What is Expected of Mentees?

Drive the relationship. Be the first to make contact with your mentor, respond to all communications in a timely manner, and take the initiative to set up consistent in-person meetings. One tip is to always end each meeting “when should we meet next?” so that you can get a date on the calendar after comparing both of your schedules.
Set your relationship expectations right away about when and how you will connect with your mentor (see the Mentorship Agreement Form to help guide that conversation).
Agree and commit to the expectations and goals you set with your mentor.
Be receptive to suggestions and feedback from you mentor. Criticisms will only be offered in an effort to help you grow professionally.
Approach your mentorship relationship with respect, professionalism and an open mind.
Keep your goals and those of your mentor in mind during every interaction. Remind yourself, what goals did we set out to accomplish? This will help you keep track of your progress and help lead toward a successful mentorship relationship.
Be mindful of when the relationship has reached its natural end; if all of the goals you set have been achieved then it may be time to find another mentor to tackle another set of goals. If you both would like to, you can continue to meet (though likely with less frequency) or you can simply thank them and move on to start another mentorship relationship. We do strongly encourage you to stay in touch with your mentor and keep them updated on your progress as you move through your career. Some mentorship matches can be lifelong!
Please reach out with questions or concerns to mentor@northwestern.edu.
Tell your classmates and members of your Northwestern network about your experiences! As a growing program, we rely on word of mouth referrals to promote the program.

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“The Northwestern Network is invaluable to me. I feel like whenever I meet someone that also graduated from Northwestern, there’s an instant connection that is difficult to instantly form with anyone else. We both have had common experiences – maybe we’ve taken the same class, cheered for the same team, been a part of the same student group – or at least we can identify with the amount of hard work that is required to graduate from Northwestern. That common experience forms an initial level of trust and friendship that is rare outside of the Northwestern Network."

~ Alex Van Atta, ’15