Program FAQs for mentors

Mentor and mentee catching up

The following FAQs outline key information, clarify expectations, and provide helpful tips as you build a meaningful and rewarding mentoring partnership.

Getting started

  • As a mentor, your role is to support a student (or more, if you advised you can support more) by sharing your experience, advice, and insights. This involves:

    • Meeting (in person or virtually) with your mentee at least 3 times during the 5-month program.
    • Offering guidance on career pathways, skills, and professional development
    • Being open, supportive, and respectful in all your interactions

    You won’t be doing this alone our dedicated program team is here to support you every step of the way, please do reach out if you have any questions at all.

  • The program runs for 5 months. It begins in July when the partnerships are announced and you are introduced to your matched student/s via email. The official mentoring partnership concludes at the end of November.

Matching and communication

  • Matches are based on career interests and other preferences submitted in your application form. While we aim to make strong matches, no match is perfect, staying flexible and open is the key to a great mentoring relationship. Please note that not all preferences can always be accommodated.

  • It is encouraged that all participants familiarise themselves with the mentoring platform and the information that is housed within it. From to time we will be directing you to specific information to review that will enhance your mentoring experience.

    It is also encouraged that your student sends their first message through the platform and you respond to it in the same way so that the mentoring team know that the partnership is underway and you do not require support to connect.

  • Once matches are announced, you’ll receive a link to your student mentee’s profile, which will contain their career interests, goals career readiness phase and contact details. Your student will get a similar email and they have been instructed to reach out to soon after receiving it, to introduce themselves and set up the first meeting.

  • If your mentee hasn’t reached out within one month of the partnerships being announced:

    1. Please feel free to reach out to them to introduce yourself, if you feel comfortable doing so. Some students don’t feel confident connecting and will really benefit from a friendly message from you.
    1. If you don’t receive a response from your student following that please feel free to reach out to the mentoring team. We can step in to help or advise on next steps.

Meetings and content

  • Your student will attend an online workshop to help them prepare for the program and the first meeting. A rough guide on what is advised you cover in your first meeting with your student.

    • Build rapport/ get to know each other.
    • Discuss how, when and where you would like to have your other meetings. It’s important to set expectations from the start. Let the student know how you would like to be contacted. How long you can offer to meet for each meeting. Whether online or in person or a combination of both would work for you.
    • Set times and dates for the other of your meetings, even if you need to change them closer to the time. This helps to keep the momentum of the partnership.
    • Discuss what you can offer; industry insights, learnings, skills development networking opportunities, work shadowing etc

  • That’s up to you and your mentee. Discuss the style and approach at your first meeting. Meetings can be casual or more structured — the important thing is that they’re purposeful, respectful, and helpful for your mentee.

  • Absolutely! Meetings can be online, in person, or a mix of both — whatever works best for you and your mentee.

Troubleshooting and boundaries

  • We understand this can happen. We match mentors and students based on the information provided by both parties. We encourage you to have an initial meeting, as many pairs discover shared interests and valuable ways to learn from each other once they connect.

    If, after meeting, you feel the match isn’t quite right, please contact the team as early as possible. We’re here to support you and can talk through options, including re-matching if appropriate.

  • It’s perfectly okay to stay within your expertise. You can say something like:

    “That’s outside my experience, but I can help you think through next steps or where to get support.”

    You’re not expected to provide counselling, academic advice, or job placement. The University has various support services to assist students that you can refer them to or contact the mentoring team for assistance.

  • Life happens! Just let the program team know as soon as possible so we can support both you and your mentee.

Support and program logistics

  • Your first point of contact is the program coordination team. Please send an email to career-mentors@unimelb.edu.au.

  • When the program wraps up, you’ll have the chance to:

    • Have your final meeting with your student
    • Share feedback through a short survey- once complete you will be able to download a certificate of participation
    • Continue the mentoring relationship informally if you both wish (optional)

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