Finding the right fit: How mentor-mentee fit impacts outcomes for academic mentees

Mentoring is an important developmental tool for academic scientists. The match between mentor and mentee is a critical factor than can influence outcomes for mentees. However, we know little about what factors should be considered when matching mentors and mentees. We draw on person-environment fit theory to examine how different factors related to the fit between mentors and mentees may influence outcomes for mentees in health-related scientific disciplines.

Data were collected from 76 mentor-mentee pairs who participated in a nine-month mentoring program for scientists interested in clinical and translational research. An index of supplementary fit was calculated to reflect mentor-mentee similarity in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, academic discipline, professional track, percent time allocated to research, and type of research. Complementary fit reflected the proportion of skills mentees identified as needs that their mentor felt comfortable providing. Mentee outcomes assessed included satisfaction with one's mentor, learning and development experiences, and short-term research output.

As predicted, we found that supplementary fit was positively related to mentee satisfaction with the mentor. We found no support for the expected relationship between complementary fit and mentee learning development experiences or short-term research output. Supplementary analyses explored other non-hypothesized relationships among study variables.

This research underscores the need to consider different types of fit when matching academic mentors and mentees in clinical and translational science-related disciplines. Our results can be leveraged during the matching process in academic mentoring programs to maximize the success of mentoring relationships for scientists in health-related fields.