Quality In Action - January 2011

Men and Mentoring New Techniques for Recruitment

Overview The Men in Mentoring Campaign Components of the Toolkit A Complete Recruitment Message Talking Points Tips for specific audiences Audio Podcasts, PDF Documents, Training PowerPoint slides Recruitment Business Cards

A Complete Recruitment Message Awareness : Making the Case Understanding : The Role of Stories Comfort : You Can Do It Commitment : Let’s Be Clear About Things Success : The Ability to Win Closing/Making the Ask Overcoming Objections/Concerns

A recruitment talk is fundamentally a sales presentation Help men to look into their own lives Recognize how others positively impacted them Listen! Listen! Listen! Make it a conversation Men need to be personally asked “ Are you willing to become a mentor?” General Considerations

Awareness : Making the Case Establishing “background knowledge” What is mentoring? Why is it important? What does it have to do with me? Resources at your disposal: Local, statewide, and/or national statistics Stories

Awareness: Group Setting Example Statewide, there are more than 3,500 children waiting to be matched with a mentor. In our program, we have 125 waiting for someone like you. That may sound like an enormous problem that you cannot solve, but let me tell you how you can make a difference. “Kyle” is an 8-year-old boy in our program growing up without a dad or positive male role model. His mother works two jobs and he really needs a mentor in his life. Becoming Kyle’s friend puts us another step closer to our goal and it makes a big difference for him.

Awareness : Individual Setting Example We are working to connect 125 kids right here in our community. These are kids who really need someone like you in their lives. We have a boy named Kyle in our program. He has been waiting a year for a mentor. He could use someone like you to just hang out with him for an hour a week, just being his friend. He would grow so much from spending time with someone like you.

Awareness : Talking Points Kahle Research Solutions estimates that 3,500 children are waiting to be matched with a caring adult in Michigan. That may seem like a daunting number – one that may cause potential mentors to believe that they may not be able to make a difference – but let me tell you how much good you can do Right now we need nearly 1,000 men to be mentors for these boys, many of whom do not have fathers to guide them through life

Awareness : Talking Points Four out of every ten families are led by a single parent. That leaves a lot of children, especially boys, without someone to look up to during those critical years when they are growing up to be men Growing up, boys are at an impressionable stage of learning how to become men themselves, and if they do not have someone like you around, they will look to whomever else happens to be close by. For many boys, those other options are not very good.

Understanding: The Role of Stories Stories lay the groundwork for empathy and understanding, which is why it is important for men to hear the stories of how mentors have made a difference In reflecting upon their own childhood stories of growing up, men begin to recognize how their own role models made (or did not make) a difference in their lives In sharing stories, emphasize people outside of the home or family to show that you do not have to play the role of a father and be there everyday Describing a mentor as a father or grandfather may overwhelm a potential mentor and cause them undue concern about their expected role and time commitment

Understanding: The Role of Stories Group setting examples How often do we take a moment to look at the people who shaped our lives? Think for a moment, who were the important men that influenced you? Now imagine taking them all away. That’s what life is like for many of the young men in our program. Individual setting examples I don’t know about you, but I was surrounded by lots of great role models. I had great coaches and teachers. How about you? Did you have an important man in your life that you could look up to? Talking points Think about your life growing up. What men guided you? Was it your coach, pastor, or caring teacher? If you had not had someone to look up to, how might you life have been different?

Comfort: You Can Do It Address potential fears head-on: Lack of skills Lack of success Men need to be assured that they already possess the skills and characteristics they need to make a difference Men must also know that the most important quality they bring to a mentoring relationship is their own unique personality Utilize information that is available about the candidate to show them that they have what it takes to be a great mentor The very fact that they are willing to consider a mentoring relationship demonstrates readiness

Comfort : Talking Points Mentoring is about sharing your personal time. It is not about money, gifts or events. Mentoring is often as uncomplicated as engaging in what appears ordinary to most of us ... helping a child with homework, playing games, talking, listening, letting a child run errands with you. But to a child without an older guy in their lives, these are extraordinary activities. The moment you become a mentor to a child, your experience is a success. For these kids, your willingness to spend time with them is the most powerful act of all.

Commitment: Let’s Be Clear About Things Men need clarity Right up front they will want to know: “ What do you expect of me? How much time will this really take? When does it end?” Providing clear information from the start about what is being asked of them will allow men to make the right choice There is a need for balance Don’t scare away potential candidates Determine whether a prospect is serious about working with children

Success: The Ability to Win Perhaps the greatest fear men will confront in this process is the fear of failure Men need to know that mentoring is a winning proposition – both for themselves and the young men they will mentor It is worth noting that most men will not want to openly talk about being successful, but it is surely on the minds of candidates and needs to be gently addressed Paint a clear picture of success: “You are the right person, you have the right skills, you will succeed”

Success: The Ability to Win Success is not what you accomplish. While many youth experience increased academic and social behaviors, these results are often not immediate Success is being there. Someone a young person can go to when life throws them a curve ball or when there’s an occasion to celebrate

Closing : Making the Ask Ask candidates directly if they would like to be a mentor Personal, face-to-face conversations are desirable Be prepared to ask different questions based on the readiness of the candidate

Closing : Making the Ask You seem ready to be a mentor. Would you be willing to fill out an application this week? We really need men like you, John. When can you join our program? At this time, all I need is your willingness to apply. If you are still unsure, you can check out our program with one of our mentors.

Overcoming Objections & Concerns If you keep hearing “no,” what should you do? Be prepared in advance – know what common objections are and be prepared with solutions “I just don’t have enough time…”

Additional Resources Talking points by audience Recruiting Younger Men Recruiting Older Men Women Recruiting Men Religious Leader Recruiting Men Recruiter to Employer Employers Recruiting Male Employees Mentor Recruiting Men After the Application

Quality In Action - January 2011

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Quality In Action - January 2011