FAQs

As a mentor you will have the opportunity to:

• Share valuable knowledge based from your own experience;
• Develop your coaching, communication and leadership skills;
• Work with people from other backgrounds and cultures;
• Enhance your understanding of issues and barriers experienced by newcomers to Canada;
• Motivate and support someone to fulfill their potential; and
• Help someone in your chosen field put their skills and experience to work.

As a mentor, you are helping your mentee by:

• Providing information or access to employment and/ or educational opportunities within their chosen profession;
• Sharing your networks and professional contacts;
• Providing occupation or industry-specific counsel as a guide to successful job preparedness;
• Supporting your mentee to maintain self-confidence in a new society, workplace and culture; and
• Helping them realize their full potential and contribute to society and the economy.

No. Your role is not to find your mentee a job. The purpose of the mentoring relationship is to support your mentee in their job search by exposing them to networks and providing professional advice. It is  helpful if you are able to  guide your mentee in the direction of job openings. However, you are not required to find them a job in your workplace or anywhere else.

The time commitment is 24 hours during a 4-month span. This works out to approximately 1½ hours per week. The schedule will be worked out between the mentor and mentee (see questions 10 and 11).

Prior to the start of the mentoring relationship, you will be provided with  a handbook  and invited to take part in a mentor orientation session to learn more about your roles and responsibilities as a mentor.

Each matched pair is also supported by a mentoring coach based at a participating community organization. Their role is to assist you throughout the entire mentoring relationship and respond to your questions and concerns.

Mentors will be expected to:

• Provide the mentoring program professional background information relevant to matching purposes;
• Participate in a mentor orientation session (approximately 90 min.);
• Work with the mentee to determine objectives of the mentoring relationship and set goals related to networking, professional development, job search etc.;
• Encourage the development of skills and attitudes that promote career development;
• Communicate with the mentoring coach to report on the progress of the relationship and assist in program evaluation; and
• Seek support from a coach for referral to resources, troubleshooting etc.

Matches between mentors and mentees are made according to shared occupation and industry.  The program’s MentorMatch tool generates a recommended match by using the National Occupation Codes (NOC) and Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes completed by the mentor and mentee at the time of registration.

The coach consults the mentor and mentee regarding the suitability of the match and confirms the match if the  mentor  agrees to it. If you do not feel that the match is appropriate, please ensure you communicate this feedback to the mentoring coach prior to being matched or as early as possible in the relationship.

Screening of mentees is done at and by community partner organizations.  Mentees’ first point of contact and entry to the program is through one of these organizations.  Mentees and mentors are matched according to shared occupation and industry.  The mentor decides whether to accept or defer the mentees recommended for a match.

Mentors and mentees can choose to identify a second profession to mentor/be mentored in.  You might be knowledgeable and comfortable mentoring in both, your current and  a past profession.  The program will match you as closely as possible on your first profession and then match again based on your second profession.  Should you find the mentee’s occupation and industry not close enough to yours, you can choose not to be matched.

Once you have registered for the program, a coach based at a participating community organization will be in contact with you regarding a potential match.

Each mentee works with one of the coaches at one of the community partner locations.  When a match is recommended between you, the mentor, and a mentee, the associated coach contacts both you and the mentee to consult on the suitability of the match and to confirm.

Once you have approved the match, the coach working with your mentee will also be your contact throughout the mentoring relationship.

It is recommended that you meet in person, especially for the first few meetings. However, there will be times when on-line or phone communication will be more convenient and/ or effective for both of you.

At the end of your mentor orientation session, you will meet your mentee in person. Together you will decide how and where you will conduct your regular communication.

As part of your orientation session, you will receive resources to support you through the mentoring relationship. This includes an introduction to the handbook with suggested activities you can initiate in your relationship.   The Mentee Assessment and Learning and Mentor Learning Tools can be used at the beginning of the mentoring relationship.  This will help guide the relationship and identify activities.

Prior to being matched with their mentor, all mentees are required to take part in an employment preparation program which teaches them the basics of how to find a job in the Canadian market. This includes workshops on resume writing and interview skills that are non-industry specific.

Open communication is the key to any good relationship. Throughout the mentoring relationship you should be speaking with your mentee about whether or not you are fulfilling the goals set out at the beginning. You will also be asked by your coach to provide feedback on your progress and experience throughout the mentoring relationship.

The Mentee Assessment is a tool that identifies and facilitates tracking the progression of mentee toward learning goals, objectives and tasks throughout the relationship.  This tool can facilitate focused discussion between you and your mentee.  You can also call the coach to discuss the progress of the mentee and of the mentoring relationship.

The Mentor Assessment is an optional tool that allows the mentor to identify and track progress toward your learning goals, objectives and tasks through the mentoring relationship and throughout your participation as mentor in the program.

Throughout the mentoring process, you should be speaking with your mentee about your shared progress in fulfilling the goals set at the beginning of the relationship. It is natural, however, that not all relationships will be perfect. If you are in a situation where conflict or any other problem has developed, please contact your mentor coach immediately.

The Mentoring Partnership encourages mentors to mentor only one mentee at a time.  We also strongly encourage you to mentor again.

Mentors, however, are allowed to mentor more than one mentee at a time if this is your preference.  Please speak to your coach if this is what you’d like to arrange.

Yes, you can register at any time to become a mentor in the program. If you would like to mentor at a later date, please indicate your preferred start date when you register. Also, when you are contacted by a mentoring coach, please let them know when you will be available to start the mentoring relationship.