by Elizabeth Balder, Senior Director, Talent Services 

January is National Mentoring Month. Today we’re showcasing the power of mentorship in preparing job seekers for their dream jobs — and in turn, supporting your diversity recruiting efforts. 

“Engaging with StreetWise allows us to bring in diverse perspectives, access talent in the local communities, and get a leg up when we are competing with others in our industry.”

– Kim Lee, CFO, Global Atlantic Financial Group 

Diverse companies are strong companies 

Having a more diverse employee base is good for business. It leads to innovation, better team performance, and greater financial performance.  

Research bears this out:  

• Ethnically diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform their peers (McKinsey) 

• Inclusive teams outperform their peers by 80% (Deloitte) 

• Diverse companies have a 19% higher innovation revenue (Harvard Business Review) 

• Companies with diverse teams take in more cash flow per employee (Josh Bersin) 

Finding the best candidates can be a challenge  

While many companies see the value in hiring diverse candidates, talent teams often struggle to increase diversity in a way that makes sense for both the business and the candidates. As a recent New York Times article acknowledges, simply adding a diverse candidate to the recruiting process, for example, isn’t enough to move the needle.  

Talent leaders I speak with share that they’re looking for a new approach – one that serves their future employees and that fuels business outcomes.  

Supporting your diversity recruiting efforts 

Since 1997, StreetWise Partners has been on a mission to drive economic equity through mentorship. We do that by offering adults from under-served communities a rigorous and highly effective mentoring program called StreetWise Bridge. 

Mentees get 13 weeks of one-on-one career development support – including skills assessment, real-life networking experience, professional skill-building, and targeted career mapping — followed by nine months of additional support and resources. 

When job seekers get to the point of “Activating the StreetWise Bridge,” our Talent Services team helps them find and get hired for open roles. It’s a win-win: our job seekers set out to find their dream jobs, while companies get access to the highly skilled , diverse talent they’re looking for. 

Our job seekers are driven professionals like Jamar, a first-generation college grad who needed help building a network in the corporate world. And they’re highly-skilled candidates like Mercy, who, having already built a successful career in procurement in Venezuela, needed support navigating the U.S. job market. 

Across the board, they’re prepared to hit the ground running and start working in corporate America — today. They have the valuable professional and life skills they need to excel in a professional role, and the grit and motivation to reach their potential as a top performer. 

Leading companies hire StreetWise job seekers 

Companies like Napier Park (a First Eagle Investments Company), TradeWeb, and Symphony are finding immense value in hiring StreetWise job seekers to support their talent acquisition goals and diversity recruiting commitments.  

For example, Symphony, a fintech company, has previously hired interns from the StreetWise job seeker pool. And more recently, they hired a StreetWise job seeker for a full-time customer success associate.  

Courtney Panik, Symphony’s chief people officer, says their partnership with StreetWise plays an important role in Symphony’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging commitment and overall talent strategy.  

“StreetWise job seekers are eager, well-prepared and clearly focused on the career goals they want to achieve,” says Courtney. “The StreetWise Talent Services team makes it incredibly easy to access great talent who is ready for their next professional experience“ 

Erickson Immigration Group’s Chief Financial Officer,  Rick Heath, explains why StreetWise is a gratifying hiring partner.  

“Erickson Immigration Group's partnership with StreetWise Partners is a natural extension of our mission to enable people to realize their professional goals, anywhere in the world. It's been deeply gratifying to "start at home" by hiring locally through StreetWise. To date, we've hired 13 fantastic former SWP mentees who have been great colleagues and contributors to our business." 

Kim Lee, Chief Financial Officer at Global Atlantic Financial Group, agrees. “We are in a competitive labor market and are always looking for the best talent,” says Kim. “Engaging with StreetWise allows us to bring in diverse perspectives, access talent in the local communities, and get a leg up when we are competing with others in our industry.” 

Let us help you find qualified candidates  

As you kick off hiring for 2024 and beyond, we are here to streamline your recruiting efforts. We can source strong job seekers from our program and pre-screen them for you, saving you time, helping you meet your hiring goals, and making an impact toward your diversity recruiting efforts. Most importantly, we’re committed to mutual success. You hire a terrific new employee from the StreetWise Bridge and they step in and own a role they’ve dreamed about. 

If you’re interested in becoming an employer partner and working with our Talent Services team, email me elizabeth@streetwisepartners.org.