Best Benefit Ever: Finding the Perfect Gerontological Match

What is it? The Gerontological Society of America  (opens in a new tab) (GSA) has released a new online platform to match new professionals with experienced members in the field. The user-driven tool, called “Mentor Match  (opens in a new tab),” gives members access to a database of fellow professionals, complete with profile pictures, bios, and other information that can be imported from LinkedIn. Members are able to register as either a mentor or a mentee, with separate databases for each. After members find someone they are interested in, they can send the potential match an email to see whether they would be interested in starting a professional relationship.

Why it works: It makes sense that those in the gerontological field, which focuses on the impacts of aging across many aspects of life, would benefit from helping older members pass on their wisdom to younger professionals. Mentor Match refines the mentorship process for those looking to find a teacher or those who want to pass on the knowledge they’ve gathered from years of experience, providing a new avenue for connections to be made between the young and old, the experienced and inexperienced.

Other benefits: Along with Mentor Match, GSA offers members many other professional-development services. Members can access the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education  (opens in a new tab), GSA’s educational branch, and they can also learn via subscriptions to a monthly newsletter and to scholarly journals, such as the Public Policy & Aging Report  (opens in a new tab).

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