1-on-1 mentorship

General program information

We do our best to match people based on career stage, geography, career goals, and special requests. However, you may have been matched with someone from a different part of the world or with different expertise than you. The point though, is that your match is someone who has had to face being a woman or non-binary person of color in ecology, evolution, or allied field. That's a pretty big tent of people, but we all have faced some shared barriers of being the "only" in a field that is otherwise quite homogenous. 

There was also many more students than non-students who signed up. Because of this, and by design, most people have been matched with someone who is maybe a year or two ahead of them in their careers, or even at the same level. That being said, everyone has something to offer as a mentor and peer mentorship is incredibly valuable. 

Finally, you may have signed up to only receive a mentor but you have been asked to be a mentor as well. This program just can't work if everyone wants to be mentored without also pitching in. Don't doubt yourself, if you've been assigned a mentee, it means you have something to offer.

To participate in this program, it is expected that you meet with your mentor and/or mentee once a month for one hour, most likely through a video call (but if you're lucky enough to live in the same area and the pandemic ends, then in person). If you happen to be going to the same conference, that would be a great place to meet too! You should complete a mentorship agreement together in the beginning so that you can set realistic expectations. While it is expected that you meet once per month, obviously things come up, and its ok if you need to miss some months. Just be sure to communicate with your mentorship partner. 

Beyond that, this mentoring program is whatever you make of it. If you're unhappy with your match, send me us an email and I'll see what we can do to rematch you, but we ask that you try giving it a few months first. 

Please don't be a jerk. Please don't place unrealistic expectations on people that you're matched with. Everyone here is volunteering their time. Also, if you say you're going to meet up with someone, please don't ghost them. Finally, we'll have some things in common with our matches, but not everything. Please be respectful of folks' differences. Just because you belong to a marginalized group, it does not mean that you don't also carry biases. Please be cognizant and careful that you don't discriminate. Let's be kind and respectful of each other. 

For mentors

There are endless resources out there on how to be a good mentor, and we have linked to a few examples below. As a mentor in this 1-on-1 mentoring program, your job is to listen, be empathetic, be willing to provide constructive feedback, and to ask your mentee what they need. It is also your job to set up boundaries to protect your time. Discuss with your mentee what you're able to provide them and remember that it's ok to say no. 

In your first meeting with your mentee, focus on introducing yourself. Talk about how you got to where you are. Talk about the challenges and rewarding aspects of your career so far, and talk about where you want your career to go. Invite your mentee to do the same. Together you should complete a mentorship agreement. You can either follow the template we provide for you, or you can create your own. 

We're going to encourage the mentees to get in the driver's seat for these relationships, but it might take some encouragement from you because they may feel intimidated about taking up your time or asking things of you. 

Some people seem really concerned about their role as a mentor, especially if their matched mentee is really close to them in their career stage. They worry that they won't have anything to offer. If you have these concerns, take a look at the mentoring network map on the homepage and imagine placing yourself in the map. You might not be able to provide career advice, but you can certainly be a safe space for discussing the challenges of being a WOC in EEB, you can be part of your mentee's intellectual community (especially relevant when we're all working from home and don't have chance encounters with our peers as readily), you could provide peer feedback on writing, and you can be a source of emotional support. You certainly don't have to fill all of these roles, but they are examples of mentoring roles you can fill as someone who is close in career stage to your mentee. 

For mentees

In the 1-on-1 mentoring matches, the mentee is really in the driver's seat. If you haven't already, take a look at the mentoring network map on the homepage of this site. Go through the exercise to figure out what type of mentoring you need for yourself. And then take stock of who currently fills those roles in your life. In the 1-on-1 mentoring program, the aim is that the mentor you are matched up with will fit in one or a few roles in your mentoring map. You should not expect them to be your one and only mentor, that would simply be unrealistic, especially since they're volunteering their time. 

When you first meet with your mentor, ask them about their career path. Ask them about their science and their interests. Only once you get to know your mentor, can you figure out how they can fit into your mentoring map. And of course, you should tell your mentor about yourself, about your goals and dreams, and tell them about the barriers that your facing.

At the end of your first meeting with your mentor, the two of you should complete a mentorship agreement. You can either use our template or come up with one on your own. The point of completing a mentorship agreement is so that both you and your mentor have clear expectations of each other and have a plan to maximize the benefits of this relationship.

Resources

•  Read about a mindful mentoring plan on A Practical Guide to Mentoring Across Intersections by Annica Harriot on #VanguardSTEM

• Peer Mentoring Networks: Building and Bonding as a Black Woman in STEM by Arianna Long on #VanguardSTEM highlights the importance of cultivating peer-mentoring networks

• Decolonize Mentorship with VanguardSTEM offers a 4-step guide to being a thoughtful mentor 

• Learn about the benefits of having a diverse group of mentors on Creating an Expansive Mentoring Network: Who is On Your Team? by Arianna Long on #VanguardSTEM