Here are four ideas to help you turn your newly-hired college gradutes into successful employees through mentoring:

1) Set Expectations - "By approaching onboarding using personalization, employers can better teach college graduates about the organization during their first crucial days as employees."

2) Continue Their Learning - "Lessen confusion and make the transition earlier by assigning a lead contact for all educational needs. New college graduates will appreciate the consistency and support as they grow both professionally and personally with learning opportunities."

3) Give Individualized Attention - "If setting up meetings between new hires and your company CEO isn’t always possible, sit down with company leaders to decide who would be best to meet initially with each grad. While employees will feel important and "heard," the company itself will be better prepared to help each person reach goals through specific training and mentoring."

4) Measure Results - "Talk to team members about what they found most important, challenging and even frustrating during the onboarding process. Use their answers to guide what metrics you'll subsequently use to measure recent grads’ satisfaction and assess how they’re perceiving company goals, expectations and culture."

From "Stop Chasing College Graduates Away: Instead, Employ These 4 Tips" by Heather Huhman from Entrepreneur.com. https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/295924

From "6 Things Great Mentors Do Differently" by Sujan Patel:

Great mentors invest in the success of their mentees and, often, that means pushing them beyond their expectations. An article from Kauffman Entrepreneurs ties this one back to one of pop culture's greatest examples of mentorship, the Star Wars character, Yoda:

"Yoda sets out one challenge after another for Luke to help Luke manage himself better, hone his skills and more fully appreciate his responsibilities to use The Force for good."

Takeaway: If you're a mentor, be like Yoda. Always expect more from your mentees. They may not know what they're capable of otherwise.

Read more here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/289021

In your mentoring relationship, try to take initiative by contacting your mentor or mentee first to plan a meeting. Once your meeting time is set, don't change it unless an emergency arises. This shows that you respect the relationship, and that you value your mentor's/mentee's time and presence. 

"It took me years to understand this basic dynamic: Those who look less like me might find it hard to share their concerns with me or ask for help. They might feel uncomfortable raising their hand if they aren’t sure I will identify with them. And it’s on me, as the leader, to help close that gap." 

-Richard Farnell in his article "Mentor People Who Aren't Like You" from the Harvard Business Review

https://hbr.org/2017/04/mentor-people-who-arent-like-you

"Being a sounding board for your mentee, allowing them to discuss the situation with you, then helping them to think through the situation by asking them questions to draw out the consequences of various actions, is always more empowering for a mentee than advising them what to do. It helps them work through the issue and come to their own conclusions. By doing so, you ultimately help them to learn to think through issues themselves and trust their own judgment, both valuable life skills."

-From "10 Ways to be a Good Mentor" by Blue Sky Coaching.

Read the full PDF version here: https://www.blueskycoaching.com.au/pdf/v4i10_mentor.pdf

Make sure to observe your mentee's nonverbal body language, but do so respectfully and carefully. This will help you understand what they are thinking and feeling, apart from what they communicate to you orally. 

When presented with a difficult task we often resort to the most logical solution.  Before making a decision, ask yourself “If I had no barriers, how would I solve this problem?”  Imagination can often provide an alternative solution that may have originally be overlooked.  Speak with your mentor today about out of the box solutions to everyday problems.

It is easy to see how mentoring can be beneficial at a new job or within a new position, but sometimes mentoring is overlooked in situations in which it's not so obviously helpful.  Consider the parts of your life that are very important to you, but could use a little direction.  Mentoring belongs there, too.

It is commonly thought that curiosity is a good way to get yourself into trouble, but this isn't always the case.  Several studies have shown that those with a curious mind tend to go further in their career - they always find a way to make things happen.  Talk with your mentor today about how you can be more curious.  You never know what will come of it!

My mother always said "If you're going to do something, do it right the first time."  Mentoring can be very taxing, but it is worth the effort.  Talk with your mentor today about any areas in which you might be lacking - he or she might be able to see something you can't.