Mentor/Mentee Goals

Would you like to create Goals! Here are some great tips to start the process!

What is the importance of setting goals?

What are S.M.A.R.T. Goals?

Examples of S.M.A.R.T. Goals:

My Personal Mentoring (S.M.A.R.T.) Goals.

1. As an interpreter mentor, my first goal is to be accommodating to the mentee’s schedule. When establishing dates for upcoming mentoring assignments, I want to be able to accommodate to the mentee’s time table. This goal can be accomplished by allowing the mentee to establish realistic goals regarding what dates/times that he/she has available to mentor. This goal can also be accomplished by being flexible about the mentee’s goals concerning dates/times. If the mentee is unable to complete a mentoring assignment on the expected date, I must be able to flexible with the schedule of pre-planned assignments. If the mentee cannot mentor for an hour on a specific day, I must be able to adjust to the time that he/she can mentor.

a. For my future work as an interpreter mentor, I believe that accommodation is vital in a mentor/mentee relationship. I understand that each mentee will have a different work schedule than I will have. In the future, I understand that my interpreting schedule will be different than it is now. In the future, I could have more responsibilities which could limit my time to mentor. The mentee could also have a limited schedule. For a mentor/mentee relationship to be successful, I understand that I must be willing to work with the mentee. If I am not flexible, the mentee could feel that the interpreting goals are unattainable.

2. As an interpreter mentor, my second goal is to be able to share past interpreting experiences without being negative about my interpreting skills. When giving feedback to a mentee, I want to appropriately share my personal experiences without downplaying my skills. This goal can be accomplished in the mentoring session by giving the mentee facts about past learning experiences. The goal can also be accomplished by limiting information regarding my feelings about past interpreting experiences. If the mentee feels that the mentor role is reversed, the mentor/mentee relationship will not be successful. If each mentoring session is 30 minutes, as a mentor, I will need to limit the amount of time I discuss past experiences to 5-10 minutes per session.

a. For my future work as an interpreter mentor, I believe that this goal is vital to success. I understand that each mentee will have different past learning experiences. The mentor must be vulnerable and open with the mentee about his/her past experiences as well. However, if a mentor is constantly degrading him/herself, the mentee could feel “drained”. The mentee could also feel the pressure to “uplift” the mentor, which makes the mentoring/mentee relationship reversed. As a future interpreter educator, I must learn that my past experiences cannot dictate my future. As I proceed with this goal, I do believe that this will create a habit of speaking positive and create a sense of confidence in my own skill.

3. As an interpreter mentor, my third goal is to be able to instill confidence in a mentee. One behavior that can allow this goal to be attainable is by allowing the mentee to redo interpreting videos after first completion. This allows the mentee to view areas of improvement with the opportunity to apply his/her knowledge to the video the second time. This goal can also be attained by allowing the student the freedom express themselves, and listening to the mentee without motives in a mentoring session. This goal can be measured by allowing the mentee to discuss how he/she feels about the mentoring progress/process and whether he/she feels if mentoring is successful. This can be done for 5-10 minutes at the end of each mentoring session.

a. For my future work as an interpreter mentor, this goal is very important to me. As a past mentee, I have experienced mentors that did not have the ability to instill confidence. After being mentored, I did not feel as if the mentor had faith in my interpreting skills. As an interpreter mentor, I want all of the students I mentor to understand that they can be successful in the interpreting profession. My goal is for each mentee to grow into being a successful interpreter.

My Personal S.M.A.R.T. Goals/Completed Professional Development Plan