Meet Your Future: Experimental Evidence on the Labor Market Effects of Mentors

After years of schooling, young adults in many countries enter labor markets that are di!cult to navigate, often leading to discouragement and underutilization of human capital. Can workers a few steps ahead help them navigate this critical juncture? To study this question, we designed and randomized Meet Your Future among vocational students transitioning from school to work. The program connects students with workers successfully employed in the study sector for one-on-one mentoring sessions. Three months after graduation, mentored students are 15 percent more likely to work, more likely to hold jobs in the study sector, and 27 percent less likely to exit the labor force. While there are no short-run earnings gains, mentored students earn 18 percent more one year later and experience more stable and steeper employment trajectories. Using rich survey data and transcripts from mentor–mentee calls, we show that mentorship works not by expanding job networks or changing job search intensity or effectiveness but by combining belief updating with encouragement. Mentored students lower reservation wages for entry-level jobs while maintaining a positive outlook about medium-run earnings. As a result, they accept lower-paying first jobs, start working sooner after graduation, and accumulate sector-relevant experience that accelerates progression along the job ladder. The results highlight the power of encouragement paired with realistic feedback and point to mentorship as a scalable complement to workforce development programs.