DICKSON POON LAW SCHOLARSHIP MENTORING PROGRAMME 2018/19 TRAINING AND SUPPORT GUIDE Contextual text would go here Forever King’s Your global alumni community King’s alumni office | mentoring@kcl.ac.uk
Mentoring
DICKSON POON LAW SCHOLARSHIP MENTORING PROGRAMME 2018/19
INTRODUCTION Congratulations! You have been enrolled onto the Dickson Poon Law Scholarship Mentoring Programme. In order to ensure that you are prepared for the expectations of this programme, please read through the following four short training sections. Please do not hesitate to get in touch should you have any questions.
SECTION 1: BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAMME The programme has many benefits:
Gain valuable insight into a certain sector or industry. Receive 1:1 help with career planning and direction. Benefit from an independent and objective perspective. Enhance your confidence as a young professional. Build and develop your professional network. Receive regular communications from the Alumni Office, including special invites to events. Become part of an exclusive and exciting community of students and alumni!
SECTION 2: EXPECTATIONS OF THE PROGRAMME 2.1: How the programme will progress Each cycle of the mentoring programme runs for approximately one year, however it may differ slightly depending on yours and your mentor’s needs. In general, we expect your relationship to follow this cycle: Building a Rapport
Building rapport is an essential early stage of a mentoring relationship. It allows you both to feel that you can speak frankly and honestly. Spending time asking each other about your experiences and finding common ground can be a great way to build rapport.
Setting Direction
Some mentoring relationships can get stuck in the “building rapport” stage and can become more of a cosy chat rather than a professional relationship. To move a relationship to the next stage, make sure that you commit time to setting effective objectives. Although objectives should always be driven by you, we suggest setting objectives with your mentor so that you both can feel fully committed to them.
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Making Progress
At this stage, it’s time for you to put your effective planning into action. We suggest that you write a summary of each meeting and send it to your mentor. This will help to focus your meetings for the next time; easily picking up where you left off.
Winding Up and Moving on
When you have achieved your objectives, you should both reflect upon how successful they were in achieving them. At this point, you can either go back to the “setting objectives” stage or you can agree to end the relationship.
2.2: Communication We expect you to make first contact with your mentor once you have been matched. You should send them an introductory message including information about yourself and your background. You can then both agree on when to schedule in your first meeting. Unsure where to start? Follow these tips for help drafting your introductory email: Greeting: address your partner using the proper formality and avoid informal greetings such as ‘Hey’ or ‘Hi’ at this stage. Introduce yourself: tell your mentor your name and a little bit about yourself. Your subject of study, your degree level, and where you are from can be helpful information to include. Explain your reason for writing: let your mentor know that you have been matched through the programme and why you are reaching out to them. Share more about yourself: share a few additional details about yourself and add a personal touch to your email. Topics like hobbies, extracurricular interests, and goals are all great introductory details. Set actions: throughout your mentoring relationship, it will be important to be focused and set action items for each time you communicate. In this instance, letting your mentor know that you are looking forward to hearing from them and politely requesting a response would be appropriate actionable items. Formally end the email: be polite and professional in ending your email. Sign your email with the name you would like your partner to call you by. If your name is Nicholas, but you would prefer to be addressed as Nick, then use that. Also take note of the name your mentor uses to sign their emails and use that name when you address them. You can then both agree on when to schedule your first meeting. You can communicate with your mentor via a range of channels such as face-to-face, email, skype, video chat, or text message. Please keep the following in mind: Each mentoring relationship is unique and will communicate differently. Decide which methods will work best for you and your mentor. In the past, some mentors and mentees have preferred to meet in person each month, others have held monthly video chats, and some have chosen to communicate mostly via email. We suggest that you conduct your first few meetings in person if you are both located in the same city or through video chat if you are located further away from one another. Plan to meet or communicate for 1-2 hours each month as a minimum to ensure that you both get the most out of the relationship.
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DICKSON POON LAW SCHOLARSHIP MENTORING PROGRAMME 2018/19
2.3: Your First Meeting Be prepared! During your first meeting you will likely: Discuss your background and career inspirations. Set objectives for your mentoring relationship. You should be prepared with a list of objectives that fit SMART criteria for the first meeting. (SMART objectives are Specific, Measureable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound). Determine the best means of communication for the mentoring relationship and schedule your next meeting. Determine topics to discuss at your following meetings.
2.4: Making Progress You and your mentor are not required to report your progress to King’s however we recommend that you track your relationship to ensure you are both getting the most out of the relationship. Here is a Mentoring Session Plan that can be used to help focus your meetings. The session plan can be used to help you: Identify your long-term goals. Create 1-5 objectives that will help you achieve your long-term goals. These should be SMART objectives: Specific, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, and Time-bound. Identify and agree what actions you and your mentor need to undertake in order for you to achieve your objectives. Identify any potential barriers that could hinder you achieving your objectives. Identify how your success will be measured. Set a date for you to complete your objectives.
SECTION 3: TIPS AND GUIDANCE Remember to:
Maintain contact with your mentor. Respect your mentor. Get to know your mentor. Define your expectations. Be honest with your mentor. Stay positive!
Confidentiality:
Confidentiality is key for any mentoring relationship. Please do not disclose any information exchanged in your mentoring relationship with anyone else. However, should a concern arise during your mentorship please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Alumni Office at 020 7848 3053 or at mentoring@kcl.ac.uk.
SECTION 4: HOW MATCHING WORKS The Alumni Team hand-matches all alumni and students who are taking part in the programme. When matching, we take into account the following:
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DICKSON POON LAW SCHOLARSHIP MENTORING PROGRAMME 2018/19
Subjects of study. Industry experience. What both mentee and mentor have said they are looking for. Career trajectory and objectives.
Whilst we will take all of these factors into account, we cannot guarantee that there will be a perfect fit for every mentoring relationship we match. Please remember that even if your mentor did not study your exact subject or they are not in the specific field or industry you are hoping to enter, they can still offer you invaluable guidance and support.
SECTION 5: FINAL AGREEMENT Mentee Agreement:
Please complete and sign the Mentee Agreement.
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