MENTEE GUIDE

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MENTEE GUIDE
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You have to leave the city of your comfort and go
into the wilderness of your intuition. What
you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll
discover is yourself. Alan Alda
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Overview

• What is a mentee?
• What is a mentor?
• What is the Magazine Mentoring Exchange (MME)?
• What are MMEs goals objectives?
• Why do I need a mentor?
• What are my mentors responsibilities?
• What are my responsibilities?
• What do I have to do?
• Is there anything I shouldnt do?
• What if I need help?
• Frequently Asked Questions

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What is a Mentee?

• A mentee is one who seeks valuable advice and
  support from someone more experienced in order to
  grow personally and/or professionally.
• Mentees are equal partners in the mentoring
  relationship. They play an active role in their
  own development by identifying their needs,
  making those needs specific and measurable,
  soliciting mentor support and actively listening
  to constructive feedback, and making effective
  use of the mentoring relationship to increase
  their own personal effectiveness and
  productivity.
• Some mentees have quantitative and qualitative
  experience in a particular area but wish to make
  a transition into leadership or another line of
  business and may need additional coaching. In
  such cases, experienced mentees are eligible to
  be a mentor to their peers in the area they have
  the most expertise and a mentee in the area in
  which they seek guidance.

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What is a Mentor?

• A mentor is a coach, guide, counselor and trusted
  advisor.
• S/he is willing to share his/her expertise to
  guide the development of another person and
  therefore should have considerable quantitative
  and qualitative experience to do so.
• Mentors should have industry experience in one or
  more functional area of the magazine publishing
  business including but not limited to advertising
  sales, business management, consumer marketing,
  editorial, marketing, production and research.
• A mentor can be of any level and rank but should
  have a minimum of three years industry-related
  experience.
• Mentors share useful insight into the magazine
  industrys cooperative culture coach on a
  variety of topics from business knowledge to
  political savvy provide support, positive and
  constructive feedback, and praise and encourage
  mentees to meet their professional goals.

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About MME

• The Magazine Mentoring Exchange (MME)
• Is a self-service, web-based mentoring and
  networking talent management program
• Facilitates developmental relationships between
  more experienced magazine professionals with
  those less experienced
• Provides social networking tools necessary to
  promote workforce interaction, collaboration,
  praise and recognition, just-in-time learning and
  self-expression

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Goals Objectives

• To promote an effective tool in improving
  industrial retention and reducing turnover
• To create strategic networking opportunities that
  will increase exposure to underrepresented
  segments of the magazine industrys workforce
• To ready the industrys high potential employees,
  especially those of color, for leadership
  opportunity and/or career advancement

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The Benefits of Participation
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Why Do I Need A Mentor?

• To empower you by helping you to
• Acclimate to a corporate environment
• Coach you on a variety of topics from business
  knowledge to corporate savvy to internal politics
• Provide you with support, positive and
  constructive feedback, and praise
• Encourage you to meet your personal and
  professional goals

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What Are My Mentors Responsibilities?

• Share useful insight into the magazine industrys
  culture
• Coach on a variety of topics from business
  knowledge to political savvy to strategic
  networking
• Provide support, positive and constructive
  feedback, and praise
• Encourage mentees to meet their professional and
  personal goals/objectives
• Be accessible and available

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What Are My Responsibilities?

• Shape the overall agenda for the relationship
  know what you want!
• Establish realistic and attainable expectations
• Be open in communicating with your mentor
• Establish priority issues for action or support
• Don't expect your mentor to be an expert in every
  facet of business
• Solicit feedback from your mentor
• Come prepared to discuss issues at each meeting

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What Do I Have To Do?

• Respect and value the similarities and
  differences that you and your mentor share
• Create and manage realistic expectations of the
  depth and breadth of the mentoring relationship
• Be proactive, take responsibility for your own
  development and growth
• Respect commitments
• Be open-minded, coachable and willing to change
  (if necessary)
• Ask for and be receptive to constructive feedback
• Listen, act on advice, put things into effect and
  implement

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Is There Anything I Shouldnt Do?

• Dont depend on your mentor to identify your
  goals for you.
• Dont assume your mentor has unlimited time for
  this relationship, intrude into your mentors
  personal life or expect to be close friends.
• Dont tune out when the topic seems irrelevant to
  your immediate needs or ramble on, ignoring clues
  that youre talking too long.
• Dont forget to share the outcome of help your
  mentor gives.
• Dont immediately defend or explain yourself, or
  worse, criticize your mentor.
• Dont end the relationship on bad terms.

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• Further, you should not
• Intimidate nor act as a judge or jury
• Ask for or infer requests for employment
• Engage in any unlawful practices nor share
  confidential organizational information

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Q. What is the appropriate length of time for a
  mentoring relationship?
• This can vary according to the relationship that
  is established and the needs of the mentee. Some
  can last for years and others last for just a few
  months.

• Q. What if I don't feel comfortable with my
  mentor?
• A. Not all relationships work out initially even
  mentoring ones. Be patient. As with any
  relationship, it takes both you and your mentor
  to communicate openly and honestly about your
  goals, aspirations and the endeavors it will take
  to achieve them.

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• Q. What if my mentor is not available enough for
  me?
• You should begin by reviewing the parameters and
  see if they can work more effectively. The
  parameters of the relationship should be
  established at the first contact including
• preferred method of contact (i.e. in-person,
  e-mail, phone)
• frequency (i.e. weekly, bi-weekly)
• time schedule (i.e. during or after work hours)
• amount of time you can devote (i.e. 30 mins, 1-2
  hours)
• Also, check yourself to be sure that you are
  being reasonable in terms of what you expect.

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• Q. What if I don't agree with suggestions of my
  mentor?
• A. Be your own person. You are in charge of your
  own future and should make your own decisions and
  take responsibility for the results. However it
  is always good to consider that others may have
  insight that you may not have. Weight the advice
  you receive against what you believe will enhance
  and enable you to develop and measure the
  intended results according to your needs and
  expectations.

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• Q. What If I Need Help?
• Taking on the responsibility of being a mentor is
  rewarding. However, you may find it to be quite
  challenging at times, too.
• Please do not hesitate to contact Shaunice
  Hawkins, MPA VP of Diversity Multicultural
  Initiatives (shawkins_at_magazine.org) to discuss
  any issues and concerns which may arise.

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