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We have compiled a list of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs) and
responses to them. If you have finished reading them and have an unanswered
question, please contact MentorNet at info@mentornet.net. See questions protégés may have at FAQ for Mentors.
Here is a list of questions protégés may have:
- How does the program work?
- Am I eligible to participate?
- Why is participation restricted to protégés at participating campuses/professional organizations?
- Why aren't pre-med, pre-dental, pre-nursing and pre-vet students eligible?
- I haven't declared a major within the fields of engineering, science, technology, or math, but I am interested in those areas for a
career. Am I still eligible to participate in MentorNet?
- Is MentorNet only open to female or minority protégés?
- Since everyone applies over the Internet, how does MentorNet ensure everyone is
who they say they are?
- How much time will it take?
- What does it take to be a good protégé?
- What does MentorNet do to support the mentoring relationship?
- How will I know what to say?
- What if there are problems or misunderstandings between a mentor and a protégé?
- Is everyone matched with a mentoring partner?
- Do protégés and mentors ever meet?
- How are protégés recruited to participate?
- How can I get other protégés involved?
- How can I get my college/university involved?
- I am not eligible to participate but I am interested in finding a
mentor. What can I do?
- What can I do if I'm not studying engineering, science, technology, or math?
- How do I sign up?
- How do I get re-matched with my previous mentor?
- May I have more than one MentorNet mentor at a time?
Protégés:
- Fill out a Protégé Profile, which asks for basic information and interest in discussing common mentoring topics, such as school decisions, work/family balance, and gender issues. This profile also identifies a protégé's preferences for a mentor, such as gender, field of work, location, ethnicity, alma mater, and citizenship. A protégé can fill out a protégé profile at any time of year, as long as her/his college or university is a current participant.
- Immediately after creating a profile, a protégé is presented with the mentor profiles (minus the mentor's name and email) of up to 5 potential matches. Protégés can choose a match, opt to let MentorNet try to match them automatically, or come back anytime within the next 14 days to check for new potential matches.
- If no mentors are available immediately, protégés can revise their profile, changing preferences to be less restrictive, to try to increase the chances of finding a match.
- If a protégé opts immediately to let MentorNet try to make the match, s/he will no longer have the option to choose a mentor.
- If a protégé does not immediately choose a mentor or opt to let MentorNet try to make the match, s/he will receive 2 reminder e-mails encouraging her/him to come back and check for, and choose from, potential matches.
- If a protégé does not choose a mentor within 14 days, MentorNet will automatically attempt to find a match for her/him, based on the information in the protégé profile.
- No matter how a protégé is matched (s/he chooses or MentorNet chooses), we will check that the mentor is still available. Once the mentor's availability is confirmed,
the e-mentoring relationship begins immediately. Mentor and protégé can view each others' profiles through the MentorNet web site to learn about their partner.
Mentor and protégé begin receiving regular discussion suggestions from MentorNet to help
start and build the relationship.
- If the protégé chooses a mentor and the mentor is not available, the protégé will have another 14 days to view potential matches and choose again before MentorNet
attempts to automatically make a match.
- The official MentorNet program lasts for 8 months.
- Protégés may edit their profile or delete it at any time while they are not matched.
Mentors:
- Fill out a Mentor Profile,
which asks for information on educational and professional backgrounds,
preferences for a protégé (such as gender) and comfort in discussing
common mentoring topics such as school decisions, academic career knowledge and
gender issues.
- Protégés may choose their own
mentor (within a limited time frame) or let MentorNet automatically match them. The match process is bi-directional, taking into account not only the protégé's preferences for a mentor, but also the
mentor's preferences in a protégé. MentorNet does its best to match mentors as quickly as possible, but it could take a while to be matched.
- Once a mentor has been tentatively matched, s/he receives an email
notice that gives 10 days to return to the MentorNet site and
confirm the mentor's availability. This ensures that the mentor is still interested in
being matched with a protégé.
- Once the mentor's availability is confirmed,
the e-mentoring relationship begins immediately. Mentor and protégé can view each others' profiles through the MentorNet web site to learn about their partner.
Mentor and protégé
begin receiving regular discussion suggestions from MentorNet to help
start and build the relationship.
- The official MentorNet
program lasts approximately 8 months.
- Mentors may hide their
profile at any time if they do not wish to be available to be chosen. They
may also edit their profiles at any time, or delete them completely (if not matched).
A MentorNet Protégé must meet ALL of the following criteria:
- Considering or pursuing a degree, certificate, or postdoc in engineering, science, technology, or math, or are an early-career faculty person within these fields.
- Currently enrolled as a community college, undergraduate, or graduate student, OR employed as a postdoctoral scholar or untenured faculty member.
- Enrolled or employed at a college or university partnering with MentorNet, OR associated with one of MentorNet's Affiliated Partners Plus.
- Potentially interested in a career in industry, government, the non-profit sector, or higher education, but not pursuing pre-medicine, pre-dental, pre-nursing or pre-veterinary studies.
- Willing to exchange email messages regularly with a mentor over an 8-month period.
- Regular access to email.
Why is participation restricted to protégés at participating
campuses/professional organizations?
Participating campuses and professional organizations pay a
fee to allow their students to participate in MentorNet, and thus protégé
participation is restricted to participants from those colleges/universities and organizations. Find out how to get your college or university
involved.
Why aren't pre-med, pre-dental,
pre-nursing and pre-vet students eligible?
Part of MentorNet's mission is to promote gender equity and diversity by supporting women in
engineering, related science, technology, and mathematics fields, where they
are underrepresented. Compared with most of the fields we are targeting, women
have or are reaching gender equity in many of the health professions. In
addition, MentorNet does not have the mentor pool to match pre-health
profession students with suitable mentors.
I
haven't declared a major within the fields of engineering, related sciences and
technologies, or mathematics, but I am interested in those areas for a career.
Am I still eligible to participate in MentorNet?
If you haven't declared a major, chances are you are in the first two years of
college, either at a community college or a four-year college or university. As
long as you are enrolled in a
participating college or university and are taking courses in and are
considering engineering, related sciences and technologies, or mathematics as a
major, you are eligible to join the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program.
Is MentorNet only open to female protégés?
MentorNet's One-on-One E-Mentoring Program was developed to
support women's and people of color's professional development based on their underrepresentation in
engineering, science, and mathematics fields; nonetheless, all interested
protégés at participating universities can apply, including men.
MentorNet is an equal opportunity organization. MentorNet will not
discriminate against any program participant because of race, color, religion,
creed, age, sex, national origin (including, without limitation, those for whom English is a
second language or those who are immigrants), ancestry, physical or mental
disability (including learning disabilities), past history of mental
disorder, medical condition including pregnancy, family care leave, cancer
and AIDS, status as a disabled veteran or veteran of the wars including
Vietnam, marital status, sexual orientation, or any other non-program
related factor. Program participation is based on eligibility and will not be
unlawfully influenced or unlawfully affected by the characteristics of any
program applicant or participant. MentorNet will take affirmative action to
ensure that program applicants are considered for participation in the program, and
program participants are treated during their participation in the program, without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, national origin or any other non-program related factor.
Such action will include, but will not be limited to: participation as a member of the MentorNet Community, creating a mentor or protégé profile, being matched in the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program and participation in the E-Forum.
Since everyone applies over the Internet, how does MentorNet
ensure everyone is who they say they are?
Campus
representatives review the names of protégé applicants from their institutions,
and verify they are officially associated with the college/university. Every mentor who signs up has
to provide a reference who can verify the applicant's identity. When mentors
use employer email addresses to sign up with MentorNet, this also helps to
validate their identity.
It only takes a few minutes to join the Community and sign up for a One-on-One
Program. By signing up for a One-on-One Program, you are committing to exchange
regular emails with an e-mentoring partner. We estimate that you will spend an
average of 20 minutes per week, but this varies depending on the match. We also
ask that you reply to requests for information from MentorNet and MentorNet's
external evaluation groups. You will be receiving a survey at the completion of
the program and may receive one or more short surveys during the year-long
program.
Be teachable, take initiative, and honor your commitment. Be willing to learn
new things, obtain another perspective, and be responsive to suggestions and
constructive criticism. Take the initiative to ask your mentor a question, to
let him or her know what you are working on, and to ask about
his or her academic and professional experiences. In addition, sustain the
mentoring relationship by engaging in small talk until a relevant topic for
discussion emerges. Please be appreciative of your mentor's time and
investment; mentors usually have very demanding jobs and are participating in
MentorNet because they are committed to mentoring. Respond in a timely manner
to your mentor's questions and comments. If you don't have the time to respond
at the time, send a short message letting him or her know you will be in
contact when you have the opportunity.
The elements of MentorNet's structured e-mentoring program:
MentorNet is a structured e-mentoring program. We provide multiple
supports to help mentors and protégés develop and sustain an e-mentoring
relationship. Our matching system, created by MentorNet and based upon
mentoring research and our years of experience, is designed to create the best
matches possible based on each partner's preferences. We also provide training
for the participants, along with ongoing coaching in the form of regular
discussion suggestions. Through the delivery of discussion suggestions, we keep
open the lines of communication between MentorNet participants and staff, and
provide consulting, troubleshooting, and rematching when necessary.
How will I know what to say? Once your match
is established, we regularly send discussion suggestions to both the mentors
and the protégés; both partners receive similar messages. These messages will
address initiating and sustaining an e-mentoring relationship and will suggest
relevant topics for you to discuss with your e-mentoring partner.
What if there are problems or misunderstandings between a mentor and a
protégé? Through the regular discussion
suggestions, we ask you to inform us if you have not heard from your
e-mentoring partner, if you have questions or comments about the e-mentoring
relationship, and if you are uncomfortable with any aspect of your e-mentoring
relationship. Simply email us at program@mentornet.net. We will address your questions, help to reconnect you and your
e-mentoring partner, or rematch you with a different partner, as appropriate.
If we become aware of any inappropriate behavior between a mentor and a
protégé, we will quickly unmatch the e-mentoring pair, disqualify the offending
party from participation in MentorNet, and attempt to find a suitable rematch
for the other e-mentoring partner.
Unfortunately, no. While we do all we can to find appropriate matches
for everyone, the pools of available mentors and interested protégés do not
always match perfectly, and we are unable to match everyone who is interested
in participating. If you are not matched in the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program,
you can still provide and/or receive mentoring through our other community
features such as the discussion groups.
MentorNet was developed to leverage electronic communications in order to
connect people who are in different locations and who abide by different
schedules. So, frequently mentors and protégés will never meet face-to-face,
yet can develop effective mentoring relationships. Occasionally, mentors and
protégés are able to meet at professional society conferences, when mentors
visit protégés while on business near the protégé's school, when protégés
accept internships or jobs at or near the mentor's place of employment, and
when a mentor and a protégé are in close geographic proximity. When
face-to-face meetings are possible, they seem to have a very positive influence
on the mentoring relationship.
Protégés are recruited through our campus representatives who get the word out
through email, by putting up posters or flyers, by visiting meetings of
students chapters of professional societies, and by encouraging faculty to let
students know about the opportunity. Protégés also learn about MentorNet
through alternative means, such as school newspapers, Internet articles, and
current or previous MentorNet participants.
If they are at a participating campus, please direct them to our web site. In
addition, you could forward to them a 'Call
to Students' email message, which we have posted on our web site so you
can copy and paste it directly into an email message. Please feel free to
forward this message to students or place the message on a distribution list of
students who are eligible and might be interested in applying as a protégé. We
have also made available a 'Call to Students' flyer, in both
Microsoft Word or PDF formats,
which can be downloaded off our web site.
Only faculty or administrative staff of a college or university can sign the
campus up for MentorNet participation and student interest is a powerful
motivator for them to sign up. Let someone at your school know that you think
that MentorNet would be a valuable addition. Direct an interested faculty
member or staff person to the Interested Colleges and
Universities page, where they can find out more information about
MentorNet or sign up your campus. They may also want to learn more about
MentorNet's campus
partnerships.
If you join the MentorNet Community, you have the opportunity to find
mentoring, both group and peer, in the discussion groups of the
MentorNet E-Forum. In addition, MentorNet has resources for you to seek
out a mentor on your own. We have identified links to web sites for
professional societies, programs and other resources where you may be able to
participate in an existing mentoring program or meet professionals in your
field who could serve as mentors. We suggest that you ask people you know, such
as teachers, friends, parents and colleagues if they can introduce you to a
professional in your field of interest so that you can learn about their
professional experiences. In addition, you may want to join a professional
society and attend a meeting of a local chapter – there you can meet
professionals. At the meeting, you can announce that you are looking for a
mentor, or you can ask if the local chapter already has a mentoring program set
up in which you can participate.
In addition, if you are a student at a campus which has a women in engineering
or women in science program, Society for Women Engineers (SWE) or Association
for Women in Science (AWIS) chapter, you may want to get involved. These
programs often provide opportunities for mentoring and sponsor other events.
What can I do if I'm not studying engineering, science, technology, or math? Mentors
participating in MentorNet are in the fields of engineering, science, and
mathematics, so we do not have the mentor pool to match you with a suitable
mentor if you are in another field. We do recommend, however, that you talk
with a professor or your career development office to see if they can identify
alumni/ae with whom you can talk. In addition, you may search the Internet to
find a professional society in your field, then contact the local chapter. Many
have mentoring Programs, and even if they don't, you may want to attend a
meeting and ask someone to be your mentor. More mentoring relationships result
because of someone asking to be mentored, rather than a mentor offering to
mentor. You may want to interview some professionals in your field to find out
how they obtained their job and what they do on a daily basis.
Follow this 2-step process:
1) Sign In to the MentorNet Community. If you are not yet a member, you may Join the MentorNet Community at any time.
2) Follow the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program links to create a Mentor or Protégé Profile.
1) Confirm that your college or university is still a MentorNet
participating college or university. If not, you are welcome to
maintain an informal match and continue communicating outside of the MentorNet
program.
2) If you are still eligible to participate, sign in to
the MentorNet Community and activate your profile (if you haven't already done
so), click on the "Search for a Mentor" link, and then on "Search for My
Previous Mentor". You can then choose your mentor.
3) We will then check to make sure your mentor is still available and let you know within 10 days. Then your match will begin again for another eight months!
It is MentorNet's goal for each protégé-mentor pair to have a mutually-fulfilling mentoring relationship and to provide such an opportunity to as many protégés as possible. Therefore, it is MentorNet's policy that each protégé shall only be matched with one mentor at a time. Any protégé seeking more than one mentor should contact MentorNet. In certain fields where there are traditionally more available mentors than protégés such as Computer Science/Engineering and some other fields, primarily in engineering, MentorNet may be able to accommodate such requests.
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