The Mentoring Roles
Meets regularly with Mentee to define a plan and identify activities. Helps the Mentee with identifying potential employers, networking, listens and provides feedback.
Mentor
Is this You?
Meets regularly with Mentor and considers tech comm as a career objective. Actively seeks employment or education, communicates challenges and accepts feedback.
Mentee
Is this You?
Pairs Mentees and Mentors, oversees the program to fulfill the mission, provides career guidance and offers networking opportunities.
Mentor Program Coordinator
Bobbi Werner
Mission
The mission of the mentoring program is to provide a structured approach by which mentors from the Rochester Chapter provide one-on-one assistance to student mentees to help them establish themselves successfully as technical communicators. The mentor helps the mentee in a
variety of ways, including but not limited to the following:
- Assist in job search and placement by reviewing and critiquing the mentee’s resume, cover letters, and portfolios; providing career guidance; and helping to establish contacts for interviews for internships or career placements (either via personal contacts or by helping the mentee network within the chapter to find suitable contacts).
- Increase the mentee’s opportunity to network with professional practitioners, and also help develop his/ her ability to do so effectively.
- Provide insight into the role of technical communicators in the workplace.
- Review/critique the mentee’s academic and/or job-related technical communication projects or written communiqués, providing constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement.
- Answer questions; if the mentee so desires, provide real-time advice to help him/her resolve problems and conflicts as they arise in school or in the workplace.
How will I benefit?
Testimonials
The mentoring program helped me with networking in the tech comm field when I was transitioning from school to the workplace. I received career guidance and opportunities to strengthen my skills. As a bonus I got help paying for my membership which gave me access to tons of tech comm resources.
Adam
Mentee
I have many years of experience as a tech comm professional and was looking for a way to pay it forward for all the support that I've received. The personal satisfaction and leadership skills that I gained by coaching a new professional was tremendous.
Juanita
Mentor
Strategy
The mentoring program strategy for is as follows:
- Make the service available to any student (within mentor availability) who requests help and meets the requirements under qualifications.
- Provide one mentor per student for a period of time of not less than 1 year and not more than 2 years. (The general expectation is that most mentor/mentee relationships will run for 1 year, but there is no imperative to end the relationship at that point if both participants wish
to continue.)
Responsibilities
The three positions in the mentoring program are program coordinator, mentor, and mentee. Responsibilities of each are listed below.
Mentor Program Coordinator Responsibilities
Note: If possible, it is preferable to have co-coordinators, one professional from the Education Committee and one student.
- Assign mentors and mentee pairs, using data on application forms.
- Follow up by phone to mentors and mentees to discuss progress, problems, and ideas at least once per month.
- Remain accessible to both mentors and mentees to deal with questions or problems.
- Report on progress of mentoring program to the Chapter Administrative Council.
- Document program results in an appropriate STC forum.
Mentor Responsibilities
- Agree to serve as a mentor for one college academic year.
- Work with the mentee to define specific objectives of the mentor/mentee relationship and to define a plan and identify activities that will achieve those objectives.
- Agree to meet with the mentee an average of once per month in a suitable public setting.
- Contact the mentee approximately every 2 weeks by phone or e-mail.
- Help the mentee write/edit/design his or her resume, cover letters, and portfolio.
- Help identify potential employers.
- Help mentee learn to network, including participation and attendance at STC meetings.
- Assist the mentee in other ways as mutually agreed.
- Remain accessible to the mentee.
- Provide candid feedback in reviews and critiques, including constructive criticism as warranted, and recommend development activities.
- Be honest and open on expectations and commitments.
- Provide feedback to the mentor program coordinators on the progress of the relationship, including periodic e-mail messages and a brief final report and survey.
- Serve as an example of a positive role model.
- Communicate experiences and challenges.
- Listen.
Mentee Responsibilities
- Consider technical communication as a primary or secondary career objective.
- Join STC (if not already a member).
- If interested in assistance with job placement, actively seek employment in the Rochester area, at least during the last 3 months of the mentoring period.
- Agree to meet with the mentor an average of once per month in a suitable public setting.
- Contact the mentor approximately once every 2 weeks by phone or e-mail.
- Remain accessible to the mentor.
- Seek and accept candid feedback in reviews and critiques, including constructive criticism as warranted.
- Be honest and open on expectations and commitments.
- Provide feedback to the mentoring program coordinators on the progress of the relationship, including periodic e-mail messages and a brief final report and survey.
- Ask questions.
- Listen.
- Communicate experiences and challenges.
- Network.
- Advise of academic breakthroughs.
Qualifications
The following qualifications define mentors and mentees.
Mentor Qualifications
- Current or past member of the Rochester Chapter of STC.
- At least 3 years’ professional experience in technical communication (exceptions can be made if circumstances warrant).
Mentee Qualifications
- Current member of the Rochester Chapter of STC or willing to join.
- Currently enrolled in a RIT School of Communications Professional and Technical Communication program or a related program, at either an undergraduate or a graduate level, or a recent graduate of that program (within one year), OR
- Currently enrolled in a technical communication or related program at another university or college, at either an undergraduate or a graduate level, or a recent graduate of that program (within one year).
Confidentiality
To assist with the learning and networking process, mentors and mentees may share information that is to remain confidential. They should both exercise good judgment when disclosing sensitive personal information, and both should keep the trust of that confidentiality. Program coordinators are governed by the same principle.
How do I get more information?
Form will be available soon! In the meantime you can contact mentoring@stc-rochester.org to get started.
- Mentee Application Form
- Mentee Pre-Assessment
- Mentor Application Form
- Mentor Pre-assessment
- Mentor-Mentee Agreement
