Quick Guides for All

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.

Mentoring partners have expectations for each other. The better they are understood, the more likely the journey will be successful. 

1. Confidentiality: Confidentiality is the cornerstone of a mentoring relationship and is expected of both partners. Nothing can be shared outside of the meeting unless it is mutually agreed to ahead of time. 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. Be Prepared: Both Mentees and Mentors are expected to come to meetings prepared, on time, and committed to the process. Unless it’s an emergency, don’t change or cancel meetings. When you set up a Session with your mentor, you can select up a date, time, topic and set an agenda for your session.
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3. Show Initiative: Mentees are responsible for reaching out to their mentor, arranging the meetings and sending the agenda. They are responsible for their own learning with the mentor acting as a guide. The Goals & Tasks sections under Mentorship will help you set and document a goal to accomplish during the relationship, create tasks that need to be done to achieve the goal, and review your progress. Mentees must follow through on action plans and do what they have committed to. They also understand things can change and stay flexible. 
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4. Remain open to being challenged: Mentees ask for feedback and are open to receiving it. They understand feedback is an essential part of the mentoring process and provides an opportunity to learn and grow.

Having a mentor as a guide in your professional life will benefit you in so many ways. 

1. Safe space: Having a safe, confidential space to explore your purpose, goals and career progress can help you stay on track or correct your trajectory. Your mentor will provide a non-judgemental environment for you to explore and learn. 

2. Learn: Typically, your mentor will have deep experience in your field and wants to share their knowledge, experiences and stories with you. They can be an objective 3rd party.

3. Challenge: Your mentor can challenge and ask you thought-provoking questions. Unlike your line manager, who is responsible for the team mission, your mentor can focus just on you. They have your best interests at heart and will challenge you to think more deeply and broadly, help you set goals and tasks to achieve them and offer support along the way.

4. Role model: Your mentor can serve as a role model and sounding board for you.

5. Network: Your mentor may have a large network of contacts. Over time, as your mentor gets to know and trust you, they may be willing to introduce you to others; however, this requires time and trust. Don’t ask for introductions too quickly. Establish your relationship with your mentor and let the introductions come organically.