Mentee - requirements and opportunities

As a mentee, you must consider what concrete expectations, wishes and goals you yourself associate with the mentoring relationship. Only if the personal goals are clearly formulated and made transparent can work be done on joint implementation. In doing so, you must be interested in actively shaping the mentoring relationship. The desire as well as the willingness for personal development and the ability to accept criticism should be present. This also requires talking openly about concerns, ideas, fears and weaknesses. Meetings should be well prepared before and after in the interest of both sides; for example, protocols during the discussions can be an important support for achieving the goals set.

The focus of mentoring is the learning and development process of the mentee, which is why the mentee herself bears responsibility for what she learns in the mentoring relationship. The successful design of the mentoring process not only requires certain competencies, but also places concrete demands on the mentees:

  • Clear goal setting: At the beginning of the mentoring process, the mentee formulates clear expectations and goals for herself, from which she develops concrete support wishes, and comes to an understanding about them with her mentor. Only when the personal goals are clearly formulated and made transparent can the implementation be worked on together.
  • Career prospects: Within the framework of mentoring, the mentee examines her interests and possibilities and develops perspectives for her own career planning and strategies for their implementation.
  • Keeping in touch: The mentee is responsible for keeping in touch and informing her mentor about her state of development according to agreements made.
  • Being active: The mentee takes on the active role in the tandem relationship, i.e. she initiates the mentoring meetings and takes over the content-related preparation and follow-up. They do not expect ready-made solutions, but shape their own further development with the help of the mentor's suggestions, take responsibility for themselves and make their own decisions. Protocols during the discussions can be an important support for achieving the goals set.
  • Openness: Mentoring is all the more beneficial the greater the mentee's willingness to be open with her mentor and to share her experiences and ideas with him. She is willing to seek support and advice as well as constructive criticism and to talk openly about difficulties and weaknesses.
  • Critical self-reflection: The desire for personal development as well as working out professional perspectives and strategies for their implementation should be given. This also requires a willingness for self-reflection and the ability to take criticism.

 

If these requirements are observed, mentoring offers many opportunities for you to develop professionally and personally:

  • Empowerment or strengthening of self-competences
  • Development of an individual career strategy
  • Reflection on gender-specific factors of academic careers
  • Insight into different university structures and subject cultures
  • Gaining career-relevant formal and informal knowledge about structures, processes and rules of the academic game
  • Support in planning concrete projects and career steps
  • Scientific profile building
  • Integration into scientific/working communities
  • Networking across universities
  • Development of strategies to reconcile career and family or dual-career partnership

(Excerpt from the mentoring guidelines)

Last Modification: 16.12.2021 - Contact Person: Webmaster