Welcome to Mentoring!

Who Can Apply to Be a Mentor?

All Trinity Alumni can sign up to be mentors, either to students looking for early career guidance or to fellow Alumni who might be seeking advice on further progression or career change.

Types of Mentoring:

When volunteering as a mentor, you can choose your level of commitment which can range from answering a few questions over email through to an ongoing mentoring relationship that may last several months. You are in control of how much time you can give to mentoring and can change your level of commitment as you see fit.

• Flash Mentoring: Available all year around. Perfect for mentees seeking once-off career advice. Activities can include sending a message seeking advice, requesting a brief conversation by phone or online on a topic (e.g., a mentor's day-to-day job role), requesting a CV/LinkedIn review.
• Longer-Term Mentoring: Available all year round. Mentees & Mentors agree to meet up three times for approx. 1 hour over the course of six months (in addition to replying to any e-mails/questions/concerns) with the goal of achieving more in-depth professional development. A workbook to coincide with longer-term mentoring can be downloaded from the Trinity Development and Alumni website.

Registration and Profile Setup

Signing up to Be a Mentor:

Request to join our Alumni Mentoring LinkedIn group. We will then verify your status as a Trinity Alumni. This process can take 1-2 business days, or up to 4 days during busy sign-up periods.

Once verified, you will have access to our LinkedIn group, where you can search for other users by clicking ‘show all’ in the box in the upper right-hand corner of the group page. (If using the mobile app, this appears directly under the name of the page, accessible by clicking on where it lists the number of people in the group.)

You’ve Signed Up– What’s Next?

Once you have accepted the invitation, you are ready to connect with mentees.

• Mentee profiles will be searchable via the group; however, we encourage mentors to wait for the mentee to take the lead in reaching out!
• Even if you are not available to take on any new mentoring opportunities at the moment, please respond to the mentee when declining so they can connect with other mentors instead.

Responding to a Mentor Request:

• Ask for more information if you need it - If you are not sure what this student/alumnus wants from you or you do not know enough about them, you can send a response to them before accepting them as a mentee.
• Plan your time commitment - Mentoring can be time-consuming; be realistic about how much time you have for the student/alumni before responding to their message or accepting them as a longer-term mentee.
• Manage their expectations - If your time is limited, tell them that - and give them a realistic idea of how quickly they will hear back from you.
• Thank the student/alumni for their interest - Approaching a mentor takes time and thought and can be nerve-wracking, so a kind response will be appreciated even if you are not able to take on a new mentoring opportunity at the time.

Best Practice / Code of Conduct

At Trinity Development & Alumni, we are committed to celebrating the achievements of our Alumni and providing impactful opportunities for Alumni to connect, grow, and give back through participation in mentoring. At all times we seek to prioritize the wellbeing of the Alumni mentor, ensuring an enjoyable, fulfilling experience that is mutually beneficial to both mentor and mentee through the best practice principles outlined in this document.

Core Principles:

• Mutual Respect: Adhering to the best practice principles set out by Trinity Development and Alumni.
• Effective Communication: Engaged and proactive communication, setting clear boundaries and expectations.
• Personal Development: Lifelong learning, an ongoing commitment to professional and personal growth.

Where Can I Meet with My Mentee In-Person?

For mentees/mentors who are able to meet up in person, we recommend meetings take place in a public location, such as on Trinity’s campus or a convenient coffee shop. It is best to avoid any venues where alcohol is served.

If you are looking for a place to meet on campus, you are welcome in our Alumni Room in East Chapel. The room is open to all alumni from Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. We also have a meeting room, which can be booked in advance by contacting alumni@tcd.ie.

Tips for Being a Good Mentor:

• Be Mindful: While a mentoring relationship involves mutual respect, trust, and communication, the power differentials between a mentor and mentee are always present and easy to overlook or misinterpret. Protect yourself from burnout, uncomfortable situations, and maintain professionalism in all circumstances.
• Consider Your Time Commitment: Whether engaging in ‘flash’ or ‘longer-term mentoring,’ ensure you are clear about your availability and set boundaries regarding the time you can offer.
• Let the Mentee Take the Lead: Encourage your mentee to take the initiative. Ask them what they want from mentoring and what they hope to achieve. Be a guide, not a supervisor.
• Set Objectives Together: From the beginning, set clear goals and objectives for what the mentee hopes to achieve in the agreed timeframe.
• Encourage Reflection: Help your mentee reflect on their future, career aspirations, and preconceptions. Provide clarification, demystify the field, and prepare them for the realities of the career path they’re interested in.
• Support, Don’t Solve: Offer guidance that empowers mentees to develop and rely on their own abilities rather than directly solving problems for them.

Should I Include an Invitation to My Place of Work or for Workplace Experience?

This is entirely up to you as an individual mentor. You can decide to offer a work experience invitation to someone you are mentoring; however, there is no agreement or expectation for mentors to provide job opportunities, review business venture proposals, or recruit mentees for open positions.

Can I Leave the Programme?

We understand that people’s circumstances change, and life is very busy. If at any point you need to leave the mentoring programme, that is completely fine.

If you have any active mentees at the time you wish to leave, please let them know so they can find another mentor before you leave the LinkedIn Group.

Seeking Support from Trinity Development & Alumni:

If you encounter any issues, such as difficulty connecting with a mentee, please report them to Trinity Development and Alumni at alumnimentoring@tcd.ie. This ensures not just your benefit but also the well-being of all members of the alumni mentoring network.

All Trinity students have access to their careers consultant and other support services for finance, personal counseling, and more. Encourage them to ask for help if they need it. The Careers Service can connect them with appropriate Student Services.