DANWISE MENTORING PROGRAM

2020-2021

MENTOR-MENTEE PAIRING STEPS

Sign up on DANWISE Women’s network page.

Mentees

• Choose up to 3 mentors and contact them directly by e-mail.

• Clarify the topics that you would like to discuss with your mentor during the meetings (e.g. life work balance, industry vs academia, family and career, etc.).

• Attach your CV or a link to your CV

(LinkedIn or other profile information).

Mentors

• Choose a mentee(s) who you wish to mentor and e-mail them directly to confirm you wish to mentor them. Please check your spam or junk mail folder, too (since often emails may land there).

• Please also inform the other mentees who contacted you, to confirm you cannot offer mentoring.

Mentors and Mentees

• Inform DANWISE (info@danwise.org) once you have formed a mentor-mentee pair. DANWISE will send you the mentor-mentee agreement form.

• Note: if you were unable to find a mentor or mentee, please contact us and we can help to pair you with available mentors and mentees.

Kick-off meeting – online

DANWISE will provide you advice and guidance for a successful mentor-mentee relationship.

GETTING STARTED

BEFORE THE FIRST MEETING

Mentor and mentee

• Ensure that you have read each other’s CV.

Mentee

• Consider what you would like to discuss (e.g. advice on your work-life balance, how to best organize your tasks, a new job or potential career change, how to improve your CV and look more promotable, etc.)

• What are your short/long-term goals?

• Consider what you wish to get out of the program. Think about what you expect from your mentor – and be realistic!

DURING THE FIRST MEETING

• We recommend that the first meeting (if possible) is in person.

• Get to know each other. Discuss your needs and possibilities.

• Fill in the DANWISE mentor-mentee agreement form and e-mail it back to us.

• Ensure to match your expectations thoroughly.

• Agree on the type of relationship and how often you would like to meet.

We recommend you meet for 1-1.5 hours every 1-3 months. Please read our guidelines below to ensure a successful mentor-mentee relationship.

DANWISE MENTORING PROGRAM GUIDELINES

WHAT IS A MENTORING PROGRAM?

• A personal development and empowerment tool

• An effective experience for encouraging women to progress in their careers

• A dialogue between two equals to discuss various topics, where both parties are open to dialogue

• A reciprocal relationship with focus on giving and receiving based upon mutual trust and respect

WHAT MAKES OUR PROGRAM DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS?

• Our mentoring program is specifically for female mentees but the mentor may be of any gender.

• You can choose your mentor yourself, from our Women’s Network page.

• Our mentors and mentees are from both academia and industry.

• Your meetings can be performed online. There is no need for travel.

• Our program is nation-wide.

• Each mentee can only have one mentor, but mentors may have several mentees.

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF BEING A MENTEE?

This mostly depends on what you wish to obtain. It could be:

• your chance to talk to an independent third party about your personal development.

• an opportunity to be challenged and receive feedback, encouragement and support.

• to gain insight into your mentor’s experiences.

• to expand your professional and personal network.

WHAT DO YOU GET OUT OF BEING A MENTOR?

You have the opportunity:

• to help others to overcome obstacles that you may have experienced in the past.

• to tutor someone, so she does not make the same mistakes you might have made.

• to gain confidence and experience in advising and coaching others.

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR A SUCCESSFUL MENTOR-MENTEE RELATIONSHIP?

A GOOD MENTEE

• seeks knowledge, advice and inspiration.

• is curious.

• is prepared to share her learnings, doubts and concerns.

• takes her future seriously.

• is realistic about her requests and expectations to the mentor.

• is appreciative.

• is responsible for taking the initiative, scheduling the meetings, making the agenda etc.

A MENTEE IS NOT

• a personal assistant for the mentor.

• the mentor’s psychologist.

• obliged to follow the mentor’s advice.

A GOOD MENTOR

• places himself/herself in the mentee’s position and supports her in an appropriate manner.

• provides a sounding board for bouncing new ideas, clarifying problems and suggesting alternative working methods.

• contributes with knowledge and experience.

• seeks to ensure that the mentee gains confidence and independence as a result of mentoring and is eventually able to go forward independently.

• provides coaching on interpersonal and organizational skills.

• Tip: New to mentoring? Get an experienced mentor yourself, who can give you advice on mentoring.

A MENTOR IS NOT

• the mentee’s psychologist.

• there to provide a new job to the mentee, but can advise her on job searching or preparing for job interviews.

• the mentee’s advocate. The mentor will not give you a job

promotion, but can advise you how to reach that.

• the solution to all your problems, but will help and guide you to find

appropriate solutions yourself

SET A FRAMEWORK FOR YOUR RELATIONSHIP

• Discuss confidentiality with the aim to keep the content discussed completely confidential.

• Clarify in the beginning what you wish and don’t wish to discuss.

• The duration of the mentor-mentee relationship in the DANWISE framework is set to 7 months. However, you are encouraged to prolong the relationship, if there is mutual agreement.

• Decide how frequently you would like to meet. We recommend you meet for 1-1.5 hours every 1-3 months, but this will vary depending on your needs.

• Decide on a place/on-line platform for your meetings. We recommend that the first meeting, if possible, is performed in person.

• The mentee is responsible for arranging the meetings.

POTENTIAL PITFALLS

• mismatched expectations

• poor communication

• subjects to discuss are too limited or narrow

HOW TO AVOID PITFALLS

Mentor and mentee

• Stay positive!

• Make sure to mutually match your expectations.

• Be open and seek mutual trust in each other! Keep the conversations confidential.

• Be conscious of how well you are able to listen and adjust your listening skills if you need to.

• Be open-minded and willing to consider new concepts, ideas and approaches.

Mentee

• Remember, the mentor is not there to criticize you, but to give you feedback and to help you.

• Remember your mentor will not give you a job but can advise you how to get one.

Mentors

• Remember to appreciate the efforts of your mentee.

IF IT DOESN’T WORK

• It’s OK. It happens.

• Both parties can terminate the relationship.

• Remain respectful towards each other, if you feel it didn’t work well.

• Don’t feel discouraged. Reconsider your expectations and wishes and sign up for our next round of mentoring in 2021.

QUESTIONS

Feel free to contact us along the way for any help and advice.

Josefine Christiansen and Andrea Toth

DANWISE Mentor Program Managers

E-mail: info@danwise.org