Having now connected via my2be, the first meeting is an opportunity to learn more about each other and begin your mentoring relationship. The key points to discuss are:
Objectives – Agreeing on a set of objectives at the beginning of the relationship will enable the Mentor to sufficiently draw on their experience and knowledge in order to help the Mentee achieve their objectives and also help set expectations on both sides.
Expectations – Expectations should be set out during the first meeting so that both the Mentor and Mentee ensure they are adding enough value to the relationship and are not left disappointed. This will help maintain a level of respect of each other’s time and effort that is contributed to the relationship.
- Meeting preferences – you have the options of phone, video, and face-to-face, it is good practice to set out the best way to communicate from the start. This will make arranging future meetings much simpler.
- Meeting Frequency – Having a regular date in the calendar can be great as it keeps you in check, but this is not always necessary, and there will sometimes be periods where neither the mentor and mentee can attend, so set a meeting frequency that works for both sides.
- Duration of Mentorship – you can set out the duration for how long you would like the relationship to last, we recommend at least 3 months, but you can set this to on-going, if you do not have a finite date in mind. Setting this can also help with the timeframes to achieve your objectives.