Guide for mentees

• Objectives of the GROW@Goethe mentoring program

  The mentoring program is designed to help you navigate the critical transition between graduate school and professional life. Taking a critical look at your skills and career goals during this phase can be crucial for your further development and for actively shaping your academic and professional career.

  A regular exchange between mentor and mentee (one to two meetings per month) is central to this process. 

  Your mentor will provide you with guidance and insight into the professional world. If the employer agrees, you can arrange to shadow them (job shadowing). 

  Additional support such as resume reviews, internship placement assistance, etc. is available. 

  The specific topics of your mentoring will depend on your needs and your mentor's availability. Your mentor will not be an expert in every field, but will be able to share his or her experience and point you in the right direction.

  Note: A discussion topics guide is available for inspiration if you run out of topics (see the end of the guide).
  
  

• Mentee responsibilities

  Before mentoring

  Mentoring can be challenging and time-consuming. Before committing to GROW@Goethe, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Do I currently have the time to devote to mentoring and meet regularly with my mentor? How much time and energy am I willing to commit? Are there any time constraints or commitments that might affect my participation?
  • Mentoring, at its best, means changing your own life. Am I currently ready to do that?
  • What are my expectations of mentoring and how can they be met?
  • What goals do I want to achieve through mentoring?
  • What specific skills or knowledge do I want to gain from my mentor?
  • Am I open to feedback and willing to accept constructive criticism?

  Ongoing issues to consider

  To get the most out of the mentoring program, you will need to take initiative. Your mentor will support you, but you know best what is relevant to you. In the pre-match seminar, we will you get ready for the assignments you will be asked to complete independently:

  • Formulate clear goals and concerns and actively suggesting topics (e.g., studies, career entry, etc.)
  • Inform the mentor about your own professional situation
  • Accept support and demonstrate personal responsibility
  • Treat each other with respect
  • Organizational tasks (see next section)
    

• Meeting preparation and follow-up

  You are responsible for arranging the meetings. Mentors will spend time with you in addition to their regular work. You should be flexible with their time and location.

  Suggest dates for the first meeting by email. The first meeting can take place digitally or in person at the optional kick-off event. The follow-up date will be set at the end of each meeting.

  How you organize your meetings should be determined by both of you. It should be based on your specific questions and needs. Let your mentor know in advance what topics you would like to discuss.

  You are responsible for taking notes at each meeting. Write up the most important points and send them to your mentor afterwards. This will help both of you keep track of things and clarify any misunderstandings. We are happy to provide you with a form for taking your meeting notes.

  
  

• Mentoring agreement

  The mentoring agreement ensures commitment and clarity about the goals and topics of the mentoring. Important: The agreement is filled out together at the first meeting, signed and then uploaded to OLAT. Both parties should consider which topics and goals are feasible.

  The agreement will be the basis for your exchange of ideas and the way you will contact each other. A successful mentoring relationship depends on clear communication of all expectations.

  Tip: Plan on 1-2 meetings of 1-2 hours each month. How often you end up meeting will depend on your particular circumstances, but the frequency of meetings should be determined at the outset. Changes can be discussed and adjusted as the mentoring process develops.
  
  

• Important attitudes and behaviors

  Openness: Both parties should be interested in an open, personal exchange and clarify their mutual expectations of the mentoring relationship.

  Confidentiality: The substance of mentoring conversations is not shared with others. This creates a safe space to talk about insecurities and shortcomings. Exceptions are agreed on in advance.

  Respect: Discussions are always conducted in a respectful and courteous manner. Boundaries can be set at any time if topics outside the agreed content are discussed.

  Commitment: Appointments should be kept or canceled in a timely manner.

  Both sides should be interested in an open, personal exchange and clarify their mutual expectations of the mentoring relationship.

  
  

  GROW@Goethe is professional mentoring!

  Personal meetings between mentor and mentee take place in public places. Discrimination of any kind, whether based on gender, race, religion, appearance, illness or disability, age or other characteristics will not be tolerated. In particular, sexual harassment of a non-verbal, verbal or physical nature is strictly prohibited. This includes suggestive comments (spoken or written) about physical characteristics, appearance, clothing, derogatory remarks of a sexual nature, or indiscreet questions about lifestyle, etc.

  In the event of disagreements or problems that have a negative impact on the mentoring relationship, please contact the GROW@Goethe team immediately: mentoring@uni-frankfurt.de

  
  

• General terms of the mentoring relationship

  The mentoring relationship is based on your goals as a mentee and the capacity of the mentor.

  • At the beginning of the mentoring relationship, please set realistic goals with your mentor.
  • Major goals should be broken down into smaller sub-goals and discussed in detail with your mentor.
  • During your first meeting, clarify your personal boundaries, the time commitment for both of you, and the tasks for which you will be responsible.
  • Decide together when you can be reached and which communication channels work best for you.

  
  

• Discussion guide

  When you start mentoring, you agree on topics to work on together. You may find that you run out of topics to discuss - this is perfectly normal and does not mean that the mentoring is going badly. If this happens, you can refer back to this guide to find new topics. 
  

  But do not try to force the conversation. Sometimes it is better to take a break or extend the time between meetings. Of course, you can also ask your mentor for suggestions. It is important that your mentor approves every topic you discuss.

  Suggested topics
  
  

  • Discussing salary expectations: realistic goal?
  • Optimizing interviews and resumes
  • Stress management (e.g. during exams) and mental health
  • Transitioning from college to the workforce
  • Should I do an internship?
  • Hard and soft skills for the professional world
  • Career focus and options
  • Job shadowing (must be arranged with the mentor's workplace!)
  • Tips and tricks from your own time as a student
  • Choosing a job
  • Continuing education
  • Insights into everyday work life
    

• Final meeting and the time after mentoring

  The end of a mentoring relationship is just as important as the beginning. After eight months of intensive exchange, both parties will have learned a lot, especially you as the mentee. To round off the mentoring process, we recommend that you use the last meeting as an opportunity for reflection.

  Here are some sample questions that you can answer together. Of course, you can come up with your own questions.

  • How has my relationship with my mentor developed?
  • How have my skills and knowledge developed during the mentoring?
  • Have I achieved the goals I set myself at the beginning of the mentoring program?
  • What challenges did I face and how did I deal with them?
  • How has mentoring influenced my confidence and motivation?
  • How has my understanding of the industry or of mentoring changed?
  • What experiences from mentoring have been particularly valuable to me?
  • Where do I still see potential for development and how can I address this in the future?
  • How did my communication and interaction skills improve?
  • What advice or tips from the mentoring process were particularly helpful to me?
  • What new skills or abilities have I gained through mentoring that could be useful in other areas?

  
  

  After the official mentoring period has come to an end, you are more than welcome to keep in touch with your mentor. We encourage you to stay connected and encourage you to continue to network with your mentor. 
  
  
  
  

  Tip: Keeping in touch with a large network can be difficult, especially when you're going through a stressful time such as starting to work. Here are two tips to help you stay in touch in the long term:

  • Create a contact list (e.g. in Excel) of all the people in your network and choose one person every month to contact and ask about their latest achievements.
  • Once a month, arrange a lunch with one person from your network. If you want to meet regularly, a shared calendar can help you manage your availability.

• Feedback & certificate of participation

  At the end of GROW@Goethe, you will receive a certificate acknowledging your participation in the program. Many potential employers like to see that students have participated in a mentoring program. You can include the certificate on your resume.

  To receive the certificate, you must successfully complete all of the following tasks (including meeting the deadlines)

  Required: Attend the pre-match seminar. Attendance at the kick-off and closing events and the get-together / contributions are voluntary. 

  
  

  1. Mandatory: participation in the preparatory seminar. Participation in the kick-off event, the closing event and the get-together / input are voluntary. 
  2. Submit a short interim report on mentoring in July 2025 (1 page) - Deadline: July 14, 2025 / 11:59 p.m.
  3. Submission of the final report on mentoring in December 2025 (2 pages) - Deadline: December 15, 2025 / 11:59 pm
  4. Participation in the final evaluation (anonymous feedback form, online) - Deadline: December 15, 2025 / 11:59 pm