User Guides

How to Prepare for Your Mentoring Meeting as a Mentee

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To make your meeting productive, plan to spend at least 30 minutes preparing. Think about the following:  

  1. Task list: Were you able to complete your tasks? If not, why?
  2. Notes: Use the Notes section to reflect and write down your thoughts and ideas. If you keep a journal, go through it and reflect on what’s happened in your life and career since your last meeting.
  3. Goals: Are you on track to achieve your goals? Do you need to adjust them?
  4. New Issues: What new issues/questions do you want to discuss?
  5. Sessions: Schedule meetings and send an agenda at least a few days before.
  6. Set the agenda - An agenda or discussion topics give the meeting a clear purpose and help both partners stay on track.

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, time, topic and set an agenda for your session. You can also choose your preferred video conferencing platform so that you don’t have to set up new meetings every time you schedule a mentoring session.

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How to Reflect and Summarize

The ability to reflect on and summarize what your partner has said is part of being an active listener.
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The ability to reflect on and summarize what your partner has said is part of being an active listener and will improve the effectiveness of your session. 


Reflect on what you hear -
Listen to your partner’s words and think deeply about it. Try to understand where they are coming from, what they mean and come up with your own ideas or thoughts on the subject. This shows your partner that you are listening and carefully considering what they have to say.


Observe –
You should also pay attention to non-verbal cues and behavior you see. You may say, “I noticed you looked down when you said that…”, or “It seemed like your voice softened when you mentioned that person. Is there something more you want to say about them?” 


Summarize -
Periodically, summarize what you have heard and check that it’s accurate. Summarizing and checking shows you’ve been listening and understanding what your mentoring partner has said. You may rephrase what they said and ask if it’s what they meant. It also helps you recollect important points they have mentioned or clarify anything that was unclear.

Give a shortened version of what you’ve heard by stating the key facts. Don’t try to interpret or add to it. Use this skill when you feel ideas are getting confusing, or when there seems to be more than one issue on the table.

You may use the Notes tab to summarize and keep track of any ideas or key points discussed during the Session so you have it handy for later. You may also refer to it before your next Session and keep track of your progress.