On this page you will find sample agendas, sample questions, and more resources to help guide the conversations you will be having as part of the Inclusv mentoring program. *Don’t forget to join us for our kick-off webinar on January 8th at 7 pm EST/4 PST!

January 2019

Key Goals For This Month:

  1. Create and agree to a schedule for your conversations.
  2. Get to know each other–Mentees should learn about their mentor’s career path, and mentors should learn about their mentee’s goals and aspirations.
  3. Identify at least one skill or area of growth that the mentor will coach the mentee on throughout the course of the three month program.

For the month of January, we imagine that the first meeting is a “Get to Know Each Other Meeting.” For the second January meeting, we encourage pairs, whether you are a political veteran or just getting started in politics, to discuss “How can I carve my own path in politics?” For this month, we recommend that mentors and mentees discuss what it takes to create an authentic and sustainable career in politics. For every session, we encourage mentors and mentees to answer an Ice Breaker question to get the conversation started.

Mentors, want to prepare for a topic beforehand? Check out our Resources Page which features various articles, guides, and tools! Check out the Example Agenda. Feel free to adjust it accordingly.

Please note that mentors are human too. We do not expect mentors to have answers to every question from a mentee. We encourage mentors and mentees to connect with one another and of course reach out to Moonyoung@Inclusv.com if there is a specific request for materials and support.

Introduction: Getting to Know Each Other

How You’d Like to be Addressed (5 minutes): Share how you’d like to be addressed. Do you go by a nickname? How do you pronounce your name? What are your pronouns?

Ice Breaker (5 minutes): Please pick one of the following questions, or create your own!

  • What drew you into the Inclusv Mentorship Program?
  • What was the most inspiring moment in 2018 for you and why? (Consider taking a peak at our Diversity in Politics section!)
  • If there was one aspect of 2018 that you can change, what would you alter and why?

Share Who You Are (10-15 minutes): Each mentor and mentee should spend 10-15 minutes providing information to their partner about their professional journey, how they got here, what they hope to take away from the relationship, why they applied to the Inclusv Virtual Mentorship Program, and one fun fact about themselves.

Set Goals (15 minutes): Outline 3-5 goals that both you and your partner want to achieve. Goals can be as simple as a resume review and receiving feedback or enhancing your knowledge of what organizations do the work that you’re interested.

The mentor and mentee should then identify one goal out of the ones that they have listed that they’d like to achieve for this month. The goal can be discussed in the subsequent calls. Check out some sample goal topics below.

Sample Discussion Topics

Mentors, you can initiate the conversation by sharing how you got started, what you are currently doing, and what challenges you have faced in your career. Mentees, we recommend that you share with your mentor where you currently are at in your career and challenges that you’re currently facing and asking your mentor for advice on how to address them.

Here are a few sample questions for mentors and mentees to help guide your conversation!

Sample Questions (Mentees to Ask Mentors)

  • How did you get started in politics?
  • What is the biggest challenge that you’ve faced in politics? How did you address it?
  • Looking back at your experiences, what is advice that you would like to tell yourself as you began your career?
  • How did your life change when you assumed a leadership role? What was something that you found surprising? Challenging?

More Resources

25 questions to ask a mentor (Ladders, Jo Miller, June 4, 2018)

40 Questions To Ask A Mentor (Forbes, Jo Miller, March 25, 2018)

9 Must-Ask Questions for Your Career Mentor (Collective Hub, Bridget De Maine, March 22, 2017)

Sample Questions (Mentors to Ask Mentees)

  • What challenges are you currently facing in your career?
  • How can I best support you throughout the mentorship program?
  • What is one goal that you’d like to work towards during our next meeting?

More Resources

The Best Mentors Ask These 8 Questions (Fast Company, Gwen Moran, March 16, 2019)

Five Questions Every Mentor Must Ask (Harvard Business Review, Anthony K. Tjan, March 25, 2009)

Set Expectations (10-15 minutes): For a mentorship to work, the mentor and mentee need to be invested in the relationship. This means having both partners being equally present, attentive and committed to the mentorship program. For instance, if you both agree to achieving 6 calls by the end of the mentorship program, make sure that there are steps along the way to ensure the success. This includes communicating to your partner if you need to cancel and reschedule a call and following up immediately on a new date and time.

One tip is to share early-on what is the best method of communication that works for you. Everyone has a different method of communicating, so don’t be shy to let your mentor/mentee know how they prefer to communicate.

Set Dates & Times for Your Next Call (5-10 minutes): Determine how you and your mentor/mentee want to communicate with one another and set-up a regular, standing call/video chat. We highly recommend saving the dates on your calendar early-on to set the norm for the mentorship. For example, schedule recurring calls every other Wednesday at 5pm.

Another tip is, at the end of your current call, check with your mentor/mentee to see if there are any anticipated travel, upcoming exams, etc. that may impact the pre-scheduled call. If there is, you can move the date/time of the call right then and there. Doing so reduces anxiety, particularly, for mentees who are looking forward to the next time to chat with their mentor.

Wrap Up (5 minutes): Express appreciation to your mentor/mentee! Hooray, first meeting has been complete. Use this time to clarify, review, and confirm any commitments made by the mentor or mentees.

Before Your Next Meeting

Achieving Your Mentorship Goals

Review Your Goals: Now that you and your mentor/mentee have identified the 3-5 goals that both of you want to work towards. Set aside 1-2 goals to discuss during each call.

Be Prepared: To make the most of your time, we highly recommend that mentees come into the conversation with a handful of questions that they may have regarding the topic. We recommend mentees to write down 4-5 questions prior to each call. Asking questions, which we strongly encourage, allows your mentor to get a better sense of what you are in need of support of, and how to best guide you. Mentors, feel free to check out our Resources Page for a broader list of available resources.

This is also a good time to let your mentor/mentee know if you need to reschedule the call.

Look Back at What You Hope to Achieve: At the end of your call, we recommend returning to the initial goals that you laid out for the mentorship relationship. What topics have yet to be discussed? Do you want to spend more time to further finesse your current goal? Have both of you been present and actively participating during each call? Asking yourself these questions at the midpoint will help you and your mentor/mentee during the remainder of the program.

Articles for Discussion