Be Committed: Mentoring is a long term commitment to a student. Please make sure you have the time and motivation to stay committed to the mentoring relationship. We do understand, however, that conflicts arise, so make sure to communicate with your mentee in a timely fashion.

Be Proactive: Take initiative in the relationship. Students can be shy and intimidated at first by the idea of reaching out to mentors. Make it easier for students by reaching out!

Get to Know Your Mentee on a Personal Level: AIM hopes that most mentoring relationships develop a personal touch. This makes conversations much more interesting and rewarding. It makes both mentors and mentees look forward to the next inspiring conversation.

Tell Stories: Students love hearing about your past experiences! Your past experiences can be invaluable to your mentee. Plus, it’s always fun to tell stories.

Provide a Fresh Perspective: As a mentor, you are often more distanced from an issue at hand and thus be able to provide a fresh perspective for your mentee. This can help students tremendously as people are often clouded by our emotions and biases.

Give Advice: Bounce ideas back and forth with your mentee. Make sure you are only providing your thoughts and feedback instead of directly telling your mentee what to do. This helps them hone their judgement and decision making abilities.

Be Encouraging: Students are often going through difficult times at school. Try to be positive and be a source of encouragement to help them through those situations. This can also be a good time to provide a senior perspective on your mentee’s problems (many of which were probably the same ones you had).

Find Shared Experiences: Relationships are stronger when you share commonalities, try to find those common grounds (There are more than you think). You can also find a chance to meet your mentee and create new shared experiences!

Have Fun: Any mentoring program is only as great and helpful as you make it.