So, it’s the first meeting between you and your mentee… where do you start?
The first meeting will likely be a little daunting for both of you, but we have some advice to help you.
Introductions between you and your mentee
The crucial thing in your first meeting with your mentee is to build rapport with them. You can do this by preparing some questions (maybe even some icebreaker questions), asking them questions about their career goals and helping them to set some that you’ll be able to work through with them. This is your opportunity to genuinely get to know your mentee, listen to what they need so you know how to guide them and take a genuine interest in their career.
If you are hosting a mentee, it might be nice to suggest a shared activity, such as an informal meal or a coffee so that the intern can feel comfortable and start getting to know you as their host.
Ultimately, your mentee needs to see you as someone who they can open to about their careers (whether this is purely professional, or they may want to talk to you about the emotional toll of starting out too), so the earlier this is established, the better – you will be able to provide them with the mentorship that will best benefit them.
Further professional introductions
Most people within the industry will know the value of networking – reports have shown that between 70-80% of jobs are never posted. It can be therefore really hard to break into the industry if you don’t know anyone – therefore nepotism continues to be a systemic industry-wide issue. But this is your chance to help make a difference.
If during a conversation or mentoring session your mentee mentions a particular topic, publication or direction that rings a bell with you for someone you know, it would be great if you could connect your mentee with them. This could be done in many forms, but typically, it is much easier for your mentee to get noticed if you introduce them to your colleague or network directly. You can do this by emailing that person with the subject line ‘Introduction’, write a few lines about why you want to introduce your mentee to that person and finally CC in your mentee so they can carry on from there!
If your mentee has little or no experience of networking, this may be something that you could discuss with them in a session. Furthermore, it may be helpful to talk through what email or message templates they use when they reach out to people.
You can talk your mentee through the dos and don’ts of networking, such as being respectful, preparing properly for the meeting to make the most of the opportunity, being polite, coming across politely and confidently. You never know what may come from a simple introduction, and in doing so, you are actively helping your mentee break into the industry who might not have the advantage of pre-existing connections.
Image Credit: Smartworks Coworking
