Contents:
- What is mentorship? What are its benefits?
- How does this program differ from ITMO.Mentors and the adapter initiative?
- Who can request a mentor’s assistance?
- How to book a consultation
- Is it possible to request a longer session?
- What kind of issues do mentors help with?
- How to prepare for a consultation
- The benefits of mentorship
- Finding the right mentor
- Becoming a mentor
What is mentorship? What are its benefits?
There are many ways to get help with your career planning – through lecturers, consultants, or coaches. But these specialists are often only a good source of theoretical or general information about the industry. Unlike them, mentors possess a wealth of practical experience; they’ve already had their share of failures and successes and can advise you on the safest and swiftest path towards your goals. Using their own example, they can suggest various fields to go into or which job positions to look for, as well as what’s required of the candidates, which questions to expect from an interview, and which prospects can be found at each particular company.
How does this program differ from ITMO.Mentors and the adapter initiative?
This program is the closest to the conventional definition of “mentorship.” Its main goal is to help students (mentees) attain their goals. These goals can be very different and are limited only by the students’ own needs: it could be training to become a teacher, adapting to life at university, or excelling in one’s studies. The latter two subjects are especially popular and that’s what ITMO.Mentors and the adapter initiative are here for. But after a while, once you’ve found your place at the university, you’ll wonder: “What’s next?” That’s when you’ll benefit most from a mentor-graduate who has once walked the same path and can tell you what lies ahead.
Who can request a mentor’s assistance?
Any ITMO student regardless of their subject area and year of study – as well as the current year’s graduates! A full list of experts, including information on their professional experience and subjects they can advise you on, can be found here (in Russian). Note that students can choose several mentors and receive a consultation from each one.
How to book a consultation
Once you’ve picked a mentor, head to their personal page and open their calendar. There, choose the date and format (online or offline) of your meeting. In the application form, describe which issue or subject you’d like to discuss. This will help both you and your mentor prepare better and make the meeting more productive. Usually, an hour is sufficient to work through a specific matter.
Is it possible to request a longer session?
If you’d like to continue meeting with your mentor, you can make a personal agreement for longer sessions. Starting in September 2022, we plan to add increased-length tracks, including long-term mentorship, group mentorship, and the ability for students to mentor those in the years below.
What kind of issues do mentors help with?
Most often, students come with questions about career planning, building their personal brand, job interviews, teamwork, and the ways to launch a startup and develop their idea. Mentors can help break down the solution into individual, specific steps. They can also advise you on things to pay attention to during your studies, such as skills worth honing or ways to make an early break in the industry.
How to prepare for a consultation
In order to make your session as productive as possible, we suggest adhering to these tips:
- Agree on the date and time of your session in advance; if your plans change, make sure to warn the mentor ahead of time.
- Prepare a list of questions and talk through them during the session.
- At the conclusion of your meeting, sum up the results of your conversation and outline the steps to be made in the near future.
The benefits of mentorship
This year, 25 students have made use of the service. There are no specific KPIs for a consultation, and the results will differ based on everyone’s individual needs and priorities. Sometimes the students don’t know what they want and which direction they’re heading in until a mentor shares their experience with them and provides a different perspective on the matter. And other times, students come with a specific question and cover it in detail with the mentor. For instance, one student came wondering how to run a student club – and walked away set on launching his own business.
Finding the right mentor
If you can’t find a mentor who suits your needs, you can get in touch with the program staff via alumni@itmo.ru and they’ll do their best to help.
Becoming a mentor
A great mentor must be a good listener and know how to analyze information they’ve been given, set goals, compartmentalize them into tasks, and monitor a student’s progress. And lastly, in addition to professional experience, they must possess the desire to learn new things – after all, mentorship is about mutual learning. If you’d like to become a mentor, please write to alumni@itmo.ru.
