Before you match with a mentor it is important that you prepare yourself for what to expect from a career mentoring partnership. We help you do this through a mentee preparation session and the resources below. 

Mentee preparation session - what to expect

The mentee preparation session a 45-minute, online session, where a member of the Thrive team will run through the structure of the scheme and how to start your career mentoring partnership. 

The preparation session is an informal session, we do not require students to have their cameras on or use the mic unless they would prefer to. The session includes some interactive parts, where we ask students to participate in the chat to share a mentoring goal they have would like to achieve through Thrive. This is then included in students’ mentoring platform profiles, and helps mentors understand the type of support students are looking for. 

Career mentoring goals

Career mentoring goals can look different for everyone, and some may find they have multiple or gain news ones within their mentoring partnership. Prior to matching with a mentor, we ask students to think of one career mentoring goal they are happy to share. Please see some examples of career mentoring goals below; 

• CV support: You may be joining Thrive with the goal in mind to have a mentor look over and help you with your CV, this is a great goal to have as mentors will be able to share their industry knowledge to help improve your CV. 

• Industry insights: You might be looking for more clarity and understanding within the industry you want to purse; a mentor can help share their career experiences to help you gain a wider insight into industry. 

• Application advice: If you are planning on making any type of application this year, you might be looking for advice from a career mentor to look over and suggest any changes within an application. 

If you want some further help trying to define your goals head over to our resources page and look for the Goal setting PDF for more information.

The Mentoring Partnership 

In the Mentee preparation session we will run through the structure of the scheme, how to use our platform, and the type of topics you may want to discuss with your mentor. Throughout the scheme year you will also have access to different resources to help you through your mentoring partnership and can always reach out to the team for support. If you would like to prepare before you mentoring partnership, then we recommend taking a look at the resources below. Please note that your university credentials allow you to access LinkedIn learning for free, to found out more please head here. 

Mentoring article: 

6 questions to ask a mentor - It can be hard to know where to start with a mentoring Partnership so feel free to use this free online resource that outlines six questions you could ask your mentor. 

LinkedIn Learning

• Improving your listening skills (30 minutes) - Sometimes when you are communicating with someone for the first time it can be exciting to jump around topics and try to get all information you feel you need but it’s also important to listen effectively. If you feel this would be an area you might need to focus on, then please consider listening to the improving your listening skills video. 

• Professional networking for career starters (15 minutes) – Thrive Mentoring is another form of networking but it can be difficult to pin-down exactly what networking is and looks like. If you’d like to gain a better understanding of networking then feel free to follow the LinkedIn learning course above. 

• What do we mean by mentorship (4 minutes) – Understand the ideas around mentorship are and how they can positively impact you.