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Frequently asked questions

What is the Career Mentoring Scheme?

I have never been a mentee before, how would I get started?

What is a typical mentor like?

What do the mentors get out of being involved? Are they paid?

Whose responsibility is it to arrange meetings?

How many times would I meet with my mentor?

When would I contact my mentor?

Where would I meet my mentor?

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

What if my mentor is not from my chosen career area?

What about travel expenses?

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 mentee before, how would I get started?  

You will be provided with training and a full resources pack which includes useful information and guidance to help you manage your mentoring partnership from start to end.  We have delivered the mentoring scheme for over six years and we are always here to help you if you have any questions or feel that you need additional guidance.     

You will also have the support of other mentees who have been selected to take part in the programme.  This has proven to be a great way to make new friends and seek ideas on how to use your mentoring partnership. 

What is a typical mentor like?

A difficult question to answer as we have mentors from all backgrounds and includes mentors from both the private and public sector.  In recent years we have had mentors who are: Police Officers, Genetic Counsellors, IT Managers, Human Resource Managers, Finance Mangers, Speech Therapists, Accountants, Bank Managers, Dieticians, Lawyers and Museum Curators (to name a few!)    

There is a growing list of mentors who offer their support to the programme and these come from a wide range of local, national and international organisations.

What do the mentors get out of being involved?  Are they paid?

We do not pay mentors so your mentor will have applied to the programme for one of many reasons, but not for financial reimbursement. Mentors often comment on the “two-way” learning process and how they gain as significantly as their mentee from the partnership.  They comment on benefits such as: skills development, career progression, learning about undergraduates needs and seeing their own role from a fresh perspective.  As many mentors are graduates themselves they also recognise this is an opportunity to ‘give something back’ to the university community.

Whose responsibility is it to arrange meetings?

It is primarily your responsibility as a mentee.  We hope that by taking the lead in arranging your meetings this will expand your confidence and abilities in a professional setting.  We understand that you both have other commitments outside of mentoring, but please note that your ability to organise and time manage are essential skills within the mentoring partnership.  Some mentees view the programme as an opportunity to develop their skills in this area.      

How many times would I meet with my mentor?

The commitment is to meet with your mentor for four, one-hour meetings, however this is flexible, to encourage you both 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 mentee and mentor are given the opportunity to benefit from and develop the mentoring partnership. 

When would I contact my mentor?

Initially it is good practice to contact your mentor 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 you both feel comfortable in contacting each other.  There is guidance on this in the training and resources pack, alongside support with what to cover and how to plan your time.

Where would I meet my mentor?

You should aim to arrange at least one meeting at their workplace to help you to gain a greater understanding of your mentor’s business area.  For the other 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 mentor?

Remember this is a new partnership, which can take a while to establish so try to resolve issues effectively between you and your mentor.   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 mentor is not from chosen career area?

We generally aim to match partnerships based on career interests, however we have found 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 your career choice alone.  The objective of the programme is to enable you 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. 

What about travel expenses?

We would not anticipate that you would incur travel expenses and would take into account your mentors location when we match mentees and mentors.  The programme does not have the resources to cover travel expenses, so please bear this in mind.  Some mentor organisations can make a contribution to your travel expenses, but it would be down to you to negotiate this with your mentor if you felt it was appropriate. 

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