How do you recruit mentors?

[Steven Smith]

This is different for everyone, but for me, I work at a tech company with tens of thousands of engineers in Dallas, Texas. Our team is actually had to avoid recruiting new mentors for a period last year so we can properly develop the skills of our young team without overwhelming the students, budget, etc.

I recommend having a 30sec to 2min elevator pitch specific to what FIRST can do for someone as a mentor. For me, that pitch revolves around
- Do you like to build things? We have a budget to build all the cool projects many engineers do at home, but with high school students.
- Ever thought of joining a HackerSpace/MakerSpace? That is basically what FIRST can be for mentors in the offseason.
- Feel like your day job doesn't allow you to continue technical development as an engineer? Challenge yourself by relearning engineering topics. There is no better way to humble yourself than to try to explain a complex topic you "somewhat remember" to a high school student.
- And oh ya by the way... you can legitimately make a difference in the lives of students and our community. There are alot of equally time consuming hobbies my coworkers have (golfing, video games, etc.) that don't have the added benefit of actually helping people, and are arguably no more fun.

Honestly, I can't understand why anyone wouldn't want to be a mentor. The fools don't know what they are missing.

Steven