Events at CERGE-EI

Livia Alfonsi, Ph.D.

Harvard Business School, United States

Join online
Meeting number: 2743 947 5734
Meeting password: 222657

Authors: Livia Alfonsi, Mary Namubiru and Sara Spaziani

Abstract: Can mentorship by experienced workers rectify labor market misconceptions among young job seekers, ultimately enhancing their employment trajectories? To answer this question, we designed and randomized Meet Your Future, a mentorship program implemented among 1,111 vocational students undergoing school-to-work transitions. The program improved participants’ outcomes up to a year after graduation: mentored students were 27% less likely to exit the labor force, worked 8% more days, were 15% more likely to be employed in the sector of their vocational training, and earned 18% more after one year. Using call transcripts and survey data, we show that mentorship worked not by expanding job networks or search capital, but by correcting overoptimism about immediate payoffs and encouraging persistence. Mentored students adjusted their expectations downward for starting wages while maintaining a positive medium-run outlook—ultimately accepting lower-paying first jobs but experiencing steeper wage growth and overtaking controls in earnings within a year. This pattern reflects a shift in strategy: lower reservation wages, more active search, and greater willingness to accept stepping-stone jobs that accelerated career progression. The results highlight the power of combining realistic feedback with motivational support to sustain job search effort and improve employment outcomes.

Keywords: Youth Unemployment, Job Search, Belief Correction, Mentorship, Overoptimism
JEL codes: D83, J24, J64, O10

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