NACIS Mentor Program FAQ
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Q: Who can be a mentor and how many mentees would I have?
A: Each NACIS member with 5+ years of professional experience who applies will be paired with a single mentee (unless you indicate the capacity/desire to take on additional one-on-one mentees or a group of 2-4 mentees).
Q: What is the length of the program?
A: Six months.
Q: How often is the mentor program offered?
A: Once a year.
Q: How many meetings will there be?
A: One live kick-off Zoom meeting and six individual mentor/mentee meetings are recommended. We strongly encourage six meetings, however you are welcome to meet as your personal/professional schedules permit, more or less, just communicate with one another. Remember the more you put into the program the more you will get out of the program.
Q: How long are the meetings?
A: 30 minutes are recommended, however you’re welcome to meet as your schedules permit (more or less).
Q: Do I need to keep a log of our meetings/conversations?
A: No.
Q: How much does the program cost?
A: It’s free for NACIS members! If you’re not currently a member, you can join here.
Q: What training/support will the mentor/mentee have?
A: We provide a Mentor Program Handbook, which is a resource packet including proposed meeting topics and a Career Action Plan framework if participants wish to use it. There will also be additional private Slack channels (a program-wide channel, a mentors-only channel, and a mentees-only channel) to share ideas and questions and where you can reach the mentor program coordinators for guidance.
Q: Can the mentee or mentor choose to end the program early?
A: Yes. A mentee/mentor may exit the program at any time. We do ask that you please notify the mentor program coordinators using this Opt-Out email template so we can update our records.
Q: Am I supposed to train the mentee on specific technological skills?
A: No this is not expected, but not discouraged either if this is what mentor/mentee agree to do.
Q: What if there are not enough mentors for all the mentee applicants?
A: If the number of mentee applicants exceeds the number of mentors, we’ll encourage prospective mentees who aren’t paired to apply again next year, and their applications will be prioritized.
Q: I really enjoyed being a mentor. Could I volunteer to mentor for the program every year?
A: Yes!
