What you'll find on this page

We've put together a suggested timeline and some documents you can use to support your mentoring conversations. We've adapted everything from the Leadership and Management Development Mentoring ProgrammeLink opens in a new window which supports the wider university and will relate to the training session they run that you're welcome to go on.

Mentoring is supposed to be a flexible agreement so only use what's helpful to you, and remember you're completing templates etc. for your own purposes - they don't need to be submitted back to WIE.

Key Reading

For Mentors:

• Mentors Handbook This outlines the different stages of mentoring (summarised below) and what you need to cover at each stage
• Mentors Toolkit Important guidance on the principles of mentoring and key skills such as active listening you should be applying - especially important if you haven't completed the Mentoring Training Course.
• WIE Mentors Guide This will help you familiarise yourself with the type of support WIE can offer your mentee, please read it and signpost relevant opportunities if they come up in your conversations.

For Mentees:

• Mentees Handbook This outlines the different stages of mentoring you can expect (summarised below), what's expected of you, and how to make the most out of your mentoring conversations

The mentoring process

1. Application/ Matching

• Complete your application to the mentoring scheme
• WIE will match you with a suitable mentor/ mentee

2. Chemistry conversation

• Arrange to meet your potential match for a catch-up to see how you get along
• If you decide you're not the right fit for one another come back to WIE

3. Introductory Meeting

• introduction to the scheme, the framework for the mentoring process and an opportunity to ask questions

4. Mentoring agreement conversation

• Follow the mentoring agreement checklist/ template provided to agree on your goals/ boundaries for mentoring
• Remember this mentoring scheme is predominantly about your goals relating to public engagement

5. Mentoring meetings

• Schedule your mentoring meetings over the year - we recommend at least 4 meetings over the year, but you should agree on this between you in your mentoring agreement conversation.

6. Progress review

• After 6 months (or when works for you) arrange to check in with each other about how mentoring is going, and if you're both getting from it what you need

7. Feedback

• WIE will be in touch at various points in the year to check in with how you're doing and to ask for feedback on the process/ experience

8. Ending your mentoring relationship

• The length of your mentoring relationship should be agreed with your mentor in the mentoring agreement conversation. We're typically expecting a 12-month relationship but you can agree shorter/ longer if that's what works for you.

Other useful documents/ templates

You do not have to use these, they are for your purposes only and you may choose to work in a different way.

• Mentoring agreement checklist
• Mentoring agreement template
• Mentoring meeting checklist
• Progress review
• Record of mentoring conversations
• WIE Mentors Guide (a one page summary of the support available from WIE)