Time you spend building rapport and trust with your mentee will improve the success of the journey. 
Here are key components you need to build that relationship -

1. Confidentiality in both directions is key. Do not discuss anything your mentee shares with you unless you have their permission. Remind your mentee of confidentiality at the beginning and end of every session. 

2. Building rapport and trust are essential. Here are some ways you can build trust.

• Don’t rush. Spend enough time in the beginning getting to know each other, rather than rushing into goal setting and solutions. 
• Do your research about your mentee so you’re not starting cold. Acknowledge their strengths.
• Believe your mentee has the best answers within themselves. Your job is to ask the right questions.
• Follow through – do what you say you are going to do.
• Be prepared to be vulnerable – don’t just share your hero stories. Also share the times you failed.
• Ask for and be open to feedback from your mentee.
• Be non-judgmental.
• Listen a lot! Talk a little.‍
• Ask open-ended questions‍

3. Ask open-ended questions to get to know your mentee.

• What ^are your values? 
• What do you believe are strengths? 
• What are you passionate about? 
• What motivates you? 
• What are you most proud of? 
• What successes have you had? 
• What have you taken away  from your failures? 

Your first meeting is about getting to know each other and determining if it’s a good fit. Will you be able to guide your mentee and help them achieve their goals?

It’s worthwhile to spend some time preparing for your first meeting. Here are some useful tips to make it more productive -

1. Contact 

The mentee needs to reach out to you to set up the first meeting. Making your dates visible on MentorCloud will make scheduling easier. If you have synchronized your calendar, it’ll be easier to set up a date and time for your session without any scheduling conflicts. Ensure you have selected the correct time zones to avoid any confusion later.

Your meeting place, whether in-person or virtual, should be a quiet, safe space where you can both share openly. You could also select your preferred video conferencing tool.

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2. Background

Read up on your mentee on MentorCloud. Your mentee might also have added a link to his/her LinkedIn profile for you to learn about their background and professional experience. 

What is their background and experience, achievements and interests? 

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3. Agenda

Your mentee should send you an agenda a few days before your meeting. When you create a Session, there is space for you to note down an agenda for your meeting.

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PREPARATION

1. Who are you?

What do you want to share about yourself? 
What are your strengths, values and achievements? 
Have you mentored before? 
What lessons did you learn from that experience?

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2. Why are you a mentor?

What do you hope to get out of the relationship? 
What do you hope to learn?

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3. What are your expectations?

Reflect on what you expect from your mentee and how you see your role in the mentoring relationship. 

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4. Parameters?

How often do you expect to meet, how you want to communicate,  and any needed boundaries you want to establish? 

Why become a mentor? Many people assume mentoring only benefits the mentee. In fact, mentoring can be mutually beneficial, with the mentor gaining as much as their mentee. 

Here are some reasons why you should become a mentor -

1. Personal Reflection: Mentoring gives you the rare chance to reflect on your own career, values and purpose, and sometimes to course correct. 

2. Learn New Things: Mentoring forces you out of your comfort zone. Your mentee can share insights on new technology and trends, and you can learn new things and stay fresh. Make sure your mentee knows you are learning from them too. 

3. Improve Your Interpersonal Skills: Mentoring requires developing your social skills, such as listening, feedback and questioning. Through mentoring, you will have a lot of opportunities to practice with them. 

4. Give Back: Experience the satisfaction of making a difference in another person’s life and seeing them grow and learn. It’s the right thing to do and will make you feel good. 

5. Strengthen  Your Leadership Bona Fides: Mentor experience is required for many executive positions and will boost your career development. 

Time you spend building rapport with your mentor will pay you back with deeper conversations and more meaningful mentoring. 

Here are the key components you need to build the relationship -
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1. Confidentiality is the cornerstone of a mentoring relationship and essential for both you and your mentor.
Do not discuss anything your mentor shares with you outside of your meeting unless you get permission to do so. You can write private messages by going into a current Mentorship and clicking on the Messages tab – other mentors and mentees can’t see these interactions.

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2. Building rapport and trust are essential. Here are some ways you can build trust:

• Spend the first meeting getting to know each other. Don’t dive into problems and solutions too soon. 
• Live up to your commitments. Keep track of your goals, tasks and notes in the Mentoring Relationship.
• Be prepared to be vulnerable. Your mentor is not there to judge you.
• Ask for and be open to frank feedback even when it’s uncomfortable to hear. 

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3. Good communication skills support strong mentoring relationships. 

Sync your calendars so it’s easier to schedule meetings and avoid conflicts. Simply go to “Settings”, then click on “General Preferences” and “Connect Calendar” to connect with your desired calendar account.

It is also important to be conscious of how you’re communicating with your mentor, both verbally and non-verbally.

• Maintain an open and relaxed posture. Turn your body towards your mentor.
• Make eye contact if it is culturally acceptable.
• Nod or make small affirmations to show you are actively listening. 

• Ask questions. 

Maintaining confidentiality, building rapport and using effective interpersonal communication skills will help you build a strong relationship with your mentor so both of you benefit from the experience. 

Your first mentoring meeting can be stressful. The first meeting is all about getting to know each other and gauging whether it's a good match. The better prepared you are, the more you will get out of it.

Here are some useful tips to make it more productive.

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Meeting Practicalities

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1. Make Contact and Set the Date

The mentee sets up the first meeting, so you have the option to either Request a Session to meet a prospective Mentor or to straightaway Request Mentoring.
Reach out to your mentor and set a date and time. If your mentor gives you permission, you can schedule your meeting right on MentorCloud. Ask your mentor if they would prefer to connect virtually or in-person.
To Schedule a Session, go to the Mentorship Tab and select View Relationship. You will see a button to propose a session.  Fill out the information for the session. If both parties have synchronized their calendars, you can set up a date and time for your session.
Ensure you have selected the correct time zones to avoid any confusion later.
Select a private place to meet where you can both share openly. Simply select Schedule and go to Session Location and select your preferred video conferencing tool or location. You can type in the address for a physical location within the Location details text box.

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2. Background

Learn about your mentor’s background on MentorCloud. Your mentor might also have added a link to his/her LinkedIn profile for you to learn about their background and professional experience. 
What is their experience, achievements and interests? 

Have they mentored before? 
Read any announcement, insights or posts they have contributed on the Community tab.

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3. Agenda

Send an agenda to your mentor a few days before your first meeting. This will help your mentor be better prepared.

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Meeting Preparation

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1. Who are you?

What do you want to share about yourself?
What are your strengths, values and achievements? 
What brings you joy and energizes you? 

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2. Why do you want to be mentored?

Have a strong understanding of what you want from your Mentoring Journey. 
Do you have goals you want to achieve or anything specific you want to learn? 

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3. What do you want to learn from your mentor?

Send an agenda to your mentor a few days before your first meeting. This will help your mentor be better prepared.

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4. Parameters?

Think about how often you want to meet, how you want to communicate, and any needed boundaries.
You have the option to set up recurring meetings under Sessions. Simply tick the box “Make this a recurring session” when you create a Session.