Overview

Mentors inspire, encourage, and support you, and contribute to your professional and personal development. You can expect to strengthen and build your network, and gain the skills and confidence necessary to excel.

Finding a Mentor

• To find and select a mentor, complete your profile and then browse through the list of mentors that most closely match your needs. Once potential mentors are identified, send mentoring requests.

Relationship Term

• We ask our mentors to make commitments of at least nine months to ensure you fully benefit from the relationship, but the duration can ultimately be determined by the mentee and mentor. Commitment from both the mentee and mentor is needed for the relationship to develop and grow. If the mentee has to leave the relationship early, please inform your mentor and  inform S.T.E.P. that the relationship has ended.

Addressing Relationship Concerns

• If the relationship with your mentor is not going well, we encourage you to contact your mentor to discuss concerns and contact a S.T.E.P. coach for assistance. We will provide our full support to resolve the situation in a positive and satisfactory manner.

Mentee DO's

1. Take a proactive role in shaping the relationship.
2. Understand what you want from the mentoring relationship and communicate your goals and aspirations to your mentor. Balance a personal and professional relationship with your mentor.
3. Set aside time for the mentoring process and keep all scheduled appointments with your mentor.
4. Put the time with your mentor to its best use. Come to your meetings with planned topics for discussion.
5. Respond in a timely manner to your mentor's feedback. Respond to emails from your mentor within two days of receipt.
6. Be open and honest with your mentor about your challenges and weaknesses.
7. If something concerning the mentor needs to be discussed with others, it should first be discussed within the mentoring relationship.

Mentee DON'Ts

1. Ask for advice on everything. Have a purpose in each request.
2. Blame the mentor if his or her advice doesn't work out.
3. Expect the mentor to know all the answers.
4. Commit yourself to obligations you cannot keep.
5. Cancel meetings/visits with your mentor at the last minute.