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Frequently asked questions

What is the Career Mentoring Scheme?

I have never been a mentor before. How will I know what to do?

What is a typical student (mentee) from the University of Bradford like?

What is a typical mentor like?

Whose responsibility is it to arrange meetings?

How many times would I meet with my mentee?

When would I contact my mentee?

What if I don't get on with my mentee?

What if my mentee is not from my business / area of expertise?

Will I be expected to pay for travel expenses?

What do others think of the scheme?

What is the Career Mentoring Scheme?

The Career Mentoring Scheme is a voluntary partnership where a mentor (employer) offers to share his / her expertise with a mentee (student) in order to provide practical support and encouragement.  It is a non-judgemental partnership, based on mutual trust and confidentiality, which encourages both parties to benefit and learn from each others experiences.      

Mentoring is a powerful tool for development where the mentor supports the mentee to manage their own development by setting personal goals and working towards achieving positive change.  The mentor often plays a crucial part in the development of the mentees employability skills by helping them to understand the workplace, thus giving them a competitive edge in the graduate labour market.

Previous mentees and mentors have confirmed that involvement is mutually rewarding as it offers exceptional scope for the personal and professional development of both parties.  Additionally mentors value the opportunity to give something back to the community.

Our Careers Mentoring Scheme (formerly known as the Impact Mentoring Scheme) has also received Approved Provider Status from the National Mentoring and Befriending Foundation and as such has been praised for its organisation, monitoring and the on-going support that it offers participants. 

I have never been a mentor before.  How will I know what to do?

You will be provided with training including a comprehensive resources pack which includes useful information and guidance to help you develop your mentoring skills.  The Career Development Service has been delivering the mentoring scheme for over six years and has consequently developed an excellent combination of training, support and materials to help develop your confidence as a mentor.  We are always here for any additional support needs and are happy to provide guidance if needed.  

In previous years, mentors have come from a wide range of backgrounds, with a diverse range of mentoring experiences.  We often have mentors who are completely new to the experience and we encourage all mentors to use peer support to add to their development of skills (this can also prove a really useful networking tool for business!). 

What is a typical student (mentee) from the University of Bradford like?

A difficult question to answer, as students apply for the mentoring programme for a variety of reasons.  Our recruitment process, and intentional low numbers, ensures that the mentees that are chosen are motivated and keen to learn more about you and how to develop their own employability skills.

There is no such thing as a ‘typical’ Bradford student as the university is celebrated for attracting a diverse student population.  However, we do have a high number of students from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds and we provide a wide range of degree subjects.    When we create the match we will provide both the mentee and mentor with brief details then leave it at the discretion of the mentee and mentor to decide what further detail they wish to disclose. 

What is a typical mentor like?

Again, there is no such thing!  We have had mentors from all backgrounds and these have included individuals from both the private and public sector.  In recent years we have had mentors who are (in no particular order): Police Officers, Genetic Counsellors, IT Managers, Human Resource Managers, Speech Therapists, Accountants, Bank Managers, Dieticians, Lawyers and Museum Curators (to name a few!)    

Mentors offer their support to the programme for a variety of reasons such as wanting to develop their skills in mentoring, giving something back to the student / local community, enhancing their chances of promotion and wanting to learn from the scheme to set up their own in-house schemes. 

However, one of the common traits of our successful mentors has been their commitment to supporting their mentee and being comfortable in referring back to Career Development Services when they need support themselves. 

Whose responsibility is it to arrange meetings?

It is primarily the responsibility of the mentee.  However we would encourage both the mentee and mentor to take responsibility for arranging meetings.  We understand that you both have other commitments outside of mentoring, so feel that flexibility can be one of the main keys to a successful mentoring partnership.

How many times would I meet with my mentee?

The commitment is to meet with your mentee for four, one-hour meetings, however this is flexible, to encourage both the mentee and mentor to get the maximum benefit from the partnership.  For example, you may feel that it is more constructive to meet for two, two-hour meetings or a day of work shadowing.  The structure of the commitment level is provided as a guide to ensure that both parties are given the opportunity to benefit from, and develop, the mentoring partnership. 

When would I contact my mentee?

Initially it is good practice to contact your mentee during business hours, until mutually convenient contact times have been established.  It is useful to agree time boundaries at the start of the mentoring partnership so that both parties feel comfortable in contacting each other. 

Where would I meet my mentee?

You should aim to arrange at least one meeting at your workplace to allow the mentee to gain a greater understanding of your business area.  For the other three meetings, try to arrange these at a mutually convenient place for you both, considering ‘safety’ of the venue at all times.  Please take into consideration travel time and expenses incurred for both parties.

What if I don’t get on with my mentee?

Remember this is a new partnership, which can take a while to establish so try to resolve issues effectively between you and your mentee.  If you are finding this difficult and need further advice, Career Development Services are there to support you, so please contact us.

What if my mentee is not from my business area / area of expertise?

We generally aim to match partnerships based on career interests however we have found previously that partnerships can be equally productive and successful with matches from different career areas. 

Be assured that careful consideration will have been given to the match and this may be based on factors additional to pure career choice.  The objective of the programme is to enable you both to gain awareness and develop new skills and in previous years we have found that this can be developed through many types of mentoring partnerships.

Will I be expected to pay for travel expenses?

We do not expect mentors to pay for travel expenses of their mentees.  However if your organisation wish to make a contribution to travel expenses, and you feel this is appropriate, then please feel free to negotiate this with your mentee.

What do others think of the scheme? 

Many mentors return to the programme year after year and often bring new colleagues with them!  See our testimonials for recent mentor comments on the programme.    

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