Mentoring Guidelines for Mentors

Thank you for taking on the role of mentor. The primary aim is to support your mentee in achieving their potential but we hope that you too will benefit from your involvement in the programme through development of your leadership skills, the opportunity to reflect on your own career choices and the personal satisfaction that seeing a colleague thrive can bring.

Before you embark on your journey as a mentor, the following guidelines may be helpful in supporting you and protecting your time: 

• The scheme is mentee-led - it is the responsibility of your mentee to make and maintain contact and to determine the ‘agenda’ for each meeting
• The maximum time commitment on your part is one hour per month for a 12 month period. It is up to you and your mentee to decide how best this time is allocated (i.e. monthly, bi-monthly etc)
• You do not need to keep a record of meetings
• Asking your mentee for feedback after each session can help to ensure that that their expectations are being met 
• Mentoring is not a substitute for counselling. Please refer the mentee to the Employee Assistance Programme if necessary

Share your experience to:

• Support and encourage your mentee to take positive action 
• Create new perspectives and challenge their thinking 
• See positives that they may be unaware of 
• Connect your mentee with appropriate supports, services or contacts

Some tools that may help:

• Mentoring Others short (14 minute) online Linkedin training course. If you are having difficulty accessing your LinkedIn learning account email learning.development@dcu.ie
• Academic Development Framework 
• Research Career Framework 
• Professional Development Framework