Quick Guides for All

You and your mentor will have acknowledged that your next meeting will be your last. Here’s how to prepare for your last meeting. 
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1. Prepare for your final meeting

• Set aside some time to reflect on what you have achieved so far. What have you learned? Did the journey meet your expectations? What would you do differently? 
• Go through the goals you set. Were they achieved? 
• Make notes on what you would like to discuss during your final meeting. Is there advice you would like?
• What would you like to thank your mentor for? 
• Would you like to be a mentor in the future?

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2. Your final meeting

• Now is the time to celebrate your journey together. If possible, make it special by choosing a different place to meet, such as for lunch in a nice restaurant. You can choose a location to meet and enter it under Sessions. Simply select Schedule and go to Session Location and select Physical Location. You can type in the address within the Location details text box. 
• Reflect on what you have achieved so far and celebrate your successes. Share what you learned and how you have grown.
• If you did not achieve all your goals, discuss your plans going forward. 
• Share with your mentor what you felt was effective and where their mentoring could be improved.

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3. What’s next?

• Your formal mentoring journey is over, but you both may decide to remain in contact. If so, how will you stay in touch? 
• Appreciate your mentor. Thank them for what they have done for you.

Don’t let your mentoring journey fizzle out without formally concluding it. When a mentoring journey ends well it adds to the overall positive experience. 

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. 

Mentoring works best with a structure. After having mentored thousands of people across many countries, we’ve developed a tested structure. 

A structure will help both you and your mentor make your meetings more productive. Discuss the format with your mentor and ensure it suits them as well.

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1. Feedback And Update (10 Minutes)

• Do a time check. “We scheduled an hour for this meeting. Does that still work for you?”
• Describe your progress-to-date.
• Keep track of the time.

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2.Discussion (30 minutes)

Spend most of your time on the Discussion. Your mentor may ask questions to help you think more deeply about your options. Don’t just ask for advice straight away; explore the possibilities. This is your time to have an in-depth discussion. After you’ve thought through the options, you can ask your mentor to share their experiences and advice. 

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3. Close (20 minutes)

Review your tasks and goals with new timelines. Make edits if necessary.

• Discuss each action. Do you understand them?
• Do a reality check. Is your plan doable given other constraints? Update your goals to be realistic.

• Determine when and where you will meet next. Set up a recurring meeting if you mutually agree on a time that works for both of you. Make sure this is in both of your calendars. Set an agenda, sync your Calendars, select your preferred video conferencing tool or choose a location for meetings.

• Thank your mentor.

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?
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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.
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3. Goals: Are you on track to achieve your goals? Do you need to adjust them?
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4. New Issues: What new issues/questions do you want to discuss?
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5. Sessions: Schedule meetings and send an agenda at least a few days before.
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6. Set the agenda - An agenda or discussion topics give the meeting a clear purpose and help both partners stay on track.
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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.

The purpose of setting specific and measurable goals in the Mentoring Journey is to identify concrete and meaningful areas to work towards. This will help ensure that the time during your Mentoring Journey is well spent.

Requirement for Goals

Inspiring - You should be excited and energized about working towards these goals.

Challenging But Achievable - Your goals should challenge you, yet be realistically achievable.

 Measurable and Time-Based - Your goals should be measurable, so both you and your mentor will know when they have been accomplished. They should be clear and well-understood, and need to be completed within a certain timeframe. 

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Steps to Identify and Set Your Goals

Ideally, you should have up to three primary goals for your Mentoring Journey. Here are five steps to help you think of some goals -

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STEP 1: Explore/Reflect

Take some time to prepare for your meeting with your mentor to discuss your goals. Reflect on your values, purpose and vision. What’s important to you? What do you stand for? What are areas in which you want to improve?

Reflect on the major focus areas of your work and personal life. You want to identify at least three areas relevant to your Mentoring Journey.

Questions to think about:

• What do you want to accomplish in the upcoming months?
• What are some things that you would really like to learn or do?
• What comes to mind in terms of work or life you are dealing with right now? 
• What have you always dreamed of doing?
• What would you like to see in your life that’s currently missing?

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STEP 2: Identify

From the areas described in Step 1, identify and record 2-3 goals related to your Mentoring Journey. Use the MentorCloud worksheet to document your goals and track progress.

For each goal, ask yourself: 

Are these goals positive, challenging and motivating to you?

• Do they inspire or excite you?
• Are they challenging? Do they need a bit more stretch?
• Is each goal achievable?
• How will you measure success for each goal?  How will you determine when you have achieved it?
• Are they time-based?

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STEP 3: Needs Analysis

Reflect on what needs to be done in order to achieve each goal and invite your mentor to brainstorm with you. Identify where you are now with each goal. 

• What is your vision for each goal? 
• What skills do you need so you can achieve this goal?
• What resources, information, knowledge, help, or collaboration do you need?

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STEP 4: Obstacles

• What could get in the way of you achieving these goals?
• Who could hold you accountable to help you achieve these goals?

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STEP 5: Milestones and Action Plan

For each goal, define milestones and set a timeline. Ensure that you have an action plan for achieving each goal.

• What milestones would help you track your progress for each goal?
• What resources, information, knowledge, help, or collaboration do you need?
• What is a reasonable timeline for you to achieve each goal? 

Once you have identified some goals and discussed them with your mentor, use the Goals & Tasks sections under Mentorship to set and document a goal to accomplish during the relationship. Break these down into tasks that need to be done to achieve the goal, and review your progress.