Mentor Guidelines

What can you expect in your role as a Mentor?

Mentoring is more than role modeling and answering questions. It is active advisement through situational decision-making. Advisement is critical - In this role, you shouldn't be the decision-maker for the mentee but rather provide information to help them take action successfully. You may not have all the answers, but your willingness to find answers and provide thoughtful guidance based on your professional experience is what will create a successful partnership.
You should begin the partnership by understanding the goals and expectations of your mentee for the experience. Understand what your student hopes to gain from these encounters and confirm your understanding of these goals.
For your experience to be productive, impactful, and respectful, the below are advised.

Define your commitment and expectations with the mentee:

• Provide encouragement, feedback, and guidance
• Help create (and recognize) milestones and professional goals
• Discuss career planning
• Develop a résumé and LinkedIn profile
• Conduct job searches
• Interview prep

Listen and ask questions

Get to know your mentee! What do they like to do outside of school or research? Be an active listener. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What are their goals?
Provide support, advice, and honest feedback (respectively). Mentees may not have fully formed ideas about their career plans, so it's essential to do some digging to help the mentee define their ideas and goals

Share your experience

Careers rarely develop in a straight line. Share how you got to where you are, including your thought process as well as changes that may have influenced what you have done. What did you do well that worked for you? What would you have done differently? Or wished that someone had told you?

Try to develop a relationship of trust

Make sure the mentee understands the discussions between you and the mentee are confidential and directed solely at helping the mentee. Be accepting and understanding of a mentee's decisions. If you determine that you are not well-matched to the mentee, please reach out to Haley Zanga to help connect the mentee with a new mentor

Stay on track

• Both the mentor and mentee need to make meeting commitments and stick to them
• Plan objectives for each meeting and identify action steps and completion dates for actions
• Come prepared, take notes, and complete any follow-up items from previous meetings
• It will be up to you on how you communicate and how often