Yes, an individual can sign up for becoming both – a mentee and a mentor.

To participate in our mentoring program, you need to sign up for the ISPE membership – https://ispe.org/membership/join.

For maximum benefit, the mentor and mentee are recommended to communicate on a monthly basis.

A match is based mainly on the industry, expertise, and geographic location of the mentor and mentee.

It is encouraged that you invest at least one hour per month into the program.

The Program will be run on an annual cycle.

No. It is important that you feel comfortable with the person you are matched with, so please feel free to let us know your concerns, and we will initiate another potential match for you.

After you sign up for the mentorship program on our website, you will hear back from us within 4-8 weeks. You will receive an invitation to attend the Mentorship program kick-off meeting including your mentor-mentee match.

Based on most of the existing mentoring programs, one year has been suggested to ensure sufficient time to set and achieve goals. If a mentee or mentor wants to extend the relationship beyond one year, you are encouraged to openly discuss this with your mentor or mentee while being sensitive to their needs. Once the mentor or mentee agrees to the extension of the match, please let us know at our next year’s mentor-mentee sign-up deadline.

We will make every effort to match you to a great mentor or mentee, but sometimes these relationships may not work out as you envision them. During the relationship, it is important that both mentor and mentee give each other open and honest feedback. If the partners discuss the issues and are unable to find a resolution, the relationship can be terminated and new relationships can be sought.

Currently, we are offering only one (1) mentor for every mentee.

If you feel that you have gained what you need from your mentor, consider establishing new goals. You can discuss it with your mentor and choose to terminate the relationship prior to one year. If you do wish to terminate the relationship, please let us know immediately.

The benefits are many, including obtaining career guidance and counseling, improving critical competencies, identifying areas of improvement, developing both personally and professionally, and expanding your general level of business knowledge. Mentees are not expected to fit all the learning into one mentoring relationship and have all the questions to be asked. A mentoring relationship is assumed to be a professional relationship and mentees are not expected to develop a close personal friendship with their mentor. Please respect your mentor’s time and do not expect them to be available to you at all times. Do not use the mentoring relationship to get all the answers about your work, be mindful of your mentor’s needs.

Mentors are not expected to drive the relationship or do any work for the mentee. This mentoring relationship is not expected to be developed into a close personal friendship (although sometimes they can). Mentors are not expected to play a role of a manager, be an expert in every development area, or expect the mentee to behave as they think the mentee should. Lastly, do not expect the mentee to follow your advice.

Absolutely. One of the benefits of mentoring relationships is the two-way developmental experience. An enriching mentorship relationship can provide an opportunity for the mentors to identify their areas of improvement. While the main purpose of the relationship is to assist with the mentee’s specified goal(s), a mentor can also set a goal of improving his or her “support career growth.” More specifically, the mentor could seek to improve skills in providing constructive feedback and open communication. The development of all of these competencies can help in the mentor’s advancement into a management role.

If you’re new to mentoring or have limited time in your schedule, we recommend caution and not to enter into too many relationships. The quality of each relationship is more important than the quantity. However, if you’re an experienced mentor and would like to inspire more than one (1) mentee, you are welcome to choose the number of mentees while signing up for the program.

During your introduction meeting with your mentee, it is beneficial to establish mutually agreeable boundaries for the relationship. If the mentee’s problems are outside your realm of expertise and/or comfort, genuinely share that with your mentee. However, if this persists and you are uncomfortable proceeding with the relationship, please reach out to us. We will help to terminate the relationship and try our best to match you with another mentee.