — college juniors, seniors, graduate students, and young professionals — to be part of their new Mentor Connect program. First, the mentees will meet their mentors for an introductory brunch, get to know them, and talk about work and life goals. They will then meet once a month, for six months, whenever it’s convenient, whether by Skype, phone, or in person, whatever works best for both.
“I have someone in real estate, we have attorneys, we have people in the medical field, it’s a really wide range,” said Jessica Salo, a recruiter for Amazon.com and one of two 2013–2015 Hadassah Leadership Fellows from the Northwest who developed the program.
“You’re not necessarily going to get a job at the end of this program, but you could get advice on résumé writing or interviewing, and each month the Mentor Connect will sponsor a lecture and panel discussion led by local professionals talking about aspects of leadership that can further your success.”
Alyson Roush, who with Salo co-created Mentor Connect, is also a Hadassah Leadership Fellow and a staff attorney at Providence Health and Services. She said she can’t stress the value of networking enough.
“Don’t worry if you’re confused,” said Roush. “When you’re young and you’re starting out, you need to talk to as many people as you can and you need other voices besides your family. They’ll have opportunities to talk to other students and other mentors, as well.”
Salo and Roush were chosen from of 24 Hadassah candidates across the U.S for the two-year program, and came up with the idea for the six-month-long mentoring project for their second-year project.
Four leadership development events will feature business leaders such as Howard Behar, former president of Starbucks, and speakers from Amazon and other Seattle companies.
The sessions will be open to the public and cover subjects that include “How to be a Mensch,” “Jewish Values in the Business World,” “Modern Jewish Women: Can We Have it All?” and “How to be a Leader: Are You an Introvert or Extrovert?” Both mentors and mentees are asked to attend three of the four presentations.
Overall, participants will be able to look at how they might shape their careers while also nurturing a full, balanced, and Jewish life.
“People are excited, because there hasn’t been something in the Jewish community like this,” Josh Furman, Hillel UW’s director of programs and strategy told The Jewish Sound. “We’ve had interest from the [UW] business school, [Hillel] advisory board members have said they’re really interested, and their friends are really interested. They’re going to send it out at their work.”
Applications are available on the Mentor Connect website and will remain open until Dec. 31, 2014.
The three program leaders vowed to make every effort to match mentors and mentees who have similar career interests and if each pair is not a perfect match, they will make every effort to make a “nearly perfect one.”
Sixteen mentees have already signed up for the program, but at this point the mentors have been slower to grab the opportunity.
The organizers said mentoring really requires a desire to give back to young people. Some older professionals may have children who’ve gone away to college, and some may just want to pass down their wisdom and expertise to the next generation.
“Mainly,” said Roush, “mentors should be passionate about the local community, someone who has the time, and mainly, someone who just enjoys what they do and wants to help young people.”
Furman hopes that a low number of mentors who apply and join the group does not limit the group’s goals and its reach. He believes that once the word about the opportunity spreads, a solid mentor cohort will take shape.
“The program wants to know a mentor’s professional experience as much as their interest in mentoring, and that they are able to handle a one-hour per month time commitment, and are interested in guiding a young professional in their career goals,” he said.
Visit the Mentor Connect Facebook page at www.facebook.com/seattlementorconnect to learn more.