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Is there a program for both students and alumni interested in getting a mentor?
Yes. We have a student program focused around landing internships, learning how to grow a network and how to get informational interviews (as well as the most up-to-date practices on how to build a strong relationship with a mentor). The alumni program is focused on how to transition into a managerial role (if you haven't been one before), pursue a graduate degree if you are contemplating more education, and change careers if you feel stuck in your job (as well as the most up-to-date practices on how to build a strong relationship with a mentor). -
Can an alumni mentee also be a mentor?
Yes. Alumni mentees can receive guidance from fellow alumni as well as mentor a current collegian. -
Are the mentees and mentors only members of our university?
Yes. We only match your members together. -
How are mentees and mentors connected with each other?
- Mentees and mentors are matched via our algorithm which looks at career, region, major, and most importantly work orientation (e.g. do you view your work as a job, career or calling).
- To elaborate further on work orientation, somebody who views their work as a job is typically characterized by a person who does the work but is focused on work/life balance, their family, the weekends and life outside of work. This person tends to be consistent in their work effort but their work is not the main component of their life.
- Somebody who views their work as a career is typically characterized by a person who is hungry to work up the company ladder and will take on additional responsibilities to get them further in their career. This person needs consistent growth in their work and will take all actions necessary to achieve that growth.
- Somebody who views their work as a calling is typically characterized by a person who loves their work and doesn’t want their work to change. This person tends to not want to be promoted or demoted and seeks change only if it further aligns with their work mission.
- We have observed that matching mentees and mentors with similar work orientations has a greater correlation to successful mentorship (e.g. higher quality relationship, higher productivity in the relationship, and a relationship that lasts after the formal program has ended) than any other factor (e.g. more than just being in the same career field, region, or major).
- Mentees and mentors are matched via our algorithm which looks at career, region, major, and most importantly work orientation (e.g. do you view your work as a job, career or calling).
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Does the program prepare mentors and mentees for meeting with each other?
- Yes. Mentees are provided 4 workshops over the course of the 12-week program.
- Student mentees are provided workshops about
- setting a goal for their mentorship and creating an action plan for how to achieve that goal with their mentor over the course of the program,
- expanding their network via their mentor and other resources (e.g. LinkedIn, their career services office, networking events),
- updating their professional goals with their mentor as they have learned new information,
- and establishing an action plan for how they can grow their network in the workplace/during an internship and make the most of the network they will be exposed to.
- Alumni mentees are provided workshops about
- transitioning into a managerial role and gaining guidance from a mentor about not being the type of boss others despise as well as not hating the boss one has,
- identifying whether or not it makes sense to have a career change and leveraging the guidance of a mentor to establish if a change makes sense,
- distinguishing the pros and cons of pursuing a graduate degree and how their mentor can provide insight into what they have seen a graduate do for themselves and others they know,
- and having uncomfortable conversations with supervisors and overall how to approach workplace conflict in a respectful and meaningful way and how their mentors have faced similar situations.
- Mentors are provided an orientation plus 3 workshops about
- having patience with a mentee and properly setting expectations for the relationship,
- getting to understand mentees’ pain so then they can get a better understanding of their situation and how their advice can be most impactful,
- practicing sharing advice through the form of stories and being vulnerable about mistakes made in the past so then the mentees feel comfortable sharing their mistakes,
- and creating an action plan for keeping in touch for after the formal mentorship program has ended.
- Student mentees are provided workshops about
- Yes. Mentees are provided 4 workshops over the course of the 12-week program.
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Does the program encourage group meetings between fellow alumni and students?
- Yes. Part of the way we engage student and alumni mentees on a local level is we will hire one of their peers to lead group meetings. We will hire students based on their chapter and alumni based on their local region. Students in this role are called Brand Ambassadors and alumni in this role are called Volunteer Program Coordinators. These meetings bring together people who can relate because they are a member of your university and are getting mentored. The goal is to share their goals, aspirations, and feedback for others in a supportive environment that fosters peer mentorship.
- If some students or alumni are remote, they will be part of a virtual group that meets online via group video calls.
- There are 3, 1-hour meetings over the course of each 12-week program (e.g. one per month).
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When are the program start and end dates?
There are two programs held every year. One program that begins in February and ends in May and another that begins in September and ends in December. -
Does the program offer flash mentoring* and how does it work? *Flash mentoring is when a mentee can pose a quick question that they would like answered by an experienced professional in their field but not commit to a program-long mentoring relationship.
Yes. Mentees can pose questions in our online portal and select which industry they would like to receive guidance in and our algorithm will identify unmatched mentors in that space that can answer their question and email them the mentee’s question. -
Can you integrate with our CRM system?
Yes. This depends on the CRM system and its API and the data that would integrated, but yes, we can integrate a CRM system. -
Can you provide additional support to students and alumni seeking internships or jobs?
Yes. Once a mentee has successfully completed one semester of the program, we have an employer network of companies that want to hire the students and alumni for jobs and internships. Employers do not have visibility to the mentees in the program, they just approach us (Ambition In Motion) with their hiring needs and we help facilitate interviews if there seems to be a fit. -
Do student mentees have to pay anything?
We have all student mentees pay a $50 deposit which they are fully refunded at the end of the semester for successful completion. We do this to help hold students accountable to the program and their relationships with their mentors. Successful completion of the program means meeting with a mentor for at least 3, 30-minute conversations (over phone, video chat or in-person), attending all 4 live workshops Ambition In Motion provides, and completing the post-program assessment at the end of the semester. -
Do alumni mentees to pay anything?
Alumni mentees pay a $99 fee for getting a mentor and using the program (this is not a deposit, just a fee for using the program). -
Do alumni mentors pay anything?
No. They are just volunteering their time to mentor another person from your university. -
What is the fee to the university for using this program?
No charge! We recognize the important work your university does and that budgets can change frequently. Therefore, we don’t charge universities anything to use the program and rely on our employer network to subsidize our costs of running the program.
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