I've been a mentor and a mentee in the IA Institute mentorship program, and off the top of my head, here are some things that have worked:
--Set expectations up front. This is the big one, and it needs to be done by both parties. What does the mentee hope to get out of the mentorship, and is the mentor able to provide it? Is it a structured mentorship, with set sessions every week/two weeks/month, or is it a "let's chat when we have a chance" mentorship? Will the mentorship be goal-focused (I need specific help while I'm working on this one project), educational, career guidance, or what? And practical expectations need to be set too--where, when, how will you interact? How long will the mentorship last? etc. Putting this stuff in writing, even just in an e-mail, is a good idea. It can be modified as you get into the mentorship, of course, but having something concrete as a starting point is a big help. --Be realistic. A mentee may want someone whom they can call whenever a problem or question crops up, and some mentors may be able to provide that, but others won't. Mentors should ask themselves how much time they can *really* give, not just how much they'd like to give. And mentees should have reasonable expectations of what their mentor can provide. --Be honest. A mentor-mentee pairing may look good on paper but not work out as expected in practice. If that happens, it's a good idea to end it early on rather than dragging out the relationship out of politeness. Neither party should take it personally if it doesn't work out. --Be prepared. This may not be true for everyone, but I found that it worked best to go into each mentorship session with something specific to talk about, and I would often jot down questions to ask. Unstructured chats can be rewarding too, of course, but in general, things will proceed more smoothly if you have a plan going in.This goes for the mentor as much as the mentee. Those are just some basic ideas. Flexibility is important too--no two mentorships are exactly alike, so these suggestions won't apply to all cases either. But they've worked pretty well for me. --Amy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Posted from the new ixda.org http://www.ixda.org/discuss?post=49305 ________________________________________________________________ Welcome to the Interaction Design Association (IxDA)! To post to this list ....... [email protected] Unsubscribe ................ http://www.ixda.org/unsubscribe List Guidelines ............ http://www.ixda.org/guidelines List Help .................. http://www.ixda.org/help
