Your role as a mentor
First and foremost, being a mentor:in means, that you are giving your time and your experience
to help someone else overcome a situation that you are already in.
Your task as a mentor is above all to strengthen your mentee and to give them open space for reflection on the next professional steps in joint discussions.
This means for you at the same time, that you don't have to worry about perhaps not having sufficient knowledge or too experience for your role as a mentor:in. Mentees should definitely be strengthened in the mentorship to research information and and to remain active throughout the process.
Offer: Start-up talk "My role as a mentor"
If you have any questions about your role as a mentor:in, please contact the mentoring team. We will be happy to schedule an appointment with you to answer your questions.
Recommendations
To build a mentoring relationship, we recommend these principles:
- Your experience is an offer:
Stay open to the wishes and ideas of the mentees. Offer your opinion on how a situation can be handled as one possibility. The decision is up to the mentees. - Mentoring is a working relationship:
Mentees can go through stressful periods, such as graduation or through other stressful situations, and communicate this to you - after all, you are a trusted advisor. Remain aware of your role in the context of mentorship and steer if necessary in time against it, if other topics take up too much space. - You are not Google:
Many questions of the mentees you will be able to answer, but some also not. It is just as important for you to draw boundaries in what you can accomplish as it is important for the mentees to organize themselves.
More job and career offers at the University of Graz
The Career Center of the University of Graz helps students and graduates during their career entry. The offer ranges from support in career orientation, preparation for application processes to salary negotiation and beyond. This offer is also part of the Career Mentoring, in order to accompany the mentees in their transition phases optimally.
Time required
Mentoring means process accompaniment and should therefore not be shorter than three month and last up to maximally twelve months. We advise about one meeting per month for about one and a half hours. With short preparation, travel times and meetings, a mentorship means an average time commitment of 20 hours. Whereby each mentoring team agrees on the schedule together and the time resources of the mentor sets the framework.
For content preparation, you can find information on the platform and in the mentoring guide, which is written for both mentor and mentee.
Suggestions for content
In any case, too much preparation for your role as a mentor is not
necessary. After all, you already bring the three most important things
with you: Your experience, your time and your willingness to help others.
Your gain
A mentorship will improve your
consulting skills, the exchange with mentees brings you to new
ideas, broadens your horizons and perhaps you will look at
your own career path from a new perspective. In addition, you have the opportunity to expand your own network at our events, to which all participants of the Career Mentoring will be invited.
Support
Should you have any questions, suggestions or requests before, during or after a mentorship, the Career Mentoring Team is happy to help. Please contact us by email at mentoring@uni-graz.at or by phone at 0316/380-1821.
This is the Career Mentoring Team