Great mentoring is about holding space for reflection. The mentor's primary role is to create a thoughful environment where the mentee can explore their goals, questions, and challenges. The mentoring process aims to support the personal development of both parties. 

A Mentor Should:

• help the mentee reflect on their career goals and options
• support their career path without prescribing specific directions
• ask toughtful questions to encourage reflection and insights
• share personal experiences and provide inspiration
• recognize and respect intercultural differences

Advice: When mentors aren't confident in a particular topic the mentee wants to pursue, poiting them to a more experienced person is a helpful and encouraged approach. This strategy is also known as cross-mentoring.

In a mentoring relationship, the mentee takes the initiative by setting their own goals, guiding communication, and embracing opportunities for learning and feedback. The mentee plays the leading role in the mentoring relationship. The effectiveness of the journey relies strongly on how prepared and engaged the mentee is throughout. 

A Mentee Should: 

• proactively take the initiative in communication
• communicate their career goals and areas for development
• gain insights from their mentor's experience by asking focused questions
• reflect on received feedback and stay open to new perspectives
• be respectful of their mentor's time

Advice: As a mentee, own your personal development as a mentee by using your mentor as a source of guidance. Be curious, listen attentively, and keep notes to get the most out of each meeting. 

Early conversations should focus on building trust, clarifying boundaries, and agreeing on practical details like how and how often to communicate. If the mentee is in our programme's matching process, a mentor will be suggested. It's up to the mentee to decide whether to accept the match. Once the match is confirmed, we'll connect mentee and mentor.

Checklist for the first mentoring meeting: 

• How do we communicate? (Zoom, phone. email, in person etc.)
• How often and for how long should we meet?
• What do I bring to the table? (education, work experience, interests)
• Where do I want to go professionally - and where am I now?
• What strenghts and development areas show up in my day-to-day work?
• What do we expect from each other, and what values do we share?
• What will we focus on in our next meeting?

The first meeting is about more than just sharing facts. Focus your first meeting on building mutual trust. Feel free to use the Checklist to get started.

Clarify for yourself why you need mentoring. Is it about professional exchange, career input, or simply someone who listens? The clearer your concern, the more targeted your search can be.

Mentors don't have to come from your field or institution. Former PhD students, postdocs, or people from business and other discipines often bring valuable perspectives.

A comment on LikedIn, a conversation after a lecture, or a brief, interested message - mentoring often starts informally. Show genuine interest without setting big expectations right away.

• Make a plan: Who inspires you professionally? Collect five to ten names (e.g. from conferences, alumni networks, or professional articles.
• Build connections: You can follow and message people on LinkedIn, build contact through email, or call them. 
• Make a request: Ask for a short conversation, e.g. "I find your career path very inspiring and would like to learn more about your professional journey. Would you have a few moments to talk with me?"

Remember: Don't demand "mentoring" - just offer a good conversation.

Be prepared, relaible, and express thanks. Even small, regular contacts can develop into a trusting mentoring relationship.