TOP 10 TIPS FOR MENTEES:

1. Know what you want and communicate your goals and aspirations. Before engaging with a mentor, you need to know why you need someone's input and guidance. You need to do some soul searching to develop your personal and professional goals and then use that information to drive your search for a suitable mentor.
2. Play the key role in shaping the relationship. Oftentimes, mentees tend to take a back seat to the mentor and look to them to provide the structure and guidance for the relationship. The role of the mentor is supportive in nature, not directive. They are there to to provide feedback and insights, not drive the relationship. Your role is to provide direction for the relationship so that you gain the independence necessary to own your professional development.
3. Keep your expectations realistic and be gracious. A mentor is not going to know everything and everyone. They also may give advice or suggestions that don't pan out as expected. Remember that they are fallible too just like everyone else and also have room to grow and develop. Politely let them know that you followed their suggestion and then share the outcome without communicating blame or anger. It could be a valuable learning moment for them.
4. Be open and honest about your challenges and weaknesses. Your mentor is not there to judge you, but to help you move forward and to work through difficulties to achieve your goals.
5. Share concerns with your mentor first before anyone else. If something concerning the mentor needs to be discussed with others, it should first be discussed within the mentoring relationship.
6. Honor all appointments. Mentors are often juggling busy schedules and if there is frequent rescheduling or canceled appointments, it can harm the trust you have built in the mentoring relationship.
7. Respect time and availability agreements. Emails and phone calls outside the agreed scope of interaction do not respect the mentor's time and can create unnecessary angst in the relationship. Ask the mentor up front what level of engagement they are willing to have with you and honor their request.
8. Be flexible on meeting times and places. Especially as more people have alternate work arrangements, this signals to the mentor that you are willing to make adjustments to honor the relationship.
9. Schedule meetings with defined topics. Every meeting should have a purpose that is clear to both mentor and mentee. Leave each meeting with your action items that should be followed up by the next meeting and agree on an additional defined topic for discussion.
10. Respond to emails within two days of receipt. Anything over 48hrs sends the message to the mentor that you do not value their time or input.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I choose a mentor? First, complete your profile to inform others in the program about what you're looking to gain out of the relationship. Then browse through the list of mentors and send a mentoring request to those you would like to connect with.
• How long will the mentors be available? This depends on your needs and the agreement that you make with a mentor for mentorship. By default, the time commitment is set in the system to six months in order to ensure that the mentee is able to fully benefit from the relationship, however a longer or shorter period of time is fully acceptable and can be adjusted in the system as needed. If a mentor must leave the relationship early, we request at least one month's notice in order to search for a replacement mentor with similar background.
• What should I do if my mentoring relationship isn't going well?​ We encourage letting the mentor know about the situation and contacting a program administrator as soon as possible. We will provide our full support to resolve the situation in a positive and satisfactory manner.