Get a mentor
The goal of the Gustavson Executive Mentor Program is to help students clarify their career and life goals before they make the leap. The program is open to both MBA and BCom students at the Gustavson School of Business.
Step one: Learn about the Executive Mentor Program
Program purposes:
- matches you with a business executive in your field of career interest
- provides someone who is willing to serve as a "sounding board"
- adds meaning to your classroom experiences
- gives a boost to your business and career development
- helps you keep perspective
- helps you develop insights and make better career choices
Program guidelines:
- voluntary participation
- apply throughout the year – whenever you are ready to meet a mentor
- mentors match your interests
- you and your mentor must agree that a match is a good fit
- your partnership runs two terms or seven months and can be extended if you and your mentor agree
- you and your mentor are the ones to establish expectations
- you and your mentor set your own agenda
- feedback and self-reflection are important for both you and your mentor
- commit your time - expect to meet once a month on average
You can expect a mentor to:
- help you think through your life and career choices
- provide career path and industry guidance and insights
- share opinions, ideas and experience with you
- help provide you tactical knowledge and 'how to' realities, intangibles and nuances not provided in the classroom
- assist you to make sense of and integrate your academic and experiential learning experiences
- provide support, challenge you, and help you see what you can't see in yourself
- be friendly, motivated, respectful, worldly and open-minded, easy to talk to
- be someone you can look up to
- be accessible and respond to your communications
- help you gain connections through their network
- build a professional relationship that may grow
We expect each student to:
- be open to someone helping you think through personal and career issues
- be self-motivated and prepared to commit the time
- be accountable to make your relationship with your mentor a success
- have an interest in personal learning and reflection
Step two: Complete your mentoring profile
During the profile process, you will identify your mentoring goals and prepare and submit your profile and résumé. If you need further guidance, you can arrange a meeting with a staff member from the Gustavson Executive Mentor Program.
Potential goals from a mentoring relationship:
- Some independent support in developing your short- and long-term goals
- Help in moving from the academic world to the work world
- Ideas for developing a professional network
- Clarification of your career goals
- Professional feedback and independent support
Mentoring matching ideas:
- Once we have received your profile, we will identify possible matches that reflect the industry and position that interests you.
Complete and submit your profile:
- Complete and submit the online mentor profile. Point form is okay and don't worry about perfection.
Résumé and meeting times:
- Send a copy of your résumé along with any questions you may have to bizconnect@uvic.ca.
- Want to check your résumé? Use the Co-op and Career Office resume resource toolkit to ensure your résumé is up to date.
Step three: Get matched with your mentor
Now that you know how the program works and have completed your mentoring profile, the next step is to get matched with your mentor.
- The program director will use your mentoring profile to identify suitable mentor candidates that align with your areas of interest.
- You will then review the list of potential mentor candidates and send back your list in order of ranking. (If there is not a suitable match, you will let us know and we will discuss further options.)
- Upon receiving your list, we will contact your potential match to reconfirm the mentor’s availability and interest.
- The program director will then send an email introduction connecting you and your mentor with tips on how to begin.
Step four: Connect with your mentor
To help your mentor relationship thrive and grow, keep these guidelines in mind:
- Respect your mentor's time
- Be open to advice and feedback
- Capture and apply what you are learning
- Show appreciation
Connecting with your mentor involves the following steps:
- Your first meeting – before, during and after
- Setting expectations with your mentor
- Managing your ongoing relationship
- Assessing and reporting progress
Additional information
Preparing for your first meeting
The purpose of the meeting is to assess the match.
- Can this person help me with my goals?
- Is this someone I feel comfortable with?
- Is this someone I want to develop a relationship with?
Similarly, your mentor wants to determine if they can help you with your goals, and if they would enjoy working with you.
Before the Meeting:
- Do some research to learn about the mentor's business and career.
- Clarify what you want to accomplish with the mentor and be honest about your mentoring goals.
- Don't be concerned if you don't have specific outcomes related to your goals. A mentor will help you achieve greater goal clarity.
- Prepare some key questions for getting to know your mentor.
- Show up on time! With an agenda in mind, dressed for the meeting location. It's better to be overdressed than underdressed.
At the Meeting:
At the start, relax and take some deep breaths. Your mentor is probably a little nervous as well.
- Get to know the mentor and show who you are.
- At the start, discuss your mentor's background, interests, values and experience.
- If your mentor takes the lead on the discussion, that's great! But identify what you want to learn at the meeting too.
As you journey through the meeting, your mentor may purposely leave it up to you to guide the discussion. Be prepared to take the lead. Talk about your goals and the mentor's willingness to help you with them.
- Ask about the mentor's goals. What does the mentor want to gain from your relationship? How compatible are your goals?
- Ask what your mentor expects of you.
- If it feels right, discuss what you might do together, how often you will meet, where you might meet and other ground rules.
- Leave the meeting clear on the next step.
- Set some agenda items for the next meeting.
- Set a time and place to meet (if appropriate).
After the Meeting:
- Decide if this seems to be a good match. Is your mentor the right one to help you reach your goals?
- As a result of the meeting, have your learning goals shifted or become clearer? A 60-second bullet summary might help.
- Send a thank you email to the mentor, and confirm the next step.
- Give your mentor your class timetable and contact info.
- Email bizconnect@uvic.ca on your meeting.
Managing the relationship
Manage the relationship proactively and professionally
- Maintain regular contact
- Be ambitious and clear about what you expect to accomplish - tell your mentor how to help you
- What about your mentor’s needs and goals (ask!)
- Take responsibility for meeting arrangements and agenda
- Show respect, openness, and a sense of humour
- Take the relationship's temperature from time to time
Respect your mentor’s time
- Be flexible in scheduling meetings
- Show up, be on time, be prepared - no excuses!
- Keep to time allotted
- Return messages promptly
Be open to advice & feedback
- Be willing to challenge and be challenged
- Ask for specific feedback and suggestions for improvement
- It's not personal - focus on your behaviour and performance
- Consider all advice and suggestions
- Share results with your mentor
Capture & apply what you are learning
- Monitor your progress against your goals
- After each meeting review and reflect on what you have learned
- Share your learning and how you will apply/have applied it with your mentor
Show appreciation
- Give thanks frequently
- Say specifically what has been helpful
- Let your mentor know how you are doing
- Find ways to give back
Don't expect your mentor to:
- Guarantee you a co-op or a job
- Make decisions for you
- Have all the answers
Sending progress update
Every three months, send a brief email update to bizconnect@uvic.ca. No form is required, but please answer these questions:
- How many meetings have you had with your mentor?
- Are you satisfied your mentor is a good match for you?
- Are you getting what you expect from your relationship?
- What has been your contribution to the relationship?
- What has been your most significant learning to this point (Have you shared this with your mentor?).
Discuss your mentoring goals with your mentor regularly. Adjust your activities accordingly.
Creating a mentor contract
A useful exercise early in the mentor-student relationship is clarification of expectations – setting the ‘contract’ governing your relationship.
Here are a few suggestions as key areas for discussion and agreement. You may have other items you wish to add to this list.
Agreement:
- Student goals and expectations
- Mentor goals and expectations
- Duration of the relationship
- Topics/activities to be engaged in
- Method and frequency of meetings/communication
- Flexibility and limitations on time and availability
- Provision of feedback to each other
- Conversations/topics not expected unless agreed to
- Extent of confidentiality
- First progress review date
- Additional comments
You may want to document a summary of your agreement for reference. This is not required but some mentor/student pairs have found this a useful record for later review.
Ending early
As in any relationship, mismatches happen. The mentor program has a no-fault withdrawal policy. The program director will not assign blame to either a student or a mentor for an unsuccessful relationship. Mismatches may occur in your future work environment. Take this opportunity to learn from the experience and exit gracefully.
Got an issue? Address it immediately. Contact bizconnect@uvic.ca for support. Addressing concerns early may result in a positive resolution and the relationship being maintained. Based on your situation the program director will work with both parties to counsel or end the pairing. We keep all details confidential.
Step five: Reflect on your experience
Reflect on your mentoring goals and your progress at regular intervals and discuss with your mentor. What are you learning? What has your mentor learned? What are you learning together? Update your mentoring goals accordingly.
The mentor program director will contact you from time to time to check on your mentor relationship.
You will receive a program evaluation survey once you have concluded your relationship or have completed your studies. We will send this evaluation to help us evaluate the program.