Resources

Mentor resources

• Activities to do with your mentee

  Below you will find some activities to do with your mentee or to use as homework for your mentee.

  • Personality tests/career path tests (Myers-Briggs, CareerFitter, LinkedIn assessments, etc.)
  • Create a relevant project for your mentee to complete
  • Allow your mentee to work on a current project of yours
  • Add debriefing sessions to every meeting
  • Improv mock interviews
  • Create elevator pitches or professional summary statements
  • Allow your mentee to attend staff meetings/webinars or visit your workplace
  • Provide resources for job databases, certifications, etc. and have your mentee provide three or more interesting jobs/certifications they want to explore
  • Provide feedback on resumes, cover letters, portfolios
  • Teach your mentee a skill you have mastered that is relevant to their professional development and conduct an assessment of that skill
  • Have your mentee teach you a skill
  • Select an article/book for you both to read and discuss
  • Invite your mentee to a networking event and have them collect at least three business cards from attendees to follow up

  Activities to do with your mentee (pdf)

• Icebreakers
  • Virtual scavenger hunts (have participants find certain items in their homes)
  • What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics?
  • What's the last great TV show or movie you watched?
  • If you could write a book, what genre would it be? Mystery? Thriller? Romance? Historical fiction? Non-fiction?
  • Play hangman using a whiteboard feature
  • Create virtual name tags and name four of your favorite musicians, four of your favorite movies, list four words to describe yourself and four things you want to change about yourself
  • Virtual Pictionary
  • Pick three questions to ask and take turns drawing your answer for the other person to guess
  • Word Chain
  • Select a topic and a letter. One person starts by saying a word to fit the category and the letter, the next person has to repeat the word from person one and add a new word to fit the same category and letter. Repeat until someone messes up!
  • Fabulous Flags
  • Design a flag that contains objects or symbols to represent who you are or things you enjoy doing.
  • Take turns asking and answering questions that begin with "if" (example, "If you could learn any language fluently, what would it be?")
  • One-minute mysteries (pdf)

  Icebreakers (pdf)

• MPREP mentor to-do list
  • Verify the name and contact info of your mentee
  • Double check with MPREP staff that you have the correct name and contact information for your mentee. Feel free to ask MPREP staff for any additional information you may need.
  • Send an introductory email to your mentee
  • Create an email to introduce yourself to your mentee. This email should include your name, professional experience, any relevant hobbies/affiliations, etc. In this email, please feel free to request the mentee's resume or bio and ask any questions you feel are crucial to helping you become an engaged mentor.
  • Review your mentor plan and mentoring agreement documents
  • The mentor plan should be completed by both you and your mentee. It is up to you to decide when you want to complete this, although it is highly recommended that you complete this during your first meeting.
  • Brain dump your resources and/or contacts
  • After you have reviewed your mentee's resume and have a better understanding of their needs and goals, create a list of contacts and resources you can share to help support your mentee.
  • Connect via LinkedIn
  • Share your LinkedIn profile and connect with your mentee. Use this site as another way to share relevant information, connect your mentee to others and communicate.
  • Plan, plan and plan again
  • Once introductions are complete and you both feel comfortable, the next important step is to plan for the next few meetings. Check your schedule, create agendas and give your mentee "homework" or tasks to help facilitate conversations and help with ensuring progress on their goals.

  MPREP mentor to-do list (pdf)

• Questions to ask your mentee

  These questions will help facilitate conversations during meetings with your mentee.

  • What is it that you really want to be and do?
  • What are you doing really well that is helping you get there?
  • What are you not doing well that is preventing you from getting there?
  • How can I help/where do you need the most help?
  • What will you do differently to meet the challenges you face?
  • What difference will achieving your goals make in your life/career?
  • What do you want to achieve for yourself, both professionally and personally?
  • Why is this goal important to you?
  • Who do you talk with about the struggles and successes of your job?
  • Where do you ultimately want to end up in your career (role, title, income, etc.)?
  • What are your short-term goals?
  • What are your long-term goals?
  • What's not working for you right now?
  • What areas do you feel comfortable addressing on your own and what areas require more support?
  • What skills or knowledge do you hope to gain from this experience?
  • What do you think will be the most challenging for you?
  • What do you think will be the most rewarding for you?
  • What are you the most worried about/afraid of?
  • Tell me the best five things about yourself.
  • Tell me about your two favorite movies of all time and why you like them so much.
  • Tell me about school, the good and the bad.
  • Tell me about your job.

  Questions to ask your mentee (pdf)

• Tips for planning your mentorship

  You and your mentee each have goals for this experience. The challenge is for you and the student to plan an experience that reaches both sets of goals. Mentorship activities can be flexible, but they are more successful when mentors and mentees have something to work on together. Completing the mentoring plan gives you a clear focus for the relationship.

  Examples of goals for mentees:

  • Learn specific skills. For example, "I want to know how to write a business letter or gain a certification in coding."
  • Gain an overview of careers. For example, "I want to learn more about careers in accounting, marketing research, etc. I would like to gain an understanding of what an accountant does day-to-day and what skills and training are required."
  • Improve personal growth. For example, "I hope to become more comfortable with networking" or "I will apply to five internships this year."

  Examples of goals for mentors:

  • Help your mentee grow/learn in specific ways. Help the mentee gain confidence in his or her abilities. Teach the mentee about your work or work in another field.
  • Help your mentee explore the career field of their interest.
  • Help your mentee explore scholarships for college.
  • Help your mentee qualify for a better-paying job or a job in their career focus area.
  • Help your mentee to improve on specific learning or study skills.
  • Introduce your mentee to new networking experiences.
  • Benchmarks might include:
  • Mentee improves grades due to learning a new study skill
  • Mentee can make informed career decisions based on research and knowledge about career options
  • Mentee engages in two or three job interviews and feels more confident with each one
  • Mentee attends multiple networking opportunities, workshops, career fairs or social events with mentor this year

  Tips on planning your mentorship (pdf)

Student and alumni resources

• Action plan

  Use the mentoring action plan to identify your individual academic and professional goals. Work with your mentor to help determine the best plan to archive your goals for this year and beyond. Your goals should align with the SMART goal writing technique: Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Results-oriented and Time-based.

  Download and fill out the action plan here (pdf)

• Mentoring agreement

  This agreement ensures all parties are voluntarily entering into a mutually beneficial and rewarding relationship.

  Download and fill out the mentoring agreement here (pdf)

• Tips for a successful meeting

  Now sure how to engage with your mentor? Wondering where to start after saying "hello?" Use these tips to help you prepare for meetings with your MPREP mentor.

  • Double-check with MPREP staff that you have the correct name and contact information for your mentor. Feel free to ask MPREP staff for any additional information that you may need.
  • Create an email to introduce yourself to your mentor. This email should include your name, academic information, professional experience and what you would like to accomplish as a mentee. In this email, please feel free to share your resume or bio. You can ask any probing questions you feel are crucial to helping you become an engaged mentee.
  • Review the mentor plan and mentoring agreement. The mentor plan should be completed by both the mentor and mentee. It is up t you to decide when you want to complete this. It is highly recommended to complete this during your first meeting. As the mentee, you should have some idea of what you want to accomplish. You should present these ideas and have your mentor help you refine them.
  • After you have had some basic communication with your mentor and have learned more about their professional experience, create a list of what you will need from them. This list should also have any questions you have for them (recommended certifications, job market outlook, etc.). Have these questions handy so that you can ask them in future meetings.
  • Share your LinkedIn profile information and request your mentor's information as well. Use this site as another way to gain relevant industry information, connect with your mentor's network and communicate with your mentor.
  • Remember to send a follow-up email after every meeting with your mentor. The email should thank them for their time, reflect on what was discussed, provide details of what you will work on as a result of the meeting, and ask about the next meeting date.

  Mentee to-do list (pdf)

• Questions to ask your mentor

  These questions will help facilitate conversations during meetings with your mentor.

  • What have you done to develop your career?
  • What does a day in your life look like?
  • What professional associations or organizations are useful to belong to in this field?
  • Who had the most significant impact on your career choice?
  • What are the things you find personally rewarding in your career?
  • Who helped you get into this field, either through networking or other connections?
  • What terminology or ideas should I remember when I am applying for a job in this field?
  • How do you balance home and work commitments?
  • Who do you talk with about the struggles and successes of your job?
  • What's the most effective daily habit you've developed?
  • What do you wish you had known before taking your first management role?
  • Which leadership skills were the most difficult to develop?
  • What are the things you find frustrating or disappointing and how do you manage those things?
  • What practices can you recommend for dealing with nervousness when speaking to groups?
  • Did you always think you would end up in this industry? If so, when did you know this was the work you wanted to get into? If not, how did you get here?
  • Did you have a mentor at any point in your career? If so, how did he/she help you? If not, why did you never seek one out?
  • Was there a time you messed up and felt like you had failed? How did you bounce back?
  • What areas do you think I can improve in?
  • How do you make yourself happy in your current role/industry?
  • What's something you'd like to change about your current role or the industry?
  • If you could learn any new professional skill, even if it isn't related to your current role or industry, what would it be?
  • What are some things I can do now to stand out to future employers/companies?

  Questions to ask your mentor (pdf)