Volunteer and Intern Mentor Program

Photo: Rob Kalka, Business Development Manager and Mentor with Mentee Intern/Volunteer Hang Zhang

Connecting Up Inc. Mentor Program - Overview
Connecting Up has a mentoring program for our volunteers where Connecting Up staff members take on a mentor role. An overview of the program guide is >>here, with the e-module in Better Impact to complete.

Mentees invite Mentors to meet at a mutually convenient time and day to discuss their current role at Connecting Up and the mentees future goals and career interests, either in-person at the office or remotely online, mentees note and record their learnings to implement their action plan for self-development.

Program Aim:
The mentor program provides a way of developing volunteers' understanding of Connecting Up and Infoxchange, exploring career pathways and goals they are interested in, and of building their relationships across the offices and networks. 

Mentoring is a developmental partnership between
A mentor - a leader with expertise in one or more areas, and
A mentee/an apprentice - an individual seeking learning and growth in these areas.

Mentee Expectations:
The ideal apprentice is:
· committed to their role
· willing to learn
· disciplined enough to execute what they have learned

Mentor Program Module
Mentees are to complete the Personal Branding and Mentor eModule in Better Impact before selecting and inviting their staff mentor. This will assist the mentee to understand the mentor process, consider their future goals and interests to match with relevant staff mentors. It also provides time to prepare questions they may have for their mentor regarding comparative steps, resources and networks. This is a valuable opportunity to learn from an experienced staff member 

Mentor Meeting Request
A Mentor Invitation Email Template can be found under Microsoft Outlook --> SA Volunteer Support Folder --> SE - 9 Volunteer Mentor Request.

Previous Mentor Meeting Recordings
If you are wondering about the running of mentor meetings or your mentors past mentor meetings with other interns and volunteers. Recordings can be found >>here  (internal link for current volunteers/interns) All Mentor meetings are recorded (with permission from your mentor) and are stored here for reference.

Action:
Login to your Infoxchange Microsoft Account and using outlook
Forward and adapt the template mentor invitation email, invitations are to include:
a) The Mentee's Personal Bio (from the Personal Branding e-module) and
b) The reason for selecting the invited staff member (desired career field etc.)
c) Their 5 prepared mentor questions
d) The proposed time/date after checking staff shared calendars in Microsoft Outlook
e) Mentees are to accompany the email with a Calendar Invite for the proposed date and time, room booking and CC the Volunteer Coordinator into the email and calendar meeting.

Image: Cameron Brown, Web Developer, Infoxchange and Volunteer Yang Jiao

Mentor Meeting Format
In person, this usually takes the form of meeting for approximately half an hour for a casual discussion at Connecting Up Office in The Hub or Reception Area. 

Alternatively staff may wish to book the Agile Meeting Room to demonstrate relevant online resources on screen, in this case please book the room and add the 'location' to the meeting invitation.

Remotely, Mentors can create a Teams or Zoom meeting invite with link emailed to their mentee via Calendar, again please book a corresponding room as needed if at the office so that a space is available for you.

Mentor Discussion Topics 
Discussions can involve: Volunteer’s career/interests or questions 
Mentors role, how they started, their career pathway, any relevant information and skills/education required for the position.

Action: Mentees are to research, prepare and ask 5 relevant questions of their mentor 

Feedback and Action Items

After the meeting we ask the mentor to provide a brief paragraph on their experience including their 5 questions and answers to the volunteer and intern coordinator for inclusion for their personal portfolio. This feedback is also to be forwarded to your mentor along with a Thank you for their time.

Action: The mentee is to write down 5 key points on the takeaways, learnings, actions/implementations and/or feedback from the session so that they can create and implement an action plan for self-development, one paragraph each.

Mentees are to provide some of the key points to document their experience with the idea that they are happy for this to be published as part of their personal biography and journey with Connecting Up for their benefit and the benefit of all volunteers and interns.
 

Mentoring supports volunteers in their role and builds stronger links with them as members of our Connecting Up team by providing another staff member (outside the Volunteer Coordinator) that they can feel comfortable talking to and discussing their ideas with.

Ensure that your mentor meeting is recorded (asking your mentor for permission at the beginning of the meeting). Save a copy to the Mentor Meeting Recording File.





How do I find a mentor at Infoxchange?

 

Login to LinkedIn 
Search for Infoxchange and People, remember not all staff are on LinkedIn.
Select an area of interest and Search.

i.e. Cybersecurity

Once you have a name, check your mentor details in Outlook
Type their name into an email and this will tell you if they are away/on leave or have recently left the organisation etc.


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