Supporting Our Own: A Manual for ESP Mentoring Programs

The Mentoring Process

At the beginning of their relationship, mentors and mentees should talk about how they want to structure their partnership. The following outline can help partners plan their future work together.

The First Meeting

• Get to know each other. Start with what you might have in common. Break the ice by talking about family, hobbies, interests, and personal histories.
• Review the mentee’s goals. Make sure the mentor is clear about what the mentee hopes to gain from the process.
• Review the mentor’s reasons for volunteering. Talk about how the mentor’s experience (identified in the mentor application) can help the mentee achieve his or her objectives.
• Agree on a schedule and ground rules.
  • When should you meet and for how long
  • What location is most convenient?
  • How can you contact each other?
  • Under what circumstances should meetings be cancelled?
  • Are informal sessions via e-mail or phone possible? Desirable?
• Decide whether and how to use reflection logs or notes from meetings. For example, should they be shared or kept as personal journals? If shared, should they be filled out together or separately? Should they be reviewed at the beginning or end of each get together? Or after some other time period? Use the sample reflection forms in this manual to tailor a log that works for both partners
• Discuss and sign a letter of understanding that lays out time commitments, goals, and pledges about general rules of behavior understood by both parties.
• Discuss the parameters of confidentiality and sign a confidentiality pledge. Each partner should be clear that their discussions are privileged and private information and will not be shared unless legally necessary.
• Discuss any reservations you might have about the mentoring process or the partnership. If either partner has any reservations about the other, now is the time to discuss them. Honesty and frankness are the foundation of healthy mentoring relationships.

Subsequent Meetings

• Be prepared. Mentees should review their reflection logs or notes from the previous meeting and think about what they would like to focus on at the next meeting. Mentors should set a meeting objective and assemble any supplementary materials in advance of the session. Both partners should evaluate the mentee’s progress toward the identified objectives and goals.
• Concentrate during the session. Try to identify what you want to accomplish at each meeting and orient the meeting toward the mentoring goals. Encourage a free and open exchange of ideas; don’t assume that you know what each other is thinking. Avoid interruptions.
• Summarize the meeting and prepare for the next one. Review the meeting’s effectiveness and share ideas for follow-up. Confirm and commit to the next session. Depending on what the partners have decided, fill out your reflection logs either at the conclusion of each meeting or shortly after you part. The logs or journals can help both partners assess progress and avoid problems.

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