What to expect from mentoring?

The mentor is customarily an active, engaged person, who voluntarily offers their time in favour of the mentee. Try to stick to the following steps to ensure that your relationship is effective and professional.

• The mentee is the one who leads the process. It is your responsibility to contact the mentor, make sure you agree on a time and a place for meetings in a way that will be acceptable for both of you.
• Be open and honest during the meetings and regularly document your goals and successes.
• Provide the mentor with feedback.
• Provide the mentor with a new perspective on their work with a fresh pair of eyes.

What can the mentor do for you?

• Support you, so you can learn to react to impulses from your environment to achieve your goals.
• Offer support, but also let you take responsibility for your own actions.
• Support you in seeking different points of view and solutions to a problem.
• Act as your confidant during the duration of the mentorship.

What can you offer to the mentor?

• A new perspective on their work through the eyes of an unbiased observer.
• The opportunity to become a role model and inspiration for the mentee.
• The opportunity for personal development.
• The opportunity to experience the role of a trainer and a guide.
• The opportunity to “raise” a prospective colleague, who has real interest in the work.

What does the student gain?

• Mentoring provides the student with the opportunity to work on their career advancement early.
• Close work with the mentor
• An insight into the real work environment.
• Expand their knowledge with experience from a successful person with praxis in the field which is interesting for them.
• Try out activities applicable in the real work environment and develop their experience and skills this way.
• Gain immediate feedback and useful contacts.