Something special occurs when two people dedicate time and effort to share ideas with one another in a confidential and open-minded context. Read these guidelines thoroughly before you meet for the first time.
Guidelines for Djøf’s long term mentor programmes
- A mentorship is a private relationship between a mentor and mentee set up by Djøf
- A longterm mentorship comprises at least 5 meetings over the course of 8-12 months
- The recommended length of each meeting is 1,5 hours
- Djøf automatically ends the mentorship after 12 months. If both parties wish to continue to meet, they are welcome to make arrangements to do so on their own
- At the end of a mentorship, both parties will receive a written evaluation
- Djøf does not provide compensation for transportation expenses as participation in the mentor programme is voluntary.
As a mentee you’re responsible for
- Contacting your mentor to arrange a date for the first meeting
- Preparing for each meeting and devoting time to reflection and contemplation after each meeting
- Sending out an agenda before each meeting
- Adjusting to suit your mentor’s schedule and wishes regarding meeting place
- Your own development, including taking action on new insights, wishes and goals.
As a mentor you’re responsible for
- Balancing your expectations from the outset
- Acting as your mentee’s sounding board and sharing your experiences
- Keeping the conversation flowing during the meetings
- Being prepared for what the role of mentor entails.
Clarify your roles at the first meeting
- Use the first meeting to discuss what you each expect to gain from the mentorship and to get to know each other
- The mentee should come prepared with an objective for the mentorship and a list of topics to discuss
- Together, you should discuss the potential content of the meetings
- Talk about what confidentiality means for your relationship
- Agree on the best way to collaborate before, during and after the meetings. For instance, the mentee might send an agenda before each meeting and a summary afterwards
- Agree on the practical details about how often you will meet and how you can contact each other if it is necessary to move or cancel a meeting
- Agree on the degree of contact between meetings
- Follow up on the first meeting quickly and inform each other whether you wish to continue the mentorship.
The ethical conditions
- Confidentiality and trust are key to a successful mentorship
- A mentee may not use a mentor as a reference on a job application or use the mentor’s network
- Contact us if problems arise in the mentor relationship which you cannot handle yourself
- You can always stop a conversation about a topic if you, as a mentor/mentee feel that there is a risk of an ethical, competence or confidentiality breach
- Both parties can choose to end the mentorship at any time. Remember to inform the other party and then write to Djøf at dk¤djoef¤mentor
- You can always contact Djøf for advice and guidance by writing to dk¤djoef¤mentor.