Laura Vena’s Tips for Building and Growing Industry Relationships

Laura Vena

Five Tips for Building and Growing Meaningful Faculty-Industry Co-Mentorship Relationships:

1. 1. Reach out to industry professionals who inspire you. Those whose work you genuinely want to understand on a deeper level. Curiosity is the first step toward building strong connections
  2. Tap into your Program Advisory Committee (PAC). PAC members are powerful bridges to valuable industry contacts and opportunities
  3. Come prepared and stay focused. Before each meeting, identify three key topics you want to explore. Share these with your mentor ahead of time to show respect for their time and keep the conversation purposeful
  4. Value their time and expertise. A mentorship is a gift. Express your appreciation and show your commitment by being present, prepared, and engaged
  5. Think beyond the project. Great mentorships can evolve into lasting professional relationships. Stay open to keeping the connection alive after the formal mentorship ends

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Lunch and Learn: A faculty-industry co-mentorship project Copyright © by Angela Lyrette; Marc Brennan; Patrick Charlton; Melanie Haskins; Zainub Ibrahim; Matthew Moore; Nadzeya Rahavaya; Asfrah Syed-Emond; and Laura Vena is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.