Tips for Mentors
Once your mentee has made contact with you, please make every effort to respond in a reasonable timeframe and begin a consistent level of communication. Make a commitment to e-mail or talk in person on a regular basis. Meeting for coffee or lunch to talk or to go over times to meet is essential
- Be friendly and sincere. Emphasize to your mentee that you have volunteered to be a mentor and that you are really interested in them.
- Encourage your mentee to be open. Let them know when they can contact you. Have them share their goals about what they would like to get out of the mentor/mentee relationship.
- Invite your mentee to attend a meeting, lecture, poster session, lab tour, etc.
- Recommend books or other resources which have been useful to you in your career. Let your mentee know what professional associations have helped you know more about your field or profession.
- Bring in other peers to your mentorship relationship. Creating a web of contacts for a mentee will be very valuable to your mentee.
