— Academic Affairs — Faculty Affairs — Mentoring — Information for Mentors

Information for Mentors

Being a mentor is a rewarding experience that allows you to pass along your knowledge and experience to help others.

In order to be a good mentor, you don't necessarily need to have experience in mentoring. It is your personal characteristics and experience that will help you guide your mentee toward reaching their goals.

At the beginning of any mentoring relationship, it's crucial you and your mentee are completely open and honest about each other's expectations and how evaluation of the process will be established. Not doing so can cause issues later. After all, the more you know about the mentee's goals, the more effective you can be in sponsoring them for activities in their department or professional organizations.

Tip: The time and dedication you invest in your mentee's success is an excellent example of outstanding professional service that is needed for promotion and tenure.

Information Every Mentor Needs

Your Role as a Mentor

Mentoring Agreement

Ending a Mentoring Relationship

The mentoring process is a two-way street where each individual has their own role. As a mentor, your focus should be on the professional development of the mentee — it is not about telling the mentee what to do. Therefore, your role may be to:

Assist in prioritizing tasks
Offer guidance on psychosocial issues such as work/life balance
Provide insight on the academic politics of the department
Help navigate the promotion and tenure process
Provide feedback and advice on grant development and scholarly writing
Ask open-ended questions to encourage more dialogue and allow your mentee to explore the many options to their questions
Provide feedback and guidance on potential pitfalls based on your own experiences
Assist the mentee to establish networking relationships with leaders in their field and internal and external organizations
Be an advocate for the mentee
Shield the mentee from involvement in activities that won't advance their academic career

Having a written agreement between you and your mentee can avoid future conflicts. One of the first things the two of you should discuss is the time commitment involved and each of your expectations.

It is also important to include confidentiality as part of the mentoring agreement. This will allow you to provide counsel and discuss sensitive issues, especially those involving fellow faculty members or leaders. You should reassure your mentee there will be no direct feedback to their department chair or other leadership.

Review an example of a mentoring agreement.

During the mentoring relationship, both of you need to bring up any concerns about the process or the learning activities as soon as they develop. You should also periodically evaluate the effectiveness of the relationship, and make adjustments as needed before problems become too severe to overcome.

However, if both of you agree your mentoring relationship is not advancing, you should still end on a positive note and express your appreciation for the time spent.

Mentoring Resources

Not sure where to start? We've compiled a variety of resources to help you navigate the challenges of mentoring relationships and maximize the use of mentoring in career development.

Becoming a Better Mentor

Watch this 50-minute presentation by Dr. Jennifer Larsen as she explains the steps you can take to improve your abilities so the experience is better for both you and your mentee.