eMentor FAQs

How many mentees should I take on?
We recommend that you limit yourself to one, but if you are eager and willing, then you can mentor others.

How much contact should I have with my mentee?
Most mentoring programs recommend that mentors touch base with their mentees once/week. You and your mentee may decide on more or less frequent contact depending on your needs. However, a quick email once/week is a good idea. As the mentor, that contact is your responsibility.

What do I talk about with my mentee?
The two of you ma decide at the outset what the focus of your communication will be, depending on you mentee’s needs. The topics will likely be related to the mentee’s duties and responsibilities; however, given the nature of human relationships, personal matters may come up. You may want to avoid getting tangled up in campus politics or overly personal situations with your mentee, and if such situations present themselves you may want to refer your mentee to her/his department chair or supervisor. Please treat all communications as confidential, unless there is imminent danger to self or others. In that case, please contact the mentee’s supervisor. Remember that the telephone is another option for communication, especially if sensitive matters are the topic of conversation.

What can I do if I don’t like my mentee?
The eMentoring program is completely voluntary. You may decline to accept a mentee’s first request to establish an on-line mentoring relationship, or, if you’ve established a relationship and then find that you and your mentee are not getting along, you can terminate that relationship at any time. If you terminate a relationship, you should notify Louise Pagotto.

How long is the mentoring relationship supposed to go on?
We expect the commitment to last for an academic year, in the hopes that you and your mentee will be able to go through a whole cycle of performance and review together.

What do I do now? I submitted my bio and I didn’t get picked?
We thank you for your willingness and generosity. If you weren’t picked to be an eMentor this time, you may well be picked at a later date. In any event, you can use the fact that you were nominated to be a Wo Learning Champion eMentor as recognition of you effectiveness in your job performance and your leadership ability.