One-on-One E-Mentoring Programs Frequently Asked Questions - Mentors

We have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) and responses to them. If you have finished reading them and have an unanswered question, please contact MentorNet at info@mentornet.net. See questions protégés may have at FAQ for Protégés.

Here is a list of questions mentors may have:

How does the program work?
Am I eligible to participate?
- I have a background in engineering, science, technology, or math, but now I work in another area (for example, marketing or management). Am I still eligible?
- I don't have a degree in engineering, science, technology, or math, but I currently work in one of those fields. Am I eligible?
- Since everyone applies over the Internet, how does MentorNet ensure everyone is who they say they are?
Can a man volunteer to serve as a mentor?
How much time will it take?
What does it take to be a good mentor?
What does MentorNet do to support the mentoring relationship?
- How will I know what to say?
- What if there are problems or misunderstandings between a mentor and a protégé?
Is everyone matched with a mentoring partner?
Do mentors and protégés ever meet?
How are mentors recruited to participate?
How can I get my colleagues involved?
How can I get my company involved?
How do I sign up?
How do I get re-matched with my previous protégé?

How does the program work?

Mentors:

Fill out a Mentor Profile, which asks for information on educational and professional backgrounds, preferences for a protégé (such as gender) and comfort in discussing common mentoring topics such as school decisions, academic career knowledge and gender issues.

Protégés may choose their own mentor (within a limited time frame) or let MentorNet automatically match them. The match process is bi-directional, taking into account not only the protégé's preferences for a mentor, but also the mentor's preferences in a protégé. MentorNet does its best to match mentors as quickly as possible, but it could take a while to be matched.
Once a mentor has been tentatively matched, s/he receives an email notice that gives 10 days to return to the MentorNet site and confirm the mentor's availability. This ensures that the mentor is still interested in being matched with a protégé.

Once the mentor's availability is confirmed, the e-mentoring relationship begins immediately. Mentor and protégé can view each others' profiles through the MentorNet web site to learn about their partner. Mentor and protégé begin receiving regular discussion suggestions from the MentorNet program to help start and build the relationship.

The official MentorNet program lasts approximately 8 months.

Mentors may hide their profile at any time if they do not wish to be available to be chosen. They may also edit their profiles at any time, or delete them completely (if not matched).

Protégés:

Fill out a Protégé Profile, which asks for basic information and interest in discussing common mentoring topics, such as school decisions, work/family balance, and gender issues. This profile also identifies a protégé's preferences for a mentor, such as gender, field of work, location, ethnicity, alma mater, and citizenship. A protégé can fill out a protégé profile at any time of year, as long as her/his college or university is a current participant.
Immediately after creating a profile, a protégé is presented with the mentor profiles (minus the mentor's name and email) of up to 5 potential matches. Protégés can choose a match, opt to let MentorNet try to match them automatically, or come back anytime within the next 14 days to check for new potential matches.
If no mentors are available immediately, protégés can revise their profile, changing preferences to be less restrictive, to try to better the chances of finding a match.
If a protégé opts immediately to let MentorNet try to make the match, s/he will no longer have the option to choose a mentor.

If a protégé does not immediately choose a mentor or opt to let MentorNet try to make the match, s/he will receive 2 reminder e-mails encouraging her/him to come back and check for, and choose from, potential matches.
If a protégé does not choose a mentor within 14 days, MentorNet will automatically attempt to find a match for her/him, based on the information in the protégé profile.
No matter how a protégé is matched (s/he chooses or MentorNet chooses), we will check that the mentor is still available. Once the mentor's availability is confirmed, the e-mentoring relationship begins immediately. Mentor and protégé can view each others' profiles through the MentorNet web site to learn about their partner. Mentor and protégé begin receiving regular discussion suggestions from the MentorNet program to help start and build the relationship.
If the protégé chooses a mentor and the mentor is not available, the protégé will have another 14 days to view potential matches and choose again before MentorNet attempts to automatically make a match.

The official MentorNet program lasts for 8 months.
Protégés may edit their profile or delete it at any time while they are not matched.

Am I eligible to participate?

A MentorNet Mentor must meet ALL of the following criteria:

Male or female with a degree or professional background in engineering, science, technology, or math.

Professional work experience.

Willing to mentor, via email, a community college, undergraduate, graduate student, postdoc, or untenured faculty member. (You may state your preferences for specific levels in your profile.)

Willing to exchange email messages regularly with a protégé over an 8-month period.

Regular access to email.

I have a background in engineering, science, technology, or math, but now I work in another area (for example, marketing or management). Am I still eligible?
Yes, you are. Earning a degree in engineering, science, technology, or math can provide a good foundation for entering promising careers in various areas. MentorNet hopes to expose students to the breadth of career opportunities available to them. Sharing your experiences and your career path could be very informative to your protégé.
I don't have a degree in engineering, science, technology, or math, but I currently work in one of those fields. Am I eligible?
Yes, you are. Some fields, like computer science, are relatively new. Many pioneers in that field earned degrees in others areas and learned their computing skills on the job. What is important is that you have skills, information, and advice that you can transmit to a student to help her persist and succeed in engineering, science, technology or math.

Since everyone applies over the Internet, how does MentorNet ensure everyone is who they say they are?
Every mentor who signs up has to provide a reference who can verify the applicant's identity. When mentors use employer email addresses to sign up with MentorNet, this also helps to validate their identity. Campus representatives review the names of protégé applicants from their institutions, and verify they are currently enrolled students.

Can a man volunteer to serve as a mentor?

Absolutely. Typically, approximately 35% of MentorNet's mentors are men. FYI: in the Diversity section of our Mentoring Guide, available online to all MentorNet members, you can find a section entitled: Cross-Gender Mentoring.

MentorNet is an equal opportunity organization. MentorNet will not discriminate against any program participant because of race, color, religion, creed, age, sex, national origin (including, without limitation, those for whom English is a second language or those who are immigrants), ancestry, physical or mental disability (including learning disabilities), past history of mental disorder, medical condition including pregnancy, family care leave, cancer and AIDS, status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the wars including Vietnam, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other non-program related factor. Program participation is based on eligibility and will not be unlawfully influenced or unlawfully affected by the characteristics of any program applicant or participant. MentorNet will take affirmative action to ensure that program applicants are considered for participation in the program, and program participants are treated during their participation in the program, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, national origin or any other non-program related factor. Such action will include, but will not be limited to: participation as a member of the MentorNet Community, creating a mentor or protégé profile, being matched in the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program and participation in the E-Forum.

How much time will it take?

It only takes a few minutes to join the Community and sign up for a One-on-One Program. By signing up for a One-on-One Program, you are committing to exchange regular emails with an e-mentoring partner. We estimate that you will spend an average of 20 minutes per week, but this varies depending on the pairs. We also ask that you reply to requests for information from MentorNet and MentorNet's external evaluation groups. You will be receiving a survey at the completion of the program and may receive one or more short surveys during the 8-month long program.

What does it take to be a good mentor?

Be flexible, take the initiative, and be responsive. Remember what it was like when you were in your protégé's position, and realize that s/he may not understand a lot of the cultural norms associated with email interaction. Take the initiative to suggest discussion topics, share personal experiences, pose questions, and engage in small talk until a relevant topic for discussion emerges. Be responsive to your protégé's questions and comments. If you do not have the time to offer a full response shortly after you receive an email message, send a short message letting her/him know you will be in contact when you have the opportunity.

What does MentorNet do to support the mentoring relationship?

The elements of MentorNet's structured e-mentoring program:
MentorNet is a structured e-mentoring program. We provide multiple supports to help mentors and protégés develop and sustain an e-mentoring relationship. Our matching system, created by MentorNet and based upon mentoring research and our years of experience, is designed to create the best matches possible based on each partner's preferences. We also provide training for the participants, along with ongoing coaching in the form of regular discussion suggestions. Through the delivery of discussion suggestions, we keep open the lines of communication between MentorNet participants and staff, and provide consulting, troubleshooting, and rematching when necessary.
How will I know what to say?
Once your match is established, we regularly send discussion suggestions to both the mentors and the protégés; both partners receive similar messages. These messages will address initiating and sustaining an e-mentoring relationship and will suggest relevant topics for you to discuss with your e-mentoring partner.
What if there are problems or misunderstandings between a mentor and a protégé?
Through the regular discussion suggestions, we ask you to inform us if you have not heard from your e-mentoring partner, if you have questions or comments about the e-mentoring relationship, and if you are uncomfortable with any aspect of your e-mentoring relationship. Simply write to us at program@mentornet.net. We will address your questions, help to reconnect you and your e-mentoring partner, or rematch you with a different partner, as appropriate. If we become aware of any inappropriate behavior between a mentor and a protégé, we will quickly unmatch the e-mentoring pair, disqualify the offending party from participation in MentorNet, and attempt to find a suitable rematch for the other e-mentoring partner.

Do mentors and protégés ever meet?

MentorNet was developed to leverage electronic communications in order to connect people who are in different locations and who abide by different schedules. So, frequently mentors and protégés will never meet face-to-face, yet can develop effective mentoring relationships. Occasionally, mentors and protégés are able to meet at professional society conferences, when mentors visit protégés while on business near the protégé's school, when protégés accept internships or jobs at or near the mentor's place of employment, and when a mentor and a protégé are in close geographic proximity. When face-to-face meetings are possible, they seem to have a very positive influence on the mentoring relationship.

Is everyone matched with a mentoring partner?

Unfortunately, no. While we do all we can to find appropriate matches for everyone, the pools of available mentors and interested protégés do not always match perfectly, and we are unable to match everyone who is interested in participating. If you are not matched in the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program, you can still provide and/or receive mentoring through our other community features such as the discussion groups.

How are mentors recruited to participate?

Through a wide variety of networks and media. MentorNet has a large and growing list of individual and organizational contacts to reach prospective mentors. Each of our participating corporations, professional societies, and national laboratories has a representative. The representatives send recruiting messages, usually via email, to employees or members within the organization who are eligible to participate in MentorNet. In addition, the participating universities often recruit alumni/ae to serve as mentors. News articles, school newsletters, distribution lists, and word of mouth are all means by which prospective mentors learn about MentorNet.

If you are interested in recruiting other mentors, please see the section below: How can I get my colleagues involved?

How can I get my colleagues involved?

If you are interested in letting your colleagues know about volunteering as a mentor with MentorNet, please send them to our web site. In addition, you could forward to them a 'Call for Mentors' email message, which we have posted on our web site so you can copy and paste it directly into an email message. Please feel free to forward this message to individuals or place the message on distribution lists of people who are eligible and might be interested in applying as a mentor. We have also made available two flyers, which can be downloaded off our web site. There are two versions to choose from, each in both PDF (recommended) and Microsoft Word format. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat read to read the PDF version, click here

Flyer 1: PDF | Microsoft Word

Flyer 2: PDF | Microsoft Word

If you are specifically interested in recruiting faculty as mentors, there are specialized materials here.

In addition, you can contact MentorNet at info@mentornet.net, and we would be happy to send you an email version or hard copy version of the "Call for Mentors" message and a packet of information about MentorNet.

How can I get my company involved?

MentorNet is seeking new alliances. For more information about becoming a financial supporter of MentorNet, please visit our Partners section.

How do I sign up?

Follow this 2-step process:

1) Sign In to the MentorNet Community. If you are not yet a member, you may Join the MentorNet Community at any time.

2) Follow the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program links to create a Mentor or Protégé Profile.

How do I get re-matched with my previous protégé?

1) Confirm that your protégé is still a community college, undergraduate or graduate student, postdoc or untenured faculty member at a MentorNet participating college or university. If not, you are welcome to maintain an informal match and continue communicating outside of the MentorNet program.

2) If your protégé is still eligible to participate, s/he needs to sign in to the MentorNet Community and activate her profile (if s/he hasn't already done so), click on the "Search for a Mentor" link, and then on "Search for My Previous Mentor".

3) Your protégé can request you as a mentor even if your profile is not active. We will then write to make sure you are still available for the match (which you will be) and let her know that you are available. There is no need for you to reactivate your profile.

4) Then your match will begin again for another eight months!

NOTE: If you do not wish to be selected by a new protégé, you should keep your Mentor Profile hidden.