Mentees: Participation | Requirements
What are the prerequisites to participate as a mentee in Career Mentoring?
You have to study or have studied at the University of Graz.
I am already finished with my studies, can I still participate?
Yes.
You decide yourself which time is the right one for you to start a mentorship and also in which area you would like to be supported: Career entry, international/working abroad or self-employment.
I do not study at the University of Graz or have not studied there. Can I still participate?
Under certain circumstances, yes. Please contact the Career Mentoring Team: mentoring@uni-graz.at, +43 316 380 1821.
I already have a job in prospect after graduation, can I still register for Career Mentoring?
Yes.
You decide yourself which questions you want to work on in the mentorship. Career entry, the work-related move abroad or the step into self-employment are transitional phases in which support by a mentor can be useful in addition to an existing job commitment.
I do not live in Graz, can I still participate?
Yes.
You can use the Career Mentoring regardless of location. We recommend - if possible - personal meetings with mentors, but also virtual appointments or an exchange by phone are absolutely helpful.
Tip: Look for mentors who live in your area, this facilitates personal meetings.
Can I be a mentee and a mentor at the same time?
Yes.
If you bring knowledge as a mentor in one area and seek mentoring in another, you can do so within your profile without having to unlock another profile.
How can I unsubscribe from Career Mentoring?
You can either delete or deactivate your account in your profile in the "My Data" section.
We recommend that you deactivate your profile if you wish to use the Career Mentoring platform again at a later date. By deleting your profile, all data you uploaded will be irrevocably removed from our servers and you will no longer be able to access data from past mentorships.
Mentees: Cost
What does it cost to participate in the Career Mentoring Program?
Participation is free of charge.
Mentees: Find a mentor
How do I best look for a mentor?
Here are Tips on how to search.
Can I have more than one mentor at the same time?
Yes.
You can decide for yourself how many mentorships you want to take up at the same time. However, keep in mind that each Mentorship will take your time and energy. Therefore, we recommend starting one single mentorship first and adding more only when you are sure you have enough resources for it.
I am not satisfied with the suggested mentor-profiles, what can I do?
Try to change your search criteria, e.g. instead of your field of study, gradually set the higher-level categories. (Ex: instead of climate geography, just geography). Also, if you adjust the slider for the weighting of the search criteria downwards, you should get more profiles displayed.
If you are also unsuccessful with this, please contact the Career Mentoring Team for support.
My favorite mentor lives abroad, can we still start a mentorship?
Yes.
You can start a mentorship at any time via chat, telephone or video telephony. Agree together what is most comfortable for both of you.
My first language is not German. Can a mentorship also take place in another language?
Mentors have the possibility to indicate languages in which they offer mentoring. To find these mentors, please enter your preferred language in the free text field of the mentor search and check the displayed profiles to see whether the mentors have indicated your preferred language.
Mentors: Participation and requirements
What are the requirements for mentors?
All graduates who would like to share their professional experience to students or graduates can become mentors. Career Mentoring at the University of Graz has three different focuses, for which we are looking for mentors who:
- have at least a master's degree and three years of professional experience, and/orf
- have professional experience abroad and/or
- have started their own business or founded a company.
More about your role as a mentor can be found in the section "Be a mentor".
Will I be paid as a mentor?
No, mentoring is a voluntary activity.
What will I gain from participating in Career Mentoring Program as a mentor?
At the end of a successful mentoring process, not only the mentees win, but also the mentor: A mentorship improves your counselling skills, the exchange with mentees gives you new ideas, broadens your horizons and you might even look at your own career path from a new perspective.
Can I be a mentee and a mentor at the same time?
Yes.
If you bring knowledge as a mentor in one area and are looking for mentoring in another area, you can do so within your profile without having to unlock another profile.
How can I unsubscribe from the Career Mentoring Platform?
You can either delete or deactivate your account in your profile in the "My Data" section.
We recommend that you deactivate your profile in case you wish to use the Mentoring Platform again at a later date. By deleting your profile, all data uploaded by you will be irrevocably removed from our servers and you will no longer be able to access data from past mentorships.
Mentors addition: you have the option to set in your profile that you are not currently available for mentoring. In this way, you will continue to receive messages and invitations to events, but no mentorship requests.
General Topics: Support
Where can I get help?
For support, please contact the Career Mentoring Team.
In what cases will I be supported?
The Career Mentoring Team is here for you in all cases and with all questions. You can find a lot of information here on the Career Mentoring Platform. However, for your individual questions and concerns about the mentoring process itself, or to report any technical issues with the platform, we are more than happy to assist you via email, phone, or a face-to-face appointment.
General topics: Mentorship: process | opportunities
How long does a mentorship last?
We recommend a duration of about 3-12 months and a frequency of about one meeting per month.
Basically, however, the duration and frequency of meetings of a mentorship are agreed upon by mentees and mentor together.
Can I have more than one mentor / mentee at a time?
Yes.
You can decide for yourself how many mentorships you would like to take up or offer at the same time. However, keep in mind that each mentorship will take your time and energy. Therefore, we recommend that you start one single mentorship first and then add other when you are sure you have enough resources to do so.
Can mentees and mentors meet for an initial meeting and only then decide if they would like to start a mentorship?
In fact, you should absolutely do so.
Only after the initial meeting, if there is mutual agreement, will a mentorship be started. To start this, the mentee fills out the mentorship agreement in his or her profile, which is confirmed by the mentor on the platform. This agreement should contain (approximately) a time period and the frequency of meetings and, if you wish, already those topics that you want to work on in the mentorship.
After approval, the mentorship agreement is displayed in the "Mentoring" area of your profile.
How can I cancel my mentorship?
You can cancel a mentorship by clicking on "Cancel mentoring" in the "Mentoring" area of your profile.
I would like to change the duration of a mentorship. Is that possible?
Yes.
Amendments to the mentorship agreement only require the consent of both parties, but this can be changed at any time during the course of a mentorship.
I would like to exchange information with other mentees or mentors. How can I do that?
This is possible via the group function in your profile. You will find already existing groups there and can join them. If there is no group with a suitable topic for you, you can create a new group.
My mentor / my mentee does not contact me anymore, what can I do?
In this case, please contact the Career Mentoring Team.
I would like to suspend my mentorship for now and resume it at a later date. Is that possible?
By agreement between mentor and mentee, everything is fine. Just extend the term of the mentorship agreement on the Career Mentoring Platform.
How can I unsubscribe from the Career Mentoring Platform?
You can either delete or deactivate your account in your profile in the "My Data" section.
We recommend that you deactivate your profile in case you want to use the Career Mentoring Platform again at a later date. By deleting your profile, all data uploaded by you will be irrevocably removed from our servers and you will no longer be able to access data from past mentorships.
Mentors also have the option of setting in their profile to indicate that they are not currently available for mentoring. This way, you will continue to receive messages and invitations to events, but no mentorship requests.
How can I complete my mentorship?
A mentorship must be completed by the mentor. In their profile, in the section "Mentoring", they will find the button "Complete Mentoring". As soon as they click on it, both mentor and mentee can download a confirmation of participation.
What do I get with a completed mentorship?
After a successfully completed mentorship, a confirmation of participation is available for download in your profile, which includes your name and the completion date of the mentorship.
Where can I find my mentorship participation confirmation?
After finishing your mentorship you can download your participation confirmation in your profile under the heading "Mentoring".
General Topics: Functionality & Technical Issues
The badge upload is not working.
Please check that your document is in jpg or PDF format and no larger than 5MB.
Alternatively, you can email the document to mentoring@uni-graz.at for verification.
I did not receive a mentorship request via email.
You can always reply to requests in the "Mentoring" section of your profile. Please also check to see if the email landed in your spam folder.
Where can I find the mentorship agreement?
The mentorship agreement only shows up for mentees, and only after an official mentorship request has been sent and responded to positively.