Engage Enhancement Requests

Discontinue Use of Drop-down Lists in Mentor Profiles

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Thomas Davis

Mentors are required to select from drop-down lists for Areas of Expertise and Industry Experience. The selections are subsequently transferred to the website profiles used by potential clients in their mentor selection. Especially for Industry Experience....the number of available choices is only 40. (Google search: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classifies workers into 867 detailed occupations. These are then grouped into 459 broad occupations, 98 minor groups, and 23 major groups.) Clearly a list of 40 is inadequate for mentors who do not fit the options provided. (specific examples include: consumer products, medical, sports...) Mentors are left to make no selections if their profession is not among the 40, or choose one that is close...but this can mislead clients on the website. The best solution to this problem is to replace the drop-down lists with open spaces allowing mentors to enter whatever industry or professional experience they have had. Similarly for Areas of Expertise. If the website is to show these two features...the mentor should be given the opportunity to best represent themselves.