Mentee FAQs
What is mentoring?
Mentoring is more than just a chat. It’s a positive, supportive relationship that involves sharing knowledge, skills and life experience to guide another towards realising their potential and help them reach a particular goal or outcome. Mentors listen objectively and act as a sounding board. They also provide guidance, support, encouragement and constructive feedback. Your mentor will encourage you to consider strategies and opportunities outside your comfort zone – because that’s where the growth happens! Mentoring is a knowledge-sharing opportunity for both the mentee and the mentor. That means it also about you sharing ideas, resources or what you’ve learnt with your mentor as well as your mentor sharing their wisdom, ideas and expertise with you. An open mind, your sense of curiosity, your passion for learning and applying your relationship building and communication skills can help you to get the most value out of a mentoring relationship.How long does the program run for?
The ScienceLink Mentoring Program maintains a connection for 6 months in the first instance. If things are going well, both you and your mentor may agree to extend the connection and continue working together.
Do I get to choose my mentor on this program?
Yes, you do. You are responsible for using the mentoring app to review mentor profiles and taking a methodical approach to selecting a mentor. When you have identified a potential mentor, you are responsible for initiating contact with the mentor through the ScienceLink site. Once your chosen mentor has accepted the invitation, you are responsible for setting up the introductory meeting.
What if my chosen mentor is unavailable to mentor me?
If your chosen mentor is unavailable to mentor you because they are already mentoring someone else, then you can reach out to another mentor.
How am I expected to meet and communicate with my mentor?
Essentially, it’s up to you and your mentor to decide how you will work together to build a positive, productive mentoring relationship throughout the 6 month program. This includes how many meetings you plan to have, how often you meet and your preferred methods of communication and conducting meetings.
What do we cover in our meetings?
Before your first meeting with your mentor, you’ll need to complete your mentee questionnaire. This will empower you to better understand the strengths and capabilities you possess as well as gain clarity around your important short-term goals and longer-term career aspirations. From there you can begin to identify the areas of support that will have the greatest impact in propelling you forward towards your short-term career goals and longer-term aspirations. The first meeting with your mentor sets the foundation of your mentoring relationship. This is where you will share your career goals and aspirations, discuss what outcomes you are hoping to achieve from this mentoring relationship and what support you require. Together, you will establish expectations for your relationship and identify aspects of your career development that you will work on in your sessions throughout the program – forming your mentoring agreement. Your mentoring agreement is designed to help shape your conversations and sessions throughout the program. As the mentee you are responsible for coming prepared to each mentoring session with the items, topic/s and questions relating to your development needs that you’d like to discuss with your mentor.
Are we expected to just stick to the topics outlined in our mentoring agreement?
Don’t be afraid to go ‘off-script’ if your discussions lead to other challenges or topics you find beneficial for your personal or career development. The development needs and topics outlined in your mentoring agreement are designed to help shape your conversations and sessions throughout the program.
What happens if I can’t make a scheduled meeting with my mentor?
We understand that life gets busy and unexpected circumstances can arise. Please reach out to your mentor and give as much notice as you can when rescheduling or cancelling meetings.What mentoring system does this program use?
The ScienceLink Mentoring Program uses Chronus to connect mentees and mentors. If you haven't used Chronus before, we encourage you to watch this video to familiarise yourself with the key functionality of the Chronus system.