Help Your Mentee Make A Plan

You have a unique opportunity as a mentor to help your mentee make a plan. Maybe they have never set goals for themselves before. Maybe they aren’t really even sure why they are talking to you.

Wonderful! Now it is time for you to jump into action as a mentor! What do they want from you? Help them find what they can LEARN from you.

“Underprepared” mentees (What’s their why?)

First, there is no such thing as an underprepared mentee. Mentorship is not professional networking. If your mentee is not prepared, you can help them for the future. That’s why mentorship exists. It’s not the job of a mentor to expect perfection. Give them some tips for how to prepare for meeting with alumni. You could ask questions like these:

• What are you curious about when it comes to jobs, internships, majors/minors, or life after school?
• What type of experience do I hope to gain from a mentor?
• What type of relationship are you looking for with my mentor? 
• Are you looking to meet multiple times or just have a one off conversation?
• What type of information and experiences would be the most valuable and beneficial for you?
• Consider what type of information you feel comfortable sharing a mentor?

You can say things like:

• It was smart of you to reach out. (encourage this excellent decision)
• I”m happy to help you out! (let them know you are there)
• In the future, when reaching out for someone’s time it is good to…
• Come with a prepared list of questions (what are you curious about?)
• Look them up and learn about what they have done 
• Learn more about what their organizations

Making Plans

You can begin with helping your mentees develop a plan. Begin by defining the following aspects of the relationship:

• Focus Area 
• Objective / Goal(s)
• Action Plan

You may discuss:

• Identifying career paths of interest
• Typical career paths, graduate school requirements, professional associations, and transferable skills  related to these careers 
• Industries, company culture and typical entry level positions for each company 
• Graduate School: coursework, timelines, and possible career paths. 
• Focused questions to be asked during an informational interview/job shadow
• Review job postings – understand qualifications and application processes 
• Practice interviews
• Relevant reading
• Research
• Resume and/or applications
• Very importantly: Introductions you can make for them

Setting the schedule for meetings / calls:

• How frequently would you both meet?
• How many people they want to speak to?
• Time frame to having those meetings
• Best days and times for meetings / calls
• Meeting/call frequency and duration
• Responsibility for setting meetings

Finally, set a date to reassess your goals and action plan together as they will continue to evolve over time.