---

1. [What is the Zoom integration](#what-is-the-zoom-integration)

2. [Connecting Zoom to your account](#connecting-zoom-to-your-account)

3. [Choosing Zoom as your meeting provider](#choosing-zoom-as-your-meeting-provider)

4. [Joining a session hosted on Zoom](#joining-a-session-hosted-on-zoom)

5. [If Zoom isn’t available](#if-zoom-isnt-available)

6. [Disconnecting Zoom](#disconnecting-zoom)

---

Mentorly comes with its own built-in video calling, Mentorly Video, so every session works out of the box with no setup. If you would rather host your calls on your own Zoom account, mentors can connect Zoom instead. This article covers how to add it, use it, and remove it.

# **What is the Zoom integration:**

If you already run your calls on Zoom, you can connect your Zoom account to Mentorly and use it for your mentoring sessions instead of Mentorly Video. Mentorly Video stays the default for every mentor and every session until you turn Zoom on, so nothing changes unless you choose to connect.

# **Connecting Zoom to your account:**

As a mentor, you can connect Zoom from your dashboard:

1. Click on **Calendar** in the menu on the left-hand side of your Mentorly dashboard.

2. At the top of the page, find the **Meeting settings** card.

3. Under **Meeting provider**, select **Zoom**. A card appears underneath it.

4. Click **Connect**.

4. You’ll be taken to Zoom to log in and authorize the connection. Once you approve it, you’ll be redirected back to Mentorly and Zoom will show as connected.

**Good to know:** Zoom requires a paid Zoom plan (Zoom Pro or above) to connect. A free Zoom account can’t be used, because Zoom limits meetings on free accounts to 40 minutes, which isn’t long enough for most mentoring sessions.

Here’s what the Meeting settings card looks like. It is the same panel you see in the product, so try it out:

<MeetingSettingsDemo />

# **Choosing Zoom as your meeting provider:**

Connecting your account doesn’t move your sessions to Zoom by itself. You also need to choose Zoom as your meeting provider:

1. In the **Meeting settings** card, select **Zoom**. Connecting your account and choosing it are the same step now: pick Zoom, connect, and you are set.

2. From then on, whenever a session is booked with you, Mentorly automatically creates a Zoom meeting on your Zoom account for it.

3. The Zoom join link is included in the booking confirmation email, on the session in your dashboard, and in the calendar invite.

You can switch back to Mentorly Video at any time from the same setting. Only new sessions pick up the change; sessions already booked keep the meeting link they were created with.

# **Joining a session hosted on Zoom:**

Joining works the same way as any Mentorly session. When it’s time for your call, click the join link from your confirmation email, your calendar invite, or the **Join call** button on the session in your dashboard, or click **Join on Zoom** if that’s what’s shown. This opens Zoom, where you and your mentor or mentee will meet.

# **If Zoom isn’t available:**

Every so often a Zoom meeting can’t be created for a session, for example if your Zoom connection has expired. When that happens, Mentorly automatically falls back to Mentorly Video for that session, so the meeting is never lost. If you see a prompt to reconnect Zoom, head back to the **Meeting settings** card on the **Calendar** page and reconnect your account. You will also find the same card in your onboarding when you first join.

# **Disconnecting Zoom:**

You can stop using Zoom for your Mentorly sessions at any time.

**From Mentorly:**

1. Go to the **Meeting settings** card on the **Calendar** page.

2. Click **Disconnect** next to Zoom.

3. Any sessions booked after this point revert to Mentorly Video.

**From Zoom:**

You can also remove Mentorly directly from your Zoom account. In the Zoom App Marketplace, go to **Manage > Installed Apps**, find Mentorly, and remove it. This disconnects Mentorly from your Zoom account right away, and Mentorly uses Mentorly Video for any new sessions from that point on.

---

## **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.

How mentors connect their own Zoom account so Mentorly sessions are hosted on Zoom instead of Mentorly Video, and how to switch back.

Using Zoom for your Mentorly sessions


When your organization has connected Slack to Mentorly, you can receive your notifications as Slack direct messages instead of email. The choice is yours and applies only to your own account.

## How to choose Slack or Email

1. Open Mentorly and click your avatar or name to go to your **Settings**.
2. In the sidebar, select **Notifications**.
3. Choose **Slack** or **Email**.
4. Click **Save**.

Your next notification will arrive through the channel you picked.

**What is the default?** If Mentorly matched your account automatically (your Mentorly email and your Slack email are the same), you will start on Slack. If not, you will default to Email until you confirm your Slack email address (see the section below).

## What you will see in Slack

Mentorly sends you a direct message from the Mentorly bot. Booking request messages include buttons you can click without leaving Slack.

Here is an example of a booking request a mentor receives:

```
New booking request

Sarah Johnson would like to book a mentoring session with you.

Requested time: Tuesday, May 6 at 2:00 PM EDT
Duration: 45 minutes
Topic: Career growth strategies

[Accept]  [Decline]  [View in Mentorly]
```

Click **Accept** and the message updates in place to confirm the booking. No browser tab needed.

Session reminder messages include **Confirm**, **Cancel**, and **Join Session** buttons. Clicking any of them records the action in Mentorly and updates the Slack message to show the result.

## My Mentorly email and Slack email are different

Mentorly finds you in Slack by matching your email address. If your Mentorly email is different from the one attached to your Slack account, you may not receive Slack messages automatically.

To fix this:

1. Go to **Settings > Notifications** in Mentorly.
2. Find the **Slack email** field.
3. Enter the email address you use in Slack.
4. Click **Save**.

Your next notification will arrive in Slack.

## Troubleshooting

**I clicked Accept but nothing happened.**
Your organization's Slack connection may have been turned off after that message was sent. Go into Mentorly and take the action there instead. It will work the same way.

**I am getting notifications in both Slack and email.**
Open **Settings > Notifications** and choose Slack explicitly. If your email addresses did not match when Slack was first connected, you may still be on Email as your default even though your organization has Slack active.

**I want only some notifications in Slack, not all of them.**
Today the setting is all-or-nothing per person. All your notifications go to Slack or all go to email. The ability to choose by notification type may come in a future update.

**Nothing is arriving in Slack at all.**
Check two things. First, confirm that your Slack email is correct in your **Settings > Notifications**. Second, if you recently stopped receiving Slack messages, your organization may have disconnected their Slack integration. Switch to Email in your settings so you do not miss anything, and reach out to your program manager if you are unsure.

---

## What's next?

- [Mentorly notifications in Slack](/en/help/articles/mentorly-notifications-in-slack)
- [How to edit your profile](/en/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile)


Pick where your Mentorly notifications arrive, fix a mismatched Slack email, and solve common issues.

Choosing Slack or Email for Your Notifications


Connecting Slack to your Mentorly account means every mentor and mentee in your account receives session notifications as Slack direct messages instead of email. Booking requests even include Accept and Decline buttons that work right inside Slack, so members can respond without ever opening a browser tab.

One connection covers every program in your account. You only need to set it up once.

## Who can connect Slack

Any program manager in your account can connect Slack from the Integrations page. Connecting also requires that you be a Slack workspace admin in your organization's Slack workspace. Slack enforces this during the connection flow.

If you are a program manager but not a Slack workspace admin, you can send a one-click install link to the person on your team who manages Slack apps. They do not need a Mentorly account to complete the install. See [Delegating the Slack install to your Slack admin](/en/help/articles/delegating-the-slack-install).

## What Mentorly asks for

When you click Connect Slack, a Slack permissions screen appears. Mentorly asks for four things:

- **Send you messages.** The Mentorly bot needs permission to send direct messages to your users.
- **Read basic profile information.** This lets Mentorly format notification times correctly for each user's timezone.
- **Read your email address.** Mentorly uses this to match each of your users to their Slack account automatically.
- **Open a direct message channel.** This allows the bot to start a conversation with each user.

Mentorly does not ask for access to your channels, your message history, or any other data in your workspace. The bot only sends direct messages and never reads anything.

## How to connect

1. In Mentorly, go to **Account > Integrations**.
2. Click **Connect Slack**.
3. Slack opens and asks you to choose your workspace, then approve the four permissions described above.
4. After you approve, Slack redirects you back to Mentorly. You will see a confirmation that reads "Connected to [your workspace name]."
5. The Mentorly bot sends you a direct message in Slack confirming that the connection is live.

That is all it takes. Your account is now connected.

## What happens next: automatic matching

As soon as you connect, Mentorly looks up every user in your account and matches them by email address. Users whose Mentorly email matches their Slack email start receiving direct messages right away.

Anyone who joins your programs after the connection is set up gets connected automatically the first time they would receive a notification. There is nothing extra you need to do.

If some of your users have a different email address in Slack than in Mentorly, they can sort this out themselves from their personal notification settings. See [Choosing between Slack and email notifications](/en/help/articles/choosing-slack-or-email-notifications) for details.

## One connection, all programs

Connecting Slack at the account level covers every program under your account. You do not need to configure it separately for each program.

For a full overview of the notifications your members will see once Slack is connected, see [Mentorly notifications in Slack](/en/help/articles/mentorly-notifications-in-slack).

## Disconnecting Slack

To disconnect, go back to **Account > Integrations** and click **Disconnect Slack**.

The change takes effect immediately:

- All notifications for every program in your account revert to email.
- User connections are removed.
- If you reconnect later, Mentorly re-matches everyone from scratch.

If someone removes the Mentorly app directly from your Slack workspace instead of using the Disconnect button in Mentorly, Mentorly detects the removal automatically and reverts all notifications to email.

---

**Have questions or need help?**

If you have a dedicated contact at Mentorly, reach out to them directly. Otherwise, open the **Help** tab in your Mentorly dashboard and click **Go to Live Chat** to reach the support team.


How a program manager connects Slack so notifications for every program in the account are delivered as Slack direct messages.

Connecting Slack to Your Account


Many organizations only allow certain people (IT, an ops admin, or the Slack workspace owner) to install third-party apps in Slack. If you are a Program Manager but not someone who can install apps in your team's workspace, you can still connect Mentorly to Slack by sending a secure install link to the right person. They complete the install on your behalf, and no Mentorly account is required on their end.

---

## Before you start

Make sure you are a member of the Slack workspace you want to connect, using the same email address as your Mentorly account. Mentorly finds you in Slack by that email when it sends you the confirmation message after the install.

---

## How to delegate the install

1. Sign in to Mentorly and go to your account's **Integrations** page.
2. Below the **Connect Slack** button, find the widget labeled **Don't have access to install Slack apps?**
3. Click **Copy link**. This copies a personalized install link to your clipboard.
4. Send that link to the person on your team who manages Slack app installs. Email, a Slack message, or any other channel works.
5. When they open the link, they land on a Mentorly page that says **Connect [your account name] to Slack**, with a single **Connect Slack** button.
6. They click **Connect Slack**, choose your team's workspace, and approve the standard permissions Mentorly needs.
7. Once they approve, your account is connected. The next time you visit your **Integrations** page, you will see "Connected to [workspace name]." You will also receive a confirmation direct message from Mentorly in Slack.

---

## Things to know

**The link is personalized to your account.** Anyone who opens it can complete the install, but only for your account. Treat it like a magic link you would share internally, and avoid posting it in a public channel.

**The link expires after 30 days.** If the person you sent it to does not get to it in time, return to your **Integrations** page and click **Copy link** again to generate a fresh one.

**No credentials are shared.** Your contact signs in to Slack using their own Slack credentials. You are not giving them access to your Mentorly account, and they do not need one.

**The install is recorded under your name.** Your **Integrations** page shows the connection as if you had set it up yourself. The person who actually clicked the button does not appear anywhere in Mentorly.

**You receive the confirmation.** After the install, Mentorly sends you a direct message in Slack to confirm the connection. This is why it is important that your Mentorly email and your Slack email match.

---

## Related articles

- [Mentorly notifications in Slack](/en/help/articles/mentorly-notifications-in-slack)
- [Connecting Slack to your account](/en/help/articles/connecting-slack-to-your-account)


If you cannot install apps in your team's Slack, send a secure link to the person who can, without giving them a Mentorly account.

Delegating the Slack Install to Your Admin


When your account connects Slack, Mentorly delivers notifications to your mentors and mentees as direct messages from the Mentorly bot. Booking requests arrive with inline buttons so mentors can Accept or Decline without opening a browser tab. The message updates in place to show the result.

Notifications delivered through Slack include booking requests, session confirmations, session reminders, and match notifications.

## How It Works

Three things make the integration run:

1. **One install covers every program.** You connect Slack once from your account's Integrations page (Account > Integrations). Every program in your account starts delivering notifications through Slack right away. Disconnecting reverses this for all programs at once.

2. **Users are matched by email.** Mentorly looks up each user by their Mentorly email address and connects them automatically. Users whose Slack email is different can enter their Slack email from their personal notification settings.

3. **Button actions are two-way.** Booking requests include Accept and Decline buttons. Session reminders include Confirm and Cancel. A click records the action in Mentorly and updates the original Slack message in place. No extra step required.

## Email Is Always the Fallback

Mentorly does not offer Slack-only delivery. If your account is not connected, a user prefers email, or a Slack message does not go through, the notification is sent to email instead. No booking request gets lost.

A few notifications, like session confirmations, also send an email alongside the Slack message. The email carries the calendar invite that email clients add directly to the recipient's calendar.

## What a Booking Request Looks Like

When a mentee requests a session, the mentor receives a direct message from the Mentorly bot:

```
New booking request

Sarah Johnson would like to book a mentoring session with you.

Requested time: Tuesday, May 6 at 2:00 PM EDT
Duration: 45 minutes
Topic: Career growth strategies

[Accept]  [Decline]  [View in Mentorly]
```

The mentor clicks Accept. The same message updates in place:

```
✅ Accepted at 2:03 PM EDT

Sarah Johnson would like to book a mentoring session with you.
Requested time: Tuesday, May 6 at 2:00 PM EDT
Duration: 45 minutes
Topic: Career growth strategies

[View in Mentorly]
```

The booking is confirmed. The mentee receives a separate confirmation message in their Slack.

## Next Steps

- [Connecting Slack to your account](/en/help/articles/connecting-slack-to-your-account)
- [Delegating the install to your Slack admin](/en/help/articles/delegating-the-slack-install)
- [Choosing Slack or email for your notifications](/en/help/articles/choosing-slack-or-email-notifications)


Send Mentorly notifications to Slack as direct messages, with booking actions built right into the message. Email is always the fallback.

Mentorly Notifications in Slack


When you join a mentorship program on Mentorly, you will be guided through a short set of profile questions before reaching your dashboard. This article explains what those questions are, why they matter, and how to update your answers later.

## Why you are asked questions

Your program has a profile questionnaire that helps two things happen well.

First, it helps you get a good match. Your answers give the program the information it needs to pair you with someone who fits your goals, experience, or background.

Second, it helps your mentor or mentee understand you. Some of your answers appear on your profile so your match can read them before your first conversation. This means you can spend less time on introductions and more time on what matters.

## Types of questions you might see

Your program manager chose which questions to include. The questions your program uses may vary, but here are the common formats:

- **Pick one option.** A list of choices where you select the one that fits best. For example, your department, region, or career level.
- **Pick several options.** A list where you can select all that apply. Skills, interests, or languages often appear this way.
- **Yes or no.** A simple toggle or checkbox.
- **A number.** For example, years of experience in your field.
- **A short written answer.** A text box where you type a few sentences. Your bio or goals might appear this way.

Some questions come from Mentorly (like your name or bio), and others are specific to your program.

## Required questions

Some questions are marked as required. You need to answer these before you can finish your profile and reach your dashboard.

Required questions are the ones your program relies on most, whether for matching or for giving your mentor or mentee a clear picture of who you are. If you are a mentor, some questions may be required for you but optional for mentees, or the other way around. This depends on how your program is set up.

If you try to move forward without answering a required question, Mentorly will let you know which ones still need an answer.

## Which answers appear on your profile

Your program controls whether each answer is shown on your public profile within the program. When an answer is visible, your matched mentor or mentee can see it on your profile page.

Not every answer is shown publicly. Some are used only for matching in the background.

## How to update your answers later

You can change your answers at any time. Your profile is not locked after onboarding.

To update your answers:

1. Log in to Mentorly and go to your personal profile or settings.
2. Look for the **Profile** or **Questions** section.
3. Update any answer and save your changes.

The changes take effect right away.

For more on editing your name, photo, bio, and other profile details, see [How to Edit Your Profile](/en/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile).

---

**Are you a program manager?** If you set up or manage a program and want to learn how to configure profile questions, see the [Custom Profile Fields guide](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields).


What the questions in your onboarding mean, why some are required, and how to update your answers later.

Answering Your Profile Questions

The Onboarding Builder is where you design the experience your members have when they first join your program. You choose which fields appear, what order they show up in, and how those fields carry forward into member profiles and the member directory. This article walks you through how the builder works.

## What the Onboarding Builder does

When a member joins your program, they work through a short onboarding flow before they can reach their dashboard. The Onboarding Builder lets you control exactly what that flow looks like.

Every field you add to the builder becomes a step your member must complete before moving on. The fields you select also become the filters available to members when they browse the mentor directory, as long as those fields are set to show on public profiles and have selectable answer options.

You configure the onboarding once. Those same fields then appear consistently on member profile pages and in your program's member directory.

## The two steps of onboarding

Your onboarding is organized into two steps.

**Step 1: Profile and questions.** This is fully configurable by you. It includes profile fields and any segment questions you want members to answer. You control which fields appear here and in what order.

**Step 2: Goals.** This step is for mentees only. Mentees set their mentorship goals here. Step 2 is not configurable and always follows Step 1 for mentees.

## Types of fields you can add

When you open the Onboarding Builder, you will see a panel of fields you can drag into Step 1. Each field carries a badge so you know what kind it is.

- **System** fields are core profile fields like name, bio, languages, pronouns, and location. These are provided by Mentorly.
- **Mentorly** fields are Mentorly's default segment questions, such as Industry, Hard Skills, and Soft Skills. You can edit the answer options on these fields. Hard Skills and Soft Skills are locked and cannot be removed from the builder once added, because they are always used for matching. You will see a lock icon on locked fields.
- **Custom** fields are the segments your team has created for your program, like Department, Tenure, or Region. You have full control over these.

To learn how to create your own custom segments, see [Creating a custom segment](/en/help/articles/creating-a-custom-segment).

## Dragging fields to set the order

<OnboardingBuilderDemo />

To add a field to Step 1, drag it from the available fields panel into the builder. To rearrange fields, drag them up or down within the step. The order you set here is the order members see when they complete onboarding.

Locked fields, such as Hard Skills and Soft Skills, show a lock icon. You can drag them to a different position in the list, but you cannot remove them from the onboarding entirely.

## How required fields work

Every field you place in the Onboarding Builder is required. Members must answer every field in Step 1 before they can move on. If you do not want a field to be required for your members, simply do not add it to the builder.

For segment questions, you can also control which roles are required to answer. Each segment has a required setting with four options.

| Setting | What it means |
| ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| Required for everyone | All members must answer this field |
| Optional for everyone | Members can skip this field |
| Optional for mentors only | Mentors can skip it; mentees must answer |
| Optional for mentees only | Mentees can skip it; mentors must answer |

One important rule: if a segment is used for matching, it is always required for both mentors and mentees. You cannot make a matching segment optional for either role. To learn more about how matching and visibility settings work, see [Segment visibility and matching](/en/help/articles/segment-visibility-and-matching).

## What happens when a member has not finished onboarding

If a member joins your program but has not completed their onboarding, Mentorly guides them back to finish before they can access their dashboard. This ensures your member data is complete and your matching and directory filters work as expected.

## Onboarding and member profiles

The fields you configure in the Onboarding Builder are also the fields that appear when a member edits their profile later. Members do not need to fill out a separate form after onboarding. Everything stays in sync from the single configuration you set here.

## Filters in the member directory

The segments you include in your onboarding automatically become available as filters in the member and mentor directory. A segment only appears as a filter if it is set to show on public profiles and has selectable answer options (for example, a single-select or multi-select type field).

This means the filters your members use to browse mentors reflect the specific fields that matter to your program, not a generic default list.

## Related articles

- [Segments and custom profile fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields)
- [Creating a custom segment](/en/help/articles/creating-a-custom-segment)
- [Segment visibility and matching](/en/help/articles/segment-visibility-and-matching)

Arrange the fields your members complete when they join, decide what is required, and control the order with a simple drag-and-drop builder.

Building Your Onboarding with Segments

Segments let you collect the information that matters most to your program. You can add custom profile fields, choose how members fill them in, and decide whether those fields factor into matching. This article walks you through creating and managing your own segments.

For an overview of how segments work across your program, see [Segments and Custom Profile Fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields).

---

## Mentorly default segments vs. your custom segments

When you open the Segments page, you will see two groups of segments.

**Mentorly defaults** appear at the top. These are built-in fields that come with every program:

- Hard Skills
- Soft Skills
- Industry
- Short-term Goals
- Long-term Goals

Default segments are protected: you cannot delete them. You can, however, customize the list of options members choose from. For example, you might remove options that do not apply to your organization or add new ones that fit better. Hard Skills and Soft Skills are always used for matching, so they stay required and cannot be removed from your onboarding.

**Your custom segments** appear below the defaults. These are fields you create yourself. You control the name, the field type, the options, and how the field behaves. You can also delete custom segments at any time.

---

## Create a new segment

1. In your program dashboard, go to **Program** in the left navigation and click **Segments**.
2. Click **New Segment**.
3. Enter a name for the segment. This is the label your members will see on their profile and during onboarding. For example: "Department" or "Work Location".
4. Choose a field type (see the field type guide below).
5. If you chose Single Select or Multi-Select, add the options members can pick from. You can add as many options as you need and drag them to reorder.
6. Set the two switches for visibility and matching (see details below and the linked article).
7. Click **Save**.

<SegmentEditorDemo />

---

## Field types

Choose the field type that fits the kind of answer you need from members.

### Single Select

Members pick exactly one option from a list. Use this when only one answer applies.

**Example:** Department. A member works in one department, not several.

### Multi-Select

Members can pick one or more options from a list. Use this when multiple answers can apply at the same time.

**Examples:** Languages spoken, Career aspirations, Skills.

### Checkbox

A simple yes or no toggle. Use this for a question that has only two possible states.

**Example:** Remote worker. The answer is either yes or no.

### Number

Members enter a whole number. Use this when you need a quantity.

**Example:** Years of professional experience.

### Text

Members type a free-form answer. Use this for short written responses.

**Example:** A brief goal statement in the member's own words.

Note: Text fields are not available as filters in matching or the member browser. If you need a field you can filter or match on, use one of the select types instead.

---

## Visibility and matching settings

Each segment has two switches that control how it behaves.

**Show in public profile** controls whether members can see each other's answers on their profiles. Turn this on for fields that help mentors and mentees get to know one another, such as Department or Languages.

**Use for matching** controls whether the segment is factored into how Mentorly calculates compatibility scores between mentors and mentees. When you turn this on, the segment becomes required for both mentors and mentees and cannot be made optional while matching is enabled.

For a full explanation of both settings and how they interact, see [Segment Visibility and Matching](/en/help/articles/segment-visibility-and-matching).

---

## Edit a segment

To edit a segment, click its name or the edit icon on the Segments page.

You can change:

- The segment name (for custom segments only; default segment names are fixed)
- The list of options for select-type fields

You cannot change the field type after a segment has been created. If you need a different field type, you will need to delete the segment and create a new one.

**Before removing an option:** If members have already chosen that option on their profiles, removing it will affect their saved answers. Mentorly will warn you before you confirm the change.

---

## Delete a segment

Only custom segments can be deleted. Default segments are always protected.

To delete a custom segment, open it and click **Delete**. A confirmation dialog will appear before anything is removed.

Deleting a segment removes it from onboarding, profiles, and any filters across the program. If members have already answered the question, their answers will no longer be shown.

---

## What to do next

Once your segments are set up, you can add them to your onboarding flow so members fill them in when they join. See [Building Your Onboarding with Segments](/en/help/articles/building-your-onboarding-with-segments) for a step-by-step guide.

---

**Need help?** Reach out to your program manager or contact the Mentorly support team through the **Help** tab in your dashboard.

A step-by-step guide to adding your own profile fields, choosing a field type, and setting up the options your members can pick from.

Creating a Custom Segment


Segments let you collect custom profile information from every member in your program. If you need to set or update those answers for many members at once, the CSV import saves you from editing each profile individually. You download a file, fill in the answers, and upload it back.

For an overview of how segments work, see [Segments: Custom Profile Fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields).

## When to use bulk CSV import

CSV import is useful when you want to:

- Pre-fill segment answers for a group of members before they log in
- Correct or update answers for multiple members at once
- Migrate profile data from another system

## Step 1: Download the template

1. Go to your program dashboard and open the **Members** section.
2. Click **Import** then **Download template**.

The file you receive has one column for each segment your program has configured, plus the standard member columns (email, full name, and role). Every existing member appears as a row, with their current segment answers already filled in.

Always start from a downloaded template rather than building a file from scratch. The column names must match exactly, and the downloaded file gives you the correct names automatically.

## Step 2: Fill in the answers

Open the file in your spreadsheet application of choice. For each member row, enter or update the value in each segment column.

A few things to keep in mind:

- **Select-type segments** (single-select and multi-select fields) only accept values that match one of the defined options for that segment. Spelling, spacing, and capitalization must match exactly.
- **Multi-select segments** accept multiple values. Separate each value with a comma.
- Leave a cell blank if you do not want to change that member's current answer. Blank cells are treated as no change, not as a deletion.

If you are unsure what the valid options are for a segment, check the segment configuration on your Segments page, or look at the values already in the downloaded template for existing members.

## Step 3: Upload the file

1. Go back to **Members** and click **Import**.
2. Select your filled-in file and click **Upload**.

Mentorly checks every row before saving anything. If all rows pass, the answers are updated immediately.

## Understanding validation errors

If a value in your file does not match a valid option for a select-type segment, Mentorly stops the import and shows you an error message. No changes are saved until the whole file is valid.

The error message tells you exactly what went wrong:

- The row number where the problem is
- The column (segment name) where the bad value appears
- The value you entered
- The full list of accepted options for that segment

Example:

> Row 5, Column "Role": the value "Manager" is not valid.
> Valid options: Educator, Key Leader, Assistant Store Manager, Store Manager, Regional Manager, Area Director.

Fix the value in your spreadsheet and upload the file again. You can repeat this as many times as needed until the file is clean.

## Tips for a smooth import

- **Always download a fresh template** before each import. If you or a colleague have added or renamed segments since your last download, an old file may have columns that no longer match.
- **Copy values from existing rows** in the template when you are unsure of the exact spelling. This avoids typos that would fail validation.
- **Coordinate with your translation setup.** If your program uses translated segment labels, the column names in the CSV use the default language. Make sure you are entering option values in the same language. For more on translations, see [Translating Your Segments](/en/help/articles/translating-your-segments).
- **Segment options are case-sensitive.** "educator" and "Educator" are treated as different values. Use exactly the spelling shown in your segment configuration.

## Related articles

- [Segments: Custom Profile Fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields)
- [Creating a Custom Segment](/en/help/articles/creating-a-custom-segment)
- [Translating Your Segments](/en/help/articles/translating-your-segments)


Download a template with a column for every segment, fill in or update member answers in bulk, and upload it back with built-in validation.

Importing and Updating Member Data by CSV

Every segment you create in Mentorly has two independent settings. Understanding them will help you get the most out of your profile questions and matching. This article walks through each setting, how they work together, and what the matching preview looks like before you commit to any results.

For a general overview of segments, see [Custom Profile Fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields) and [Creating a Custom Segment](/en/help/articles/creating-a-custom-segment).

---

## The two settings on every segment

### Show in public profile (default: on)

When this is on, a member's answer appears on their profile. Their matched mentor or mentee can read it, and mentees browsing the mentor directory can filter by it (for choice-type fields).

Turn this off only if the answer is purely administrative and you do not want members to see it on each other's profiles.

### Use for matching (default: off)

When this is on, Mentorly compares each mentor's answer to each mentee's answer and uses the degree of overlap to build a compatibility score. Turn this on for the fields that truly matter for a good mentor-mentee fit.

These two settings are independent. A field can appear on profiles without affecting match scores, and (once you understand the requirement below) a field used for matching will always appear on profiles too.

---

## The key rule: matching makes a segment required for everyone

When you turn "Use for matching" on for a segment, Mentorly automatically sets that segment to required for both mentors and mentees. You cannot make it optional while matching is active.

**Why?** The compatibility score is calculated by comparing what a mentor offers against what a mentee is looking for. If one side can skip the question, there is nothing to compare on that segment, and the score becomes unreliable. Requiring both sides to answer ensures the comparison is always complete.

**What this means for you:**

- If you turn on matching for a segment, every member will be required to answer it during onboarding. No one can leave it blank.
- If you later want to make that segment optional again, turn matching off first. The required setting will unlock, and you can adjust it.

You will see a note in the segment editor reminding you of this whenever matching is enabled.

---

## Which field types can be used for matching

Matching compares structured answers, so it works with fields that have defined choices:

- Single select
- Multi-select
- Checkbox (yes/no)
- Number

Free-text fields (short answer, long answer) cannot be used for matching because open-ended responses cannot be reliably compared for compatibility.

---

## How matching uses your segments

When you run matching, Mentorly scores every possible mentor-mentee pair. For each segment you have marked for matching, it compares the mentor's answer with the mentee's answer. More overlap on more segments means a higher compatibility score.

You can also mark some segments as more important to the match than others. A segment weighted as more important has a stronger influence on the final score than one weighted as less important. This lets you tell Mentorly, for example, that shared skills matter more than shared region when finding the best fit.

The matching page in your program dashboard shows the segments you have enabled and lets you adjust their importance before you run or preview matches.

---

## Preview your matches before creating them

Before any real matches are created, you can run a preview to see what Mentorly would propose.

<MatchPreviewDemo />

1. Go to the **Matching** section of your program dashboard.
2. Set up your filters (which mentee pool, which mentor pool).
3. Click **Preview matches**.
4. Review the proposed pairs and their compatibility scores. You can see how many mentees and mentors are in the pool, the average compatibility score across the proposals, and sample pairs with their individual scores.
5. If you want to adjust your filters or segment importance, go back and refine before committing.
6. When you are satisfied, click **Create matches** to finalize.

Nothing is created until you confirm in step 6. The preview is a safe way to check the results and make changes without affecting your members.

---

## A quick reference

| Setting | Default | What it does |
| ---------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Show in public profile | On | Member's answer appears on their profile and in the mentor browser filters |
| Use for matching | Off | Answer is factored into the compatibility score; makes the segment required for both roles |

---

## Related articles

- [Custom Profile Fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields)
- [Creating a Custom Segment](/en/help/articles/creating-a-custom-segment)
- [Building Your Onboarding with Segments](/en/help/articles/building-your-onboarding-with-segments)

Understand the two switches on every segment - showing a field on member profiles, and using it to match mentors and mentees.

How Visibility and Matching Work

# Segments: Custom Profile Fields for Your Program

Segments are the profile fields your members fill in when they join your program. As a program manager, you decide which fields to include, what the answer choices are, and where those answers are used. This article explains what segments are, how the two categories work, and where segments appear across your program.

<SegmentsConfigDemo />

## What Are Segments?

A segment is a profile question with a defined set of answers. Examples include Department, Tenure, Region, Hard Skills, and Soft Skills. When a member completes onboarding, they answer the questions you have configured. Their answers then follow them throughout the platform, showing up on their profile, in your matching filters, and in analytics.

Segments give you a self-service way to capture the information that is specific to your organization, without any custom development work.

## Who Uses Segments?

- **Program managers** configure segments: add custom fields, set up answer options, and choose how each field is used.
- **Mentors and mentees** answer the questions during onboarding and can update their answers from their profile at any time.

---

## The Two Categories of Segments

### Mentorly Default Segments

Every Mentorly program includes a set of default segments. These cannot be deleted, but you can customize their answer options to fit your organization.

| Segment | Notes |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Hard Skills | Always used for matching. Stays required and cannot be removed from onboarding. |
| Soft Skills | Always used for matching. Stays required and cannot be removed from onboarding. |
| Industry | Options are customizable. |
| Short-term Goals | Options are customizable. |
| Long-term Goals | Options are customizable. |

Hard Skills and Soft Skills are used as core inputs in matching across all programs, so they stay required and cannot be removed from your onboarding. For every default, you can customize the answer options members choose from to reflect your organization's language.

### Custom Segments

On eligible plans, you can create segments that are unique to your program. These are fully configurable: you set the name, the field type, and the answer choices. Custom segments appear below the Mentorly defaults on the configuration page.

Common examples: Department, Tenure, Region, Store Type, Languages, Career Aspiration, Work Location.

---

## Field Types

When you create a custom segment, you choose one of these field types:

| Field Type | How It Works |
| ------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Single Select | Member picks one answer from a dropdown list. |
| Multi-Select | Member picks one or more answers from a list. |
| Checkbox | A yes or no toggle for a single statement. |
| Number | Member enters a numeric value (for example, years of experience). |
| Text | Member types a short free-form answer. |

Select and multi-select fields give the most flexibility for filtering and matching, since Mentorly can compare structured answers between members.

---

## Two Switches on Every Segment

Each segment has two independent settings that control how its data is used:

**Show in public profile.** When this is on, the member's answer is visible to other members on their profile. Turn this off for fields that are internal or sensitive.

**Use for matching.** When this is on, the matching algorithm uses the answers to calculate compatibility scores between mentors and mentees. When matching is enabled for a segment, the field becomes required for both mentors and mentees so the algorithm has complete data to work with.

For full details on how these two settings interact, see [How visibility and matching work](/en/help/articles/segment-visibility-and-matching).

---

## Where Segments Appear

Once you configure segments and include them in your onboarding, they show up in several places across the platform:

- **Onboarding.** New members answer the questions you configure before they can access the program. Fields you include in onboarding are required.
- **Member profiles.** Answers marked as public profile are visible when mentors and mentees browse each other's profiles.
- **Mentor and member filters.** Members can filter the mentor directory by any segment that is marked as public profile and has answer options. This makes it easier to find the right match.
- **Matching.** Segments marked for matching influence compatibility scores so the algorithm can rank pairings.
- **CSV import and export.** Segment fields appear as columns in the member import template and in data exports.
- **Translations.** Segment labels and answer options can be translated for programs that run in multiple languages.
- **Analytics.** Segment data is available as a filter in program analytics and reporting.

---

## What Your Plan Includes

| Plan | Custom Segments |
| ---------- | ------------------------- |
| Start | Mentorly defaults only |
| Teams | 1 custom segment |
| Pro | 3 custom segments |
| Enterprise | Unlimited custom segments |

Mentorly defaults are included on every plan. Custom segments count toward your plan limit. If you need to increase your limit, reach out to your program success advisor or contact Mentorly support.

---

## Next Steps

This article is the overview. The guides below walk through each part of the segments workflow in detail:

- [Creating a custom segment](/en/help/articles/creating-a-custom-segment) - Add a new field, choose a type, and set up answer options.
- [How visibility and matching work](/en/help/articles/segment-visibility-and-matching) - Understand the two switches and when to use each one.
- [Building your onboarding with segments](/en/help/articles/building-your-onboarding-with-segments) - Add and arrange fields in the onboarding flow.
- [Importing and updating data by CSV](/en/help/articles/importing-and-updating-segment-data-by-csv) - Bring in member data in bulk using a spreadsheet.
- [Translating your segments](/en/help/articles/translating-your-segments) - Set up French (or other language) labels and answer options.
- [Answering your profile questions (for members)](/en/help/articles/answering-your-profile-questions) - What your members see and how they update their answers.

---

**Need help getting started?** Reach out to your program success advisor or contact Mentorly support from the Help tab in your dashboard.

Use segments to define the profile fields your members fill in, then put them to work in onboarding, matching, filtering, and analytics.

Segments: Custom Profile Fields for Your Program


When your program runs in more than one language, members should see their onboarding questions and profile fields in the language they use every day. Mentorly lets you translate every segment name, question label, and answer option so the experience feels native to each member.

For an overview of how segments work across your program, see [Segments and Custom Profile Fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields).

---

## How translation works

You build your segments in English first. That is the base layer: the names, question labels, and answer options your program starts with.

Once your segments are set up, you can add translations for every other language your program supports. Mentorly stores one translation per language for each piece of text, and members see whichever version matches the language they have selected.

If a translation has not been filled in for a given language, Mentorly falls back to English automatically. Nothing breaks for the member: they will see the English text rather than a blank field.

---

## The translation workflow

Translations are managed through a downloadable spreadsheet. The steps below walk you through the full cycle.

### Step 1: Download the translation file

1. In your program dashboard, go to **Program** in the left navigation and click **Translations** (or **Multilingual** depending on your plan).
2. Click **Download** to export the current translation file.

The file opens in Excel or any spreadsheet application. Each row represents one piece of text in your program: a segment name, a question label, or an answer option. The columns are organized by language, with English always present as the reference column.

The rows are grouped by segment, so it is straightforward to find everything that belongs to a particular field. Long lists of answer options can be collapsed in Mentorly's interface to keep things tidy, and the spreadsheet mirrors that same grouping.

### Step 2: Fill in the translations

Work through the file column by column for each language you want to add. For each row, enter the translated text in the appropriate language column.

A few things to keep in mind:

- You do not need to translate every row before uploading. Any cell you leave blank will fall back to English.
- If your organization has a translation team or works with a translation service, this is a good file to hand off. The layout is straightforward: one row per text item, one column per language.
- Save the file when you are done.

### Step 3: Upload the file

1. Return to the Translations page in your program dashboard.
2. Click **Upload** and select the file you just saved.
3. Mentorly validates the file and applies the translations immediately.

Members who reload the page or log in after the upload will see the updated text in their selected language.

---

## What gets translated

The translation file covers three categories of text.

**Segment names.** The label that appears as the field heading on a member's profile and during onboarding.

**Question labels.** The text that frames a question, such as "What is your department?" or "Which languages do you speak?"

**Answer options.** The individual choices members select in Single Select and Multi-Select fields. These are usually the most numerous rows in the file, especially for segments with long option lists.

System fields and UI labels (such as button text and navigation items) may also appear in the file depending on your program configuration.

---

## Best practices

**Translate answer options, not just labels.** Members read both the question and the options. A translated question heading paired with untranslated answer options creates a mixed-language experience. Aim to translate the full set together.

**Keep the meaning consistent across languages.** A translation should carry the same meaning as the English original, not just be a word-for-word conversion. If you are using an external translation service, share a brief glossary of any program-specific terms so the translator uses consistent wording.

**Re-download and re-upload after adding new segments.** If you create a new segment after your initial translation pass, download the file again. New rows will appear for the new segment's name, labels, and options. Fill those in and upload again to keep all languages current.

**Check fallback behavior before launch.** After uploading, switch your own account to each supported language and review a few onboarding fields. Any row that still shows in English is a gap you can fill in a follow-up upload.

---

## Related articles

- [Segments and Custom Profile Fields](/en/help/articles/segments-custom-profile-fields)
- [Creating a Custom Segment](/en/help/articles/creating-a-custom-segment)
- [Importing and Updating Segment Data by CSV](/en/help/articles/importing-and-updating-segment-data-by-csv)

---

**Need help?** Reach out to your program manager or contact the Mentorly support team through the **Help** tab in your dashboard.


Give your members their onboarding questions and answer options in every language your program supports.

Translating Your Segments


Mentorship is all about people—and when you understand how your people are engaging and growing, you can support them even better. That’s why we built Mentorly Intelligence: your all-in-one reporting space to track, learn, and act with confidence.

Mentorly Intelligence uses AI to surface the most meaningful insights from your program so you can make decisions that drive real impact. It’s broken down into two tabs: Engagement and People Analytics. Let’s take a look at what you’ll find in each.

# Tab 1: Engagement

The Engagement tab offers a clear view of how active your people are in your program.

Here’s what’s included:

- **Program Overview:** These program statistics give you an bird's eye view of all the activity in your program.

- **Mentee Adoption Rate:** Track how many mentees are actively engaging with their mentors.

- **Mentor Distribution:** Understand how often participants are having conversations with the same (or different) mentors.

  ![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program-1.png)

- **Sentiment Review:** Dive into how participants feel about their experiences. This AI-powered section analyzes mentorship feedback to show you the sentiment breakdown (positive, neutral, negative) and key themes that are emerging from participant reflections.

  ![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program-3.png)

These insights help you celebrate momentum and course-correct where needed—without guessing.

# Tab 2: People Analytics

The People Analytics tab is where the heart of your mentorship program comes into focus. This is where we zoom in on what goals people are working towards, where they’re growing, and what’s getting in the way.

It’s broken down into five sections:

## 1\. Goals Analysis

Get a snapshot of the goals mentees are working toward—whether that’s building confidence, improving leadership skills, or navigating career transitions. You’ll also see real quotes from mentees to help bring their goals to life. Use these insights to guide your mentors and shape programming that supports what people truly care about.

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program-4.png)

##

2\. Emerging Themes Analysis

This section uncovers the most common themes and patterns from mentorship conversations. Think of it as a pulse check on what’s top of mind for your participants. You’ll also get actionable recommendations to help your program respond to these insights in meaningful ways.

##

3\. Knowledge Gaps

This analysis highlights where mentee needs and mentor skills aren’t fully lining up, making it so you can take proactive steps to close the gap. The first thing you’ll see are three easy-to-read graphs:

- Gap Level Radar

- Demand vs. Supply Radar

- Gap Analysis Chart

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program-5.png)

Alongside the graphs, you'll find a summary of key findings and a detailed breakdown of gaps in key skill areas, paired with recommendations on how to close them.

Use this data to improve mentor training, recruit new mentors strategically, or adjust matching criteria to better support learning outcomes.

##

4\. Upskilling Recommendations

Based on what we’ve learned about your participants’ needs, this section provides clear, actionable strategies to help mentees build critical skills. Whether it’s communication, problem-solving, or industry-specific expertise, we’ll show you where to focus your efforts.

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program-6.png)

##

5\. People Skills Breakdown

Get a full view of the top skills surfacing across your program—according to both mentors and mentees. This section also outlines the industries represented, helping you understand the professional context your participants are navigating.

—

With Mentorly Intelligence, you’re no longer operating in the dark. You’re working with rich, meaningful data that helps you build a stronger, more impactful mentorship experience for everyone involved.

**Note:** These smart insights are generated from your program's data: profiles, matching questions, session agendas, etc.

Ready to explore your data? Head to your Mentorly dashboard and click on the Intelligence tab to get started!


Discover how Mentorly Intelligence turns your mentorship data into actionable insights.

Mentorly Intelligence: Understand What’s Really Happening in Your Program

# Mentorly Goals: Track Your Progress and Achieve More

Mentorly Goals helps you set clear objectives, track your progress, and celebrate achievements throughout your mentorship journey. Whether you're building new skills, advancing your career, or developing leadership abilities, our goal system keeps you focused and motivated.

## What Are Mentorly Goals?

Goals in Mentorly are more than just a to-do list. They're a comprehensive system that helps you:

- **Set clear objectives** during onboarding
- **Track your journey** with private progress notes
- **Share visibility** with your mentor for better support
- **Celebrate wins** when you achieve your goals
- **Reflect on growth** through achievement reflections

<GoalsDashboardDemo />

## How Goals Work

### For Mentees

As a mentee, you have full control over your goals:

- **Create goals** anytime from your dashboard
- **Edit or delete** goals as your priorities change
- **Add progress notes** to track your journey (private to you)
- **Mark complete** when you achieve a goal
- **Share reflections** about what helped you succeed

### For Mentors

Mentors have read-only visibility to support you better:

- **View your goals** (titles and descriptions only)
- **See completion status** to track your progress
- **Count of progress notes** (but not the actual content—those are private!)
- **Read achievement reflections** when you complete goals
- **Receive notifications** when you hit milestones

<MentorViewDemo />

### For Program Managers

Program managers can:

- **View member goals** across the program
- **See achievement reflections** to understand impact
- **Cannot see** your private progress notes
- **Cannot edit** or create goals for you

---

## Setting Your First Goals

Goals are introduced during your onboarding, but you can add more anytime!

### What Makes a Good Goal?

✅ **Be Specific** - Define exactly what you want to achieve

✅ **Start with Action** - Use verbs like "Build", "Launch", "Learn", "Achieve"

✅ **Make it Measurable** - Include metrics, milestones, or timelines

**Example:**

❌ "Get better at leadership"

✅ "Attain a management position within six months by developing leadership and decision-making skills"

### Tips for Goal Setting

1. **Set 3-5 goals** to start (you can add more later)
2. **Focus on what matters** to your career or personal growth
3. **Make them actionable** - goals you can actually work toward
4. **Review regularly** with your mentor during sessions

---

## Tracking Your Progress

The real power of Mentorly Goals comes from tracking your journey, not just the destination.

### Progress Notes (Private)

Progress notes are **only visible to you**—they're your private journal to document your journey while working toward a goal.

**When to add progress notes:**

- After a mentoring session with key insights
- When you hit a milestone or make progress
- When facing challenges you want to remember
- To reflect on what's working (or not)

**Example progress notes:**

- "Talked with mentor about go-to-market strategies, exploring competitive positioning"
- "Led first standup meeting today—nervous but team was supportive"
- "Reading _Radical Candor_, lots of insights on giving feedback"

<ProgressNotesDemo />

### Achievement Reflections (Visible)

When you mark a goal complete, you'll be asked to reflect on what helped you achieve it. These reflections **are visible** to your mentor and program manager.

**What to include:**

- What strategies worked
- How your mentor helped
- Challenges you overcame
- Key learning moments

**Example:**
"Weekend study groups were key to passing my certification. My mentor's framework for breaking down complex topics really helped structure my learning."

---

## Celebrating Success

When you complete a goal, Mentorly celebrates with you!

<CelebrationDemo />

You'll see:

- 🎉 **Confetti animation** - because wins deserve celebration!
- 📝 **Reflection prompt** - share what helped you succeed
- 🔔 **Mentor notification** - your mentor will receive an update about your achievement

---

## How Goals Enhance Mentorship

### Before Sessions

**Mentors receive reminders** 24 hours before your session with:

- Your current active goals
- Recent completions
- Latest progress note indicators

This helps them prepare relevant topics and questions.

### During Sessions

Goals give you and your mentor:

- **Clear talking points** - what to discuss
- **Progress checkpoints** - where you're making headway
- **Challenge identification** - where you need support
- **Celebration moments** - acknowledging wins together

### After Sessions

**Add progress notes** right after your session to capture:

- Key insights discussed
- Action items agreed upon
- Resources recommended
- Next steps planned

---

## Managing Your Goals

### Editing Goals

Click any goal text to edit it inline. Goals can evolve as your priorities change!

### Deleting Goals

Use the small 'x' icon to remove goals that are no longer relevant.

### Archiving

Completed goals automatically archive after 30 days to keep your dashboard clean. You can always view archived goals from your settings.

---

## Email Notifications

Stay informed about your goal progress with automated emails:

### Weekly Progress Report (Monday 9 AM)

Receive a summary of:

- Active goals count
- Recently completed goals
- Quick link to your dashboard

### Daily Completion Digest

Your mentor receives updates when you complete goals, including your achievement reflections.

### Pre-Session Reminders

Mentors get a 24-hour reminder before sessions showing your current goals and recent activity.

---

## Privacy & Visibility

### What's Private

✅ **Progress notes** - Only you can see these

✅ **Goal edit history** - Private to you

✅ **How many notes you've added** - Mentors see the count, not content

### What's Shared

📢 **Goal titles and descriptions** - Visible to your mentor

📢 **Completion status** - Mentors can see what you've achieved

📢 **Achievement reflections** - Shared with mentors and PMs

📢 **Note count** - Mentors see "3 notes" but not what they say

---

## Best Practices

### 1. Review Goals Regularly

Set aside time weekly to:

- Add progress notes after mentorship sessions
- Update goal text as priorities evolve
- Celebrate small wins along the way

### 2. Be Honest in Progress Notes

Since they're private, be candid about:

- Challenges you're facing
- Questions you have
- Doubts or concerns
- Breakthrough moments

### 3. Share Meaningful Reflections

When completing goals, share insights that:

- Help your mentor understand their impact
- Could benefit other mentees
- Highlight what strategies worked
- Acknowledge support received

### 4. Align Goals with Sessions

Discuss your goals during mentorship sessions:

- Share progress and challenges
- Ask for specific guidance
- Get feedback on your approach
- Adjust goals based on mentor input

---

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Can I set goals after onboarding?

Yes! You can add, edit, or delete goals anytime from your dashboard.

### Will my mentor see my progress notes?

No. Progress notes are completely private to you. Mentors only see the count of notes, not the content.

### What happens to completed goals?

Completed goals stay visible for 30 days, then automatically archive. You can view archived goals in your settings.

### Can I have more than 5 goals?

Absolutely! While we recommend starting with 3-5, you can create as many goals as you need.

### Do goals have deadlines?

Not currently. Goals in V1 focus on progress tracking rather than strict deadlines. Work with your mentor to set your own timelines.

### Can Program Managers see my progress notes?

No. Progress notes are private to you only. Program Managers can see your goal titles, descriptions, and achievement reflections, but never your private progress notes.

---

## Getting Started

Ready to set your first goal?

1. **Go to your dashboard** - Click "Goals" in the navigation
2. **Click "Create your first goal"** - If this is your first time
3. **Write your goal** - Be specific and actionable
4. **Add a description** - Explain how you'll track progress
5. **Start tracking** - Add progress notes as you work toward it

Your mentorship journey starts with clear goals. Let's get started!

---

**Need help?** Contact support@mentorly.com or reach out to your program manager for guidance on goal setting.

Learn how to set, track, and achieve your personal and professional goals with Mentorly's goal-tracking system

Mentorly Goals: Track Your Progress and Achieve More


Resources is designed to help Program Managers create a content library in Mentorly that allows them to share valuable materials with participants.

## 2 Key Benefits to using Resources

**All Your Resources in One Easy-Access Place:** No more scattered documents or endless email chains! With Resources, all your training materials, guides, articles, and videos are stored in one easy-to-access location. Both mentors and mentees can find what they need efficiently, whether they are at their desks or on the go.

**Standardized Resources for All:** Providing standardized materials helps maintain consistency across your program. Every participant receives the same high-quality guidance, no matter where they are in the process.

## Creating your Resources library

Begin by identifying the key materials you want to include. Think about the needs and goals of your mentors and mentees or the guidelines you'd like them to abide by. Keep in mind that any materials added will be visible to both Mentors and Mentees.

**How to create Resources as a Program Manager:**
In your Mentorly Program Dashboard, select the _Account_ tab (lower left-hand corner) and click on Programs.

![](/images/help/articles/resources-hub-for-mentorship-success-1.mp4)

When your list of program(s) appears, click on Resources.

![](/images/help/articles/resources-hub-for-mentorship-success-2.mp4)

**Note:** To ensure findability and keep things organized, we highly recommend creating Categories first and adding resources second. This will make it easier to organize the content as you go.

To add a resource, click on Add Resource in the top right-hand corner. Secondly , select a file to upload or add a custom URL if the file is hosted online.

![](/images/help/articles/resources-hub-for-mentorship-success-3.mp4)

Next, add a title and a brief and clear-cut description of the file and when to consult it.

If you've created categories, you will need to select one next. If no categories have been created, it will simply stay "uncategorized" by default.

Lastly, select whether the document is in French or English or Both and then click Save. You'll be redirected to the Files page and notified that "Your resource has been updated successfully.". Your newly created Resource will appear in the list, under the chosen category.

## Mentor / Mentee experience

To access Resources, Mentors and Mentees simply need to log in to their Mentorly account and click on Resources in the left-hand side menu. The list of available resources will appear, along with icons to identify the type of file each resource is.

![](/images/help/articles/resources-hub-for-mentorship-success-4.mp4)


Ensure the success of your Mentoring program with Resources

Resources: Hub for Mentorship Success

We understand the importance of clear and organized communication between mentors and mentees.

That's why we've introduced the ability to format text in the portal using basic HTML codes. This feature allows you to make your messages more engaging and structured. Below, we'll walk you through how to format text with HTML codes and provide examples:

- **Bold Text:**
 You can make your text bold by enclosing it in **``** or **``** tags. Here's an example:

 `bold text`

- **Italic Text:**

 To italicize your text, use **``** or **``** tags. Here's an example:

 `italic text`

- **Underlined Text:**
 You can underline text by using the **``** tag. Here's an example:

 `underlined text`

- **Hyperlinks:**
 To add a hyperlink, use the **`<a></a>`** tag with the **`href`** attribute to specify the URL. Here's an example:

 `Visit our website <a href="https://www.mentorly.co">Mentorly</a>.`

- **Bullet Points:**
 To create a list with bullet points, use the <ul></ul> (unordered list) and <li></li> (list item) tags. Here's an example:

 `<ul> <li>First item</li> <li>Second item</li> <li>Third item</li> </ul>`

Incorporate these HTML formatting options to elevate your communication and create an even more enriching mentoring experience.

Enhance Your "About US" section  with HTML Formatting

Formatting Using Basic HTML Codes


This feature simplifies the onboarding process for mentors, and mentees, making it easier than ever to get them started with Mentorly. In this guide, we'll walk you through the steps to utilize this updated feature.

## Prerequisites

Before you get started, head to the [Import page](https://demo-pro.mentorly.co/en/dashboard/members/import) in your Mentorly dashboard (Members section) to download our CSV template.

To get started, you will need to fill out the CSV template with the following parameters for each member:

1.  **Email:** The email address of the member.

2.  **Full Name:** The full name of the member.

3.  **Is Mentor (Y/N):** Specify 'Y' if the member is a mentor or 'N' if they are not.

You can choose if you want to use the remaining parameters included in the field. These are optional and can be filled in by participants when they sign up to Mentorly after receiving your invitation.

**NOTE:** Column AC to AI represent the Mentorly Matching questions. Although you can upload responses to these questions in bulk with a CSV file, we recommended having participants answer these questions themselves during onboarding.

#### Steps to invite members can be found [here](/en/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program)

Inviting members via CSV is an efficient method that saves you time and ensures that your members can easily join your program.


Inviting members via CSV


Are you ready to capture the valuable insights and advice shared during your Mentorly sessions? We've got you covered! With our recording feature, you can easily save and revisit your sessions. Here's a user-friendly guide to help you get started:

- [Save your session recording on the cloud](#save-your-session-recording-on-the-cloud)

- [Upload your session recording to your Dropbox account](#upload-your-session-recording-to-dropbox)

## Save your session recording on the cloud

1.  Join the call from your dashboard or from your calendar.

2.  During your call, and by clicking on the sub-menu, you'll see a button labeled "Start Recording." Click on this button to begin recording the session. And toggle the "Cloud recording" option. Note that both mentors and mentees can trigger the call recording.

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-1.png)

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-2.png)

    You'll receive an audible confirmation notifying you that the recording has started. This way, you'll know that everything you discuss is being captured.

3.  After recording your session for a few seconds or for as long as you need, click on the "Stop Recording" button.

    Once again, a voice notification will inform you that the recording has ended.

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-3.png)

4.  With the recording complete, you can now conclude your call with your fellow participants.

    Feel free to continue your conversation or address any remaining questions.

5.  Shortly after ending the call, you will receive an email with a link to download the recording. This email will serve as your secure access point to the recorded session, allowing you to revisit the valuable insights and advice shared during your Mentorly experience.

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-4.png)

That's it! You've successfully recorded your Mentorly session or masterclass. Now you can easily refer back to the conversation whenever you need a refresher or want to revisit the wisdom shared during your mentoring journey.

👀 **_Good to know: The recording is available for 24 hours from the end of the session. We recommend uploading the downloaded recording to your data storage or uploading it to your Dropbox._**

---

## Upload your session recording to Dropbox

1.  Join the call from your dashboard or from your calendar.

2.  During your call, and by clicking on the sub-menu, you'll see a button labeled "Start Recording." Click on this button and toggle the "Upload to Dropbox" option.

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-5.png)

3.  Log in to your Dropbox account and authenticate your account. Once it's done, click "Start Recording"

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-6.png)

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-7.png)

4.  The recording will be available for you after the end of the session in your Dropbox account.

    ![](/images/help/articles/record-your-mentorly-sessions-8.png)

    **_ℹ️ Please note: If you chose Dropbox as an option, you won't receive an email to download your recording._**

If you encounter any issues or have additional questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support team.

Happy learning and recording!


A Step-by-Step guide to help you recording your session

Record your Mentorly sessions


We have some exciting updates this month!

From a new way to sort the members of your program, to introducing breakout rooms in our video sessions - Mentorly has what you need to better manage your mentorship programs.

![](/images/help/articles/new-updates-to-better-manage-your-mentorship-programs-1.png)

# Members: A new way to sort

This past month, we've made a small update to our Members tab that has a big impact: sorting the members list by **Newest First.**

From the **Members** tab on your Program Dashboard, you'll notice a new filtering option in the top right corner.

You can choose to sort the list of Members by **Newest** or **Oldest First**, or the default setting of sorting alphabetically by **Name.**

![](/images/help/articles/new-updates-to-better-manage-your-mentorship-programs-2.mp4)

Sorting by newest members first is incredibly helpful for programs that have constant sign ups throughout the month - or for members who are little bit slower to sign up after being invited!

You can see who's recently signed up, make sure they're onboarded, matched and ready to go!

![](/images/help/articles/new-updates-to-better-manage-your-mentorship-programs-3.png)

# Breakout Rooms

With our [group sessions and Masterclasses](/en/help/articles/setting-up-your-program), Mentorly makes it easy to set up a multi-person video session.

We've taken those multi-person sessions to the next level: **Breakout rooms.**

Breakout rooms allow the moderator to create sub-groups within the session that are then given their separate room to meet and discuss, before rejoining the main call.

![](/images/help/articles/new-updates-to-better-manage-your-mentorship-programs-4.jpg)

In a multi-person session, clicking on the '**raise hand**' icon will allow the moderator to create and assign breakout rooms for the session's participants.

For more information on how to create breakout rooms, please see this article about our [Video Call Features](/en/help/articles/video-call-features).

**Did you know?** Program Managers always have the power to [create a group session or Masterclass.](/en/help/articles/managing-your-program)

Learn more about all our updates [here](https://portal.productboard.com/howxtqgqwx3sajhaz9z4got4).

![](/images/help/articles/new-updates-to-better-manage-your-mentorship-programs-5.png)

# Add another Program Manager to the mix!

We know that managing a mentorship program can be challenging work, even when Mentorly is there to help make it easier - sometimes all you need is an extra pair of hands.

The number of Program Managers you're allotted is determined by [your plan](/en/pricing), but **did you know you can add an additional Program Manager seat for just $75/month?**

If you're interested in learning more, please reach out to your Mentorly Success Advisor or Mentorly's support team!

[Add Program Manager seat](mailto:support@mentorly.co)

![](/images/help/articles/new-updates-to-better-manage-your-mentorship-programs-6.png)


New updates to better manage your mentorship programs.


As a program manager, dedicating your time and energy to running a program can seem intimidating, but all that hard work translates into something far greater than yourself.

We’re here to tell you that running a successful mentorship program is definitely attainable!

To help you build, maintain and scale your program, we’ve prepared a few tips on how to run a successful mentorship program 🌟

![](/images/help/articles/our-best-tips-to-run-a-successful-mentorship-program-1.jpg)

## What does success look like?

When inviting members, it’s important to let them know the goal of the program in relation to themselves.

This helps set expectations early for both mentors and mentees, and helps them identify more with their mentorship program.

You can add this information to [your program's landing page](/en/help/articles/setting-up-your-program), but to really get the message across: send your members an announcement and let them know more about the program.

![](/images/help/articles/our-best-tips-to-run-a-successful-mentorship-program-2.jpg)

To learn more about how to send an announcement, check out [this article.](/en/help/articles/announcements)

💡 **Take advantage of announcements to remind mentees to schedule their first sessions.**

![](/images/help/articles/our-best-tips-to-run-a-successful-mentorship-program-3.jpg)

## Monitor and manage

It's always best to take a moment and identify participants who haven't been engaging as expected, and **to find out why**.

![](/images/help/articles/our-best-tips-to-run-a-successful-mentorship-program-4.jpg)

To identify mentees with a low session count, head over to the **Reporting tab** and scroll down to **Sessions per users**.

![](/images/help/articles/our-best-tips-to-run-a-successful-mentorship-program-5.jpg)

From here, you can see which mentees have had the least amount of sessions. Consider sending them [a message](/en/help/articles/announcements) to prompt them to book, mentor suggestions or [mentorship tips](https://mentorly.com/en/help/mentorship-resources).

💡 **Get more tips on [tracking engagement](/en/help/articles/managing-your-program).**

![](/images/help/articles/our-best-tips-to-run-a-successful-mentorship-program-6.jpg)

## Mentorly Success Advisors - we're here for you!

Feel like you’ve hit a wall and could use more help with your program? We’ve got your back!

With a **Mentorly Success Advisor (MSA)**, get strategies and advice specially-curated to your program's needs, engagement meetings, direct access and dedicated support - and so much more! **MSAs work hand and hand with you for the success of your mentorship program.**

Mentorly Success Advisors are only included in Pro and Enterprise plan, or they can be added to your contract for only **$250/month.**

If you're interested in upgrading your plan or adding a Mentorly Success Advisor, please reach out to our support team!

[Add a Mentorly Success Advisor](mailto:%20support@mentorly.co)

![](/images/help/articles/our-best-tips-to-run-a-successful-mentorship-program-7.jpg)


Our best tips to run a successful mentorship program.


Mentorship programs play a vital role in employee job satisfaction, retention rates, and career development. According to Forbes, 70% of U.S. Fortune 500 companies have mentoring programs. Learning from successful examples can help employers better train mentors for their teams. This article will contain best practices regarding mentorship you can implement today.

In this article:

[Benefits of mentoring programs](#benefits-of-mentoring-programs)

1.  [Always provide honest feedback](#1-always-provide-honest-feedback)

2.  [Start a mutually beneficial relationship](#2-start-a-mutually-beneficial-relationship)

3.  [Be a good motivator](#3-be-a-good-motivator)

4.  [Analyze improvement areas](#4-analyze-improvement-areas)

5.  [Gather feedback](#5-gather-feedback)

6.  [Pick leaders](#6-pick-leaders)

7.  [Match mentors and mentees carefully](#7-match-mentors-and-mentees-carefully)

8.  [Have a robust support system](#8-have-a-robust-support-system)

9.  [Come up with rules](#9-come-up-with-rules)

10. [Conduct a training session](#10-conduct-a-training-session)

11. [Show recognition](#11-show-recognition)

12. [Track feedback and performance](#12-track-feedback-and-performance)

[Provide the best mentoring program](#provide-the-best-mentorship-program-invest-in-a-mentoring-software)

## **Benefits of Mentoring Programs**

Mentorships are excellent opportunities for new or less competent workers to learn from more experienced colleagues. Leaders can guide the mentees through different job specifics and boost their skills, procedures, and workplace relationships.

Overall benefits of these programs include, but are not limited to:

- Better leadership skills

- A more productive workforce

- Ability for feedback

- Broadened networking

To achieve most of the benefits, it’s important to take the mentorship program seriously. These best practices will help you get there faster.

---

## **1\. Always Provide Honest Feedback**

Everyone appreciates transparency. Mentees are in a mentoring program because they need to learn or improve their skills. They expect clear, transparent, and frequent feedback. As a mentor, you want to engage in authentic, direct communication with your mentees.

Include practical advice and positive feedback the mentee can apply immediately. Ideally, you can ask the mentee about the specific feedback type they prefer. Maybe their ideal communication style is different from what you had in mind.

---

## **2\. Start a Mutually Beneficial Relationship**

Mentees can only improve through the mentorship program if their benefits are also valuable to you. It’s important to have clear goals for the mentor-mentee relationship. Think about how you can learn from your mentee about your industry, their generation, new technology trends, and more.

---

## **3\. Be a Good Motivator**

Motivating your mentees along the way is crucial for the success of the mentorship program. Inspire them to try new things, engage them in honest dialogue, and show them you’re confident about their abilities. Praise is a major [motivation booster](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-praising-people-work-so-important-aleksander-gozdek/) and can also help increase the employee’s self-esteem.

---

## **4\. Analyze Improvement Areas**

Identify the specific [improvement areas](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-home/5-ways-to-invest-in-yourself/) you want your team to make. Complete this step at the beginning of the program to achieve the best results. For example, you may want to set mentorship goals for sales teams to help newcomers boost their sales revenue numbers.

---

## **5\. Gather Feedback**

Always ask employees for feedback. Do so at every step of the mentoring program. You can send surveys to ask about changes the participants would like to see in the program. The survey can also be about the work areas where they need extra guidance or any general questions they may have. The responses you receive as part of the feedback can help fine-tune your mentorship program goals.

---

## **6\. Pick Leaders**

Not everyone can be a [mentor](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-community-news/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening/). Select employees with the strongest leadership skills in your team for the role. You can test their decision-making, communication, and problem-solving skills to find the ideal candidate.

Also, not all employees benefit from becoming mentors. Pick the ones who have space for professional growth and who you know will be motivated for the role. After all, the success of the mentorship program will, in good part, depend on your mentors’ abilities to host it.

A good mentor should have multiple of the following qualities:

- Advanced listening skills

- Investment in growth and education

- Readiness to devote time to the program

- Strong feedback capability

- Positive outlook

- Integrity and honesty

- Adaptability and resilience

- Proper industry knowledge

---

## **7\. Match Mentors and Mentees Carefully**

Depending on the extent of the program and the team’s size, you may have to put extra effort into pairing mentees with the right mentors. Some employees are used to working more closely together, while others aren’t.

A good example would be hiring a senior marketing specialist to work with a younger marketing team member. A bad example would be hiring a new young marketing employee with a person from your financial or HR department.

Finally, it’s important to consider the improvement areas before pairing people, as well as the ongoing dynamics of their professional relationships. Pair mentees with people with whom they have a productive and positive relationship.

---

## **8\. Have a Robust Support System**

If you’re working with a large team, have at least one person supervise the program. Maybe the mentees will want to adapt or change the mentorship match. An employee may feel like they could better improve with another mentor instead of the one they received. They can reach out to the supervisor and ask for a change.

---

## **9\. Come Up With Rules**

Setting rules is important for the mentorship program to run smoothly and efficiently. Set different procedures for mentees, mentors, and supervisors. You can also set up a rubric where mentors can evaluate the mentees’ performance. As a result, all members stay informed about mentorship practices. You also get a quality structure to ease communication.

---

## **10\. Conduct a Training Session**

Ensure everyone understands their roles and possibilities in a mentorship program. You can make these things clear by organizing mentorship training. You can use that time to introduce team members to mentors, explain the procedures, and share documents. The training is perfect timing to help mentees get comfortable in front of their mentors and vice versa.

---

## **11\. Show Recognition**

Recognition is among the leading drivers of [employee engagement](https://hbr.org/2021/03/research-a-little-recognition-can-provide-a-big-morale-boost/), as per Harvard Business Review research. Recognize the success of your mentors and mentees from the very first day of the program. You can go a step further and introduce rewards for participants that achieve their goals. Chances are, employees who don’t participate in the program will also want to join.

---

## **12\. Track Feedback and Performance**

Tracking the performance and feedback is crucial in understanding the success of your mentorship program. After the training has been going on for a specific time, you can assess its effectiveness. Ways to do this include sending out surveys, conducting group meetings, or reviewing mentee performance.

---

## **Provide the Best Mentorship Program – Invest in a Mentoring Software**

Organizing a top-notch [mentoring program](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-mentorly-news/how-to-a-guide-to-starting-your-own-mentorship-program/) can be challenging. With so many activities, performance tracking, and other tasks to think about, employers often get lost and don’t even know where to start. Luckily, you have a Mentorly subscription and our team is and software are here to help! You can now create an inspiring, effective, and well-organized mentoring program with all of the support you need.

Get more guidance on planning, guiding and scaling your program, reach out to us on live chat, or email [support@mentorly.co](mailto:support@mentorly.co).


This article will contain best practices regarding mentorship you can implement today.

Mentorship Best Practices: Lessons From Industry Leaders


In this article:

[Why belonging matters](#why-belonging-matters)

[What is mentorship?](#what-is-mentorship)

[Importance of mentorship for employee retention](#importance-of-mentorship-for-employee-retention)

[Importance of mentorship for career development](#importance-of-mentorship-for-career-development)

[Benefits of mentorship programs for employers](#benefits-of-mentorship-programs-for-employers)

[Potential challenges of mentoring programs](#potential-challenges-of-mentoring-programs)

[Mentoring software to build the best programs](#dont-neglect-the-importance-of-mentorships-rely-on-mentoring-software-to-build-the-best-programs)

![](/images/help/articles/the-impact-of-mentorship-on-employee-retention-and-career-development-1.png)

# **Why belonging matters**

According to a [study](https://www.td.org/press-release/new-research-by-atd-mentoring-helps-employees-and-leads-to-better-business/) by the Association for Talent Development, higher employee retention is among the top benefits of mentoring programs. Higher employee retention is more important than ever in modern workplaces with waning employee loyalty and more frequent job hopping.

When employees feel connected to the organization and have a sense of belonging, they’re more likely to stay. Studies show that mentorship programs can, indeed, make employees more loyal. [Deloitte](https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-Deloitte/gx-millenial-survey-2016-exec-summary.pdf/)’s fifth annual millennial survey showed that almost 2/3 of survey takers would stay at their companies longer if offered mentorships.

---

## **What Is Mentorship?**

Mentorship or mentoring programs tap into senior or high-performing employees’ existing skills, experience, and knowledge. The goal is for their knowledge and skills to be transferred to people that undergo a mentoring program.

There are three ways to implement mentoring:

- Distance mentoring – Meeting from remote locations

- Individual mentoring – In-person meetings

- Group mentoring – A group of mentees participating in a program with a single mentor

With mentorship, you get to assist the decision-making process of your employees, refine their points of view, and help them adjust better to the new work environment. You’ll find more on the benefits of mentorship below.

---

## **Importance of Mentorship for Employee Retention**

Many companies struggle with unfulfilled potential, increased turnover rates, and disengaged workers. Employee turnover has slowly become a predominant challenge for businesses worldwide. There are at least seven reasons for this behavior:

- Hiring entry-level workers who don’t plan to stay for long

- Hiring minimum-wage workers

- Offering lower compensation than the competitors

- Poor project and people management

- Easy access to job listings on the web for employees

- Different priorities for workers

- An increase in remote working opportunities

While not all of these reasons are in the control of the employer, some of them certainly are. The lack of proper mentorship is an important factor in employees leaving their jobs. In fact, almost [94%](https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/workplace-learning-report) of employees would stay at their current job if they received more chances to learn and grow.

Mentorship is an excellent opportunity to promote growth and boost the self-esteem of employees. A [Center for Creative Leadership](https://www.ccl.org/articles/leading-effectively-articles/mentoring-at-work-how-and-why-to-make-it-work-for-your-organization/) study showed that employees who participate in mentorship activities stay at their company the longest. These workers also have the highest job satisfaction.

---

## **Importance of Mentorship for Career Development**

Mentorship offers employees a unique opportunity to learn from teammates or professionals with more experience in a particular field. A [mentor](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-community-news/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening/) can provide support, guidance, and valuable advice. All of this helps fine-tune and develop a new employee’s skillset. As a result, the employee has a better career path and can get the proper training to work with tools that can help them succeed.

According to [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/14/1-in-4-workers-quit-their-job-this-year-according-to-new-report.html#:~:text=Work-,1%20in%204%20workers%20quit%20their%20job%20this%20year%E2%80%94here's,are%20getting%20wrong%20about%20retention&text=At%20least%20one%20in%20four,the%20people%20analytics%20firm%20Visier/), people are changing jobs at unprecedented rates. The lack of quality mentoring programs is certainly a major contributor to that problem. A Bureau of Labor Statistics study shows a [57%](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/jolts.pdf) turnover rate. Of that number, 25% is due to voluntary turnovers.

Also, according to the [Association for Talent Development](https://www.td.org/press-release/new-research-by-atd-mentoring-helps-employees-and-leads-to-better-business/) study, the same percentage of employees (57%) who participate in mentorship programs say the experience was very effective and helped them learn and achieve professional goals.

Mentoring offers tremendous [benefits](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-home/5-ways-to-invest-in-yourself/) for employees. It also adds diversity to the workplace and puts performance and quality first. What best evidence to prove that than the [CNBC survey](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/16/nine-in-10-workers-who-have-a-mentor-say-they-are-happy-in-their-jobs.html/) saying nine out of ten workers with a career mentor are happy with their current jobs?

As an organizational executive, you should realize that your employees are your biggest asset. When you connect them in a mentorship program, they become committed to boosting organizational productivity and performance.

---

## **Benefits of Mentorship Programs for Employers**

A [Society for Human Resource Management](https://lrshrm.shrm.org/blog/2017/10/essential-elements-employee-retention/) reports that employers often have to spend up to nine months of their employee’s salary to find a replacement. An employee who earns $60,000 can cost up to $45,000 to hire a replacement.

A similar study by the [Center for America Progress](https://templatearchive.com/cost-of-turnover/) shows that one lost employee can cost the company up to 16% of that employee’s salary for hourly employees. For unsalaried workers, the percentage can go to a whopping 213% for highly trained individuals. As an example, a highly trained worker who makes more than $120,000 per year could cost the company more than $250,000.

Employers don’t only benefit from mentorship programs in the financial aspect. The lower turnover rate, higher productivity, and increased satisfaction of employees help the organization in the long run. A mentored employee is more connected to their company, has higher chances of staying loyal, and is more likely to work hard.

Before employers start a mentorship program, they should prepare actionable objectives they can measure to track the impact on employee retention. Some key performance indicators to measure include retention rates, engagement activities, satisfaction scores, and skill development targets.

---

## **Potential Challenges of Mentoring Programs**

[Mentoring programs](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-mentorly-news/how-to-a-guide-to-starting-your-own-mentorship-program/) can be of tremendous help to boost employee retention and career development. However, there are potential challenges worth considering when organizing a mentoring program in a traditional way:

- Success measurement and assessment

- Communication management

- Matching bias

Luckily, mentoring software can help eliminate these challenges and boost the effectiveness of your next mentorship program. The matching biased is eliminated using smart mentor matches. The software also allows easy communication and has KPIs you can measure effortlessly. Programs such as Mentorly have all it takes to transform your “okay” program into a robust experience for employees to value forever.

---

## **Don’t Neglect the Importance of Mentorships – Rely on Mentoring Software to build the best programs!**

Mentorship is a win-win for both employers and employees. The approach to mentorship programs can make all the difference in how employees interact and view their employers. So if you’re looking to increase employee loyalty and satisfaction, consider mentorships as essential parts of your organization.

The stats mentioned in this article indicate that mentorship plays a crucial role in employee retention and career development. As an employer, it’s your responsibility to use all available tools and implement a mentoring software or platform to boost employee engagement.

You’re in luck! As a Mentorly enabled program, we help you facilitate mentorship programs, up-skill your people, and boost the overall job satisfaction and productivity rate of employees. Use it for remote mentorship, professional networks, or skills development in one or multiple departments.

[Learn more here about how Mentorly is the best fit for mentorship](/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship)


Taking a closer look to understand the connection between mentorship and employee retention and career development.

The Impact of Mentorship on Employee Retention and Career Development


In this article:

[Diversity and inclusion in the workspace](#diversity-and-inclusion-in-the-workspace)

[Promoting diversity and inclusion through mentorship](#promoting-diversity-and-inclusion-through-mentorship)

[Many benefits of mentoring for diversity and inclusion](#the-many-benefits-of-mentoring-for-diversity-and-inclusion)

[The power of mentoring relationships](#the-power-of-mentoring-relationships)

[Mentorly - The all round solution for effective mentorship](#mentorly-the-all-around-solution-for-effective-mentorship)

![](/images/help/articles/the-link-between-diversity-and-inclusion-and-effective-mentorship-1.png)

Diversity and inclusion are vital for the success of any modern business. The two factors also have an undeniable link with effective mentorship. An organization that creates a welcoming environment for all individuals fosters a feeling of acceptance and safety. When a mentee feels respected, valued, and supported, they engage in authentic conversations and relationships, all of which are keys to effective mentorship.

An organization that prioritizes diversity and inclusion also creates an atmosphere of understanding. [Mentors](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-community-news/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening/) and mentees can openly share their experiences and perspectives. As a result, mentors can provide support and guidance according to every individual’s needs.

---

## **Diversity and Inclusion in the Workspace**

Before we dive any deeper, let’s outline what diversity and inclusion in the workspace are and why they are important:

- Diversity means including a broad variety of people of different ages, locations, etc., in a workforce.

- Inclusion means factoring every team member equally.

There are different ways companies can promote diversity and inclusion in the workplace:

- Hire a designated Diversity and Inclusion Director.

- Conduct sensitivity classes and training.

- Tie diversity goals to retention and succession planning.

- Launch a mentoring program.

Many managers take it for granted that every individual navigates the world differently. The truth is that personal and physical characteristics affect the way employees experience life and work, creating a wide range of perspectives.

It may seem like a no-brainer that solving problems and understanding methods or experiences requires accounting for all these perspectives. But some managers may think that the amount of differing opinions prevents them from implementing diversity in the workplace.

However, a study by Cloverpop found that the decision-making process improves in teams with higher team diversity. Teams consisting of a wide range of geographic locations and ages are [87%](https://www.forbes.com/sites/eriklarson/2017/09/21/new-research-diversity-inclusion-better-decision-making-at-work/?sh=6d6a6884cbfa/) more efficient at making business decisions.

So how does the mentoring program actually help with diversity and inclusion?

---

## **Promoting Diversity and Inclusion Through Mentorship**

The Harvard Business Review published [research](https://hbr.org/2018/03/5-things-we-learned-about-creating-a-successful-workplace-diversity-program/) that shows that in order to create a successful workplace, it’s important to create more opportunities to ensure continued engagement. Engagement opportunities are available in numerous forms. Mentorship programs are a great option. If your goal is to retain talent, mentoring is vital to achieving that.

Mentoring programs are also a great place to start if you want to promote diversity and inclusion in your workspace. Diversity-driven mentoring programs aim to empower and support minority employees, develop their skills, and increase their leadership succession.

Many people report that mentoring is an important part of their careers. The Heidrick and Struggles partner David Pruner [explains](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-women-and-minorities-value-mentoring-programs-but-findings-reveal-opportunities-for-improved-effectiveness-300575517.html/) that companies that aim to attract, retain, and engage talent from ethnic minorities should implement a formal mentoring program. He explains that it’s ever more important for businesses to address the demand and recognize diversity and inclusion as the key driver of a healthy corporate culture.

The [same study](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/study-women-and-minorities-value-mentoring-programs-but-findings-reveal-opportunities-for-improved-effectiveness-300575517.html/) shows that women and minorities more often report the importance of mentoring programs in their careers. A third of women (30%) and 23% of men stated the importance of such programs.

Mentoring for inclusion significantly impacts the tech industry, where [41%](https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/techs-age-discrimination-problem-4752828/) of workers experience age discrimination. Additionally, 32% of workers fear getting fired because of their age.

All businesses should have it as their primary goal to promote a diverse and inclusive workforce. The best way to enact that change is by creating a mentoring program with people already in the business.

A mentoring program teaches people in a company or organization how they can learn from each other and grow together and share knowledge and experiences. But more on the benefits of mentoring in the next section.

---

## **The Many Benefits of Mentoring for Diversity and Inclusion**

There are numerous benefits of mentoring for diversity and inclusion:

- Mentees can hear new ideas and different ways of thinking.

- Mentees can also get advice that comes from the expertise and experience of inclusion barriers.

- Guiding new employees through their development and behavioral goals.

- Creating a culture of personal and professional growth.

- Developing high-performing workers on an equitable level.

A mentoring program allows all sides to move from theoretical diversity training experience to using it in practice. The only way to truly change a behavior is to apply it in practice. It’s often not enough to just understand how that behavior works in theory.

Also, mentoring can help change the work culture in a profound yet subtle way for both the mentor and mentee. The mentee can share their challenges in the workplace, and the mentor can help bring change due to their connection with people who can remove barriers.

A mentoring program can promote a diversity-accepting culture far beyond the formal training program. Mentees often become mentors to others. They model the experience they had and transfer it to other employees.

---

## **The Power of Mentoring Relationships**

Mentoring relationships are often [powerful.](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-community-news/3-famous-mentoring-relationships/) The mentor develops a long-lasting commitment to the mentee. The process supports commitment to inclusive behaviors and diversity and enhances decision-making activities.

During this mentorship program, you’ll support your workforce into being better leaders, developing skills and knowledge, and allowing them to approach diversity and inclusion in an authentic way.

You can use a mentorship program to identify new talent while fostering an organization’s growth culture and inclusive leadership.

---

## **Mentorly – The All-Around Solution for Effective Mentorship**

Every organization should invest in long-term mentoring for diversity and inclusion to become a staple of all relationships inside that organization. In other words, the first steps toward mentoring investment can get you a long way. But it’s not all that simple.

Organizing a successful [mentoring program](https://mentorlyblog.co/http-mentorlyblog-co-mentorly-news/how-to-a-guide-to-starting-your-own-mentorship-program/) takes time. Doing the task manually often means getting lost in the notes, goals, and structure. That’s why more businesses have started to rely on mentoring software for assistance.

We are here to help! Since you’ve made the wise choice to be supported by Mentorly, we are your go-to tool to connect and empower your people on many levels. Our software can help create, manage, and track mentorship sessions in an easy-to-use and intuitive interface. Use your unique branding, create an account in seconds, integrate the tool with your business software, find numerous mentorship resources, and more.

For more support on shaping your program, contact support@mentorly.co.


Highlighting the benefits of mentorship on diversity and inclusion.

The Link Between Diversity and Inclusion and Effective Mentorship


Having a video session on Mentorly allows you to have a truly interactive experience with your mentor/mentee and we've made it even easier for you to interact with each other.

The features in this article are part of Mentorly Video, the video call built into Mentorly. Mentors can also host their sessions on their own Zoom account. In that case the session page shows **Join on Zoom** instead, and the meeting uses Zoom's own features. See [Using Zoom for your Mentorly sessions](/en/help/articles/using-zoom-for-your-mentorly-sessions).

Once you've joined your video call session

You can control your microphone, camera, sharing your screen and other settings with the settings bar located at the bottom of your screen.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-1.mp4)

You can learn more about all the buttons by visiting our [Joining your Video Call Session](/en/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session) article.

---

## Screen Sharing

Sharing your screen in a meeting **allows others in the meeting to see what is on your screen**. This is useful in cases where you need to share a Powerpoint slide deck, guide another user through a website, or otherwise share content visible on your computer.

You can choose to share your entire screen, window (browser) or a tab.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-2.mp4)

To share your screen:

1.  Click on the screen icon next to the camera icon

2.  Choose if you'd like to share your entire screen, window or a tab

3.  Once you choose what to share, click on **share**

4.  To stop sharing click on **stop sharing.**

---

## Chat

You can **chat** with your mentee or mentor by clicking on the message bubble icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-3.mp4)

**Good to know:** Your chat history is saved with the mentee/mentor in your messages.

**Good to know**: You can upload a file to the chat by clicking on the paperclip icon.

---

## Reactions feature

To show your engagement throughout the meeting, we suggest using our reactions feature.

When you click on the hand icon, you can send the other user a clap, thumbs up, smile a gif and so much more.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-4.mp4)

---

## **Breakout Rooms:**

As moderators in video sessions, mentors can create breakout rooms during the sessions. They can create as many breakout rooms as needed and send users to separate rooms. The mentor also has the option to join & delete the rooms, as well as remove an individual from a room.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-5.jpg)

**Here’s how:**

1.  A user needs to raise their hand by clicking on the hand icon. The moderator can raise their own hand as well.

2.  Click on the yellow hand icon at the top of the video session

3.  A tab on the right-hand side of the session will appear with all the participants. Click on **Add breakout room** to add rooms as needed.

4.  Once the moderator has created the breakout rooms, they can hover over the participant's name and click on the three dots beside their name to send the user to the desired breakout room. The moderator can also search by the participant's name in the **Search Participants** box.

To send the participants back to the main room, hover next to the user's name and click on the three dots beside their name, then click on "Send participants to".

**To delete a breakout room:**

Hover next to the breakout room you would like to remove. Three dots will appear next to it and click on **remove**.

**Good to know:** The mentor is set as a moderator by default but can give moderator rights as well.

**Good to know:** A moderator can also join a breakout room by hovering over the breakout room they wish to join and can click on **Join**.

---

## More Actions

When you click the three dots on the tool bar, you can select more actions.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-6.png)

You can choose to have subtitles, share a video link or an audio. You have numerous background options to select from as well.

In the settings tab, you can see and modify different settings during your video call.

1.  You can see your devices (microphone, video, etc.) settings in the **Devices** tab

2.  You can edit your display name in the **Profile** tab

3.  Change the moderator settings in **Moderator** tab

4.  Edit notifications in the **sounds** tab

5.  You can edit keyboard shortcuts, message notifications and video session language on the **more** tab.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-7.jpg)

---

##

Self View

Are you having trouble seeing yourself in a video call?

It's possible that you may have accidentally hidden your self-view. Don't worry, this can be easily fixed by following these steps:

1.  Look for the "Three dots" icon in the video call window.

2.  Click on the "Settings" option.

3.  Click on "More" to expand the options.

4.  Check if the "Hide Self-view" option is turned on or off. If it is on, click to turn it off.

Once you've done this, you should be able to see yourself again during the video call, and use your "Toggle Tile View" to change your video view settings (either you and your mentor side by side, or you in the bottom corner),

Remember, if you want to see yourself, make sure the "Hide Self-view" option is turned off.

![](/images/help/articles/video-call-features-8.png)

**Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


This article focuses on some useful features you have during your video call session

Video Call Features


Communicating through announcements can improve engagement, help save time and keep you connected with the users of your program.

We also have a cool new feature that makes setting up a program even easier!

![](/images/help/articles/the-best-ways-to-save-you-time-1.jpg)

## Announcements: A Time Saver

While managing your program, you're likely familiar with creating new conversations from your **Program Dashboard**. These messages become an ongoing thread sent to all members in the conversation, and each member can reply in this thread - which is great for group discussions!

But - as we all know - a message thread can become overwhelming especially if you just want to send tips, reminders, or share a general message.

**That’s where announcements come in!**

Announcements allow you to send read-only messages to a group of users. You can use this feature to keep your members engaged in the program, offer mentorship tips or session-conversation prompts, and even send attachments.

The announcement feature saves you a great amount of time from doing the work manually. Even better, you can curate the list of recipients by specific group, cohort, tags and even status!

## Here's how to send an announcement:

1\. Go to your **Messaging** tab from the **Program Dashboard** and click on the paper and pencil icon.

2\. Click on **New Announcement**

3\. You can either choose to individually enter each member's name in the 'To:' field, or filter and bulk-select from the **Members** tab

![](/images/help/articles/the-best-ways-to-save-you-time-2.jpg)

4\. **OR** from the **Members** tab, you're able to sort and combine filters by each mentor/mentee, cohorts, tags, status, and more - talk about a time saver!

![](/images/help/articles/the-best-ways-to-save-you-time-3.jpg)

For more help with creating an announcement, visit our [Announcements article.](/en/help/articles/announcements)

**Good to know:** By selecting a new announcement, if a member chooses to reply, their message will only be sent to and seen by you, the program manager.

![](/images/help/articles/the-best-ways-to-save-you-time-4.jpg)

## Setting Up Your Sector/Industries

When setting up your mentorship program, Mentorly’s aim is to make those steps a breeze. Our new Sector/Industries feature lets you customize the list of sectors or industries, and areas of expertise to best represent your program's membership.

This list is important when mentees or mentors are completing their profiles - as they choose from this list to best reflect their experience

From the **Program** tab, sectors/industries can be added or edited, and areas of expertise can be added to each discipline.

![](/images/help/articles/the-best-ways-to-save-you-time-5.jpg)

**Good to know:** We strongly don’t recommend modifying the list once a program/members have already onboarded. As this affects onboarded users.

To learn more about navigating the new feature, check out our [Setting Up Your Program](/en/help/articles/setting-up-your-program) article.

To keep up to date with all of our new features or updates you can visit our [portal](https://mentorly.productboard.com/entity-detail/features/15331647).

![](/images/help/articles/the-best-ways-to-save-you-time-6.jpg)

## Looking to start a new mentorship program?

[Plans & Features](/en/pricing)

Check out our [plans and features](https://mentorly.co/en/pricing) to learn about the number of programs your plan allows or reach out to a support team member to discuss further.

![](/images/help/articles/the-best-ways-to-save-you-time-7.jpg)

## Have any questions or need any assistance?

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

If you have a designated MSA, simply reach out to them via email with any questions or concerns you may have.

If you do not have an MSA, contact the Mentorly support team by going to the Help tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking Go to Live Chat.

## Happy mentorship!


The best ways to save you time


1.  [Tip No. 1- Set Expectations](#tip-no-1-set-expectations)

2.  [Tip No. 2-Take an Interest in your Mentee](#tip-no-2-take-an-interest-in-your-mentee)

3.  [Tip No. 3-Keep Building Trust](#tip-no-3-keep-building-trust)

4.  [Tip No. 4-Engage in Active Listening](#tip-no-4-engage-in-active-listening)

5.  Tip No. 5-Provide Resources

6.  [Tip No. 6-Celebrate Success](#tip-no-6-celebrate-successes)

7.  [Work on Mentorship Relations](#you-have-to-work-on-mentorship-relations-not-make-assumptions)

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-1.png)

People tend to enter mentorship relationships once they’re comfortable with each other’s goals. But is that always enough to guarantee a successful mentorship relationship? It’s not because being a mentor implies a connection more profound than someone might have with their business coach or teacher.

To succeed as a mentor, you must learn to outline your journey and shape the relationship in such a way that it’s helpful and validating for both sides. To offer assistance towards this end, the following six tips will aim to help you create successful relationships guaranteed to give both parties what they seek.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-2.jpg)

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-3.png)

## **Tip No. 1 – Set Expectations**

Figuring out what you and your mentees want from a mentorship relationship is easy enough. But what comes next requires more effort.

The first tip to shaping a successful mentorship relationship is [setting expectations](/en/help/articles/how-to-set-an-agenda-for-your-session). You must set expectations right from the start because each relationship is unique. You should understand what the mentee wants to determine if you’re the best mentor for the job. It’s your duty to acknowledge if you’re ready to commit and if the mentee is up for entering a mentorship with you.

Discuss and set a time limit and figure out the frequency at which you should meet. Settle the metrics you’ll use going forward to measure the quality of the relationship and success. Determine how involved you should be and if your mentee wants or needs a hands-on mentor.

Maybe you take a step back and intervene less frequently. You won’t know until you clarify the situation. Clear communication is key when setting expectations and the most professional way to approach building a successful mentorship relationship.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-4.png)

## **Tip No. 2 – Take an Interest in Your Mentee**

Of course, every mentor is invested in making their mentees successful, yet that’s not always enough. One of the secrets to nurturing successful relationships with a mentee is taking a genuine interest in them as people. Knowing a mentee on a more personal level will allow you to give much better advice.

Remember that being a mentor is different from being a life coach or a business coach. Genuinely knowing and understanding your mentees is crucial for building a strong relationship. It’s easy to figure out someone’s dream job or preferred lifestyle, but a true mentor wants to know about the things that make them who they are.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-5.png)

## **Tip No. 3 – Keep Building Trust**

Even if a mentorship relationship starts out well, it can hit some speed bumps along the way. Earning trust is one thing but maintaining and building more trust is different. Successful mentorship occurs when you can maintain a safe environment for your mentee because the safer they feel, the more they’ll voice their concerns, issues, challenges, and opinions.

Helping people is about getting them to be open, transparent, and genuine when communicating with you. You don’t want them to tiptoe around deep issues! Therefore, you should never stop building trust. Sometimes you might have to say something your mentees won’t like to hear. It could be imperative for their personal and professional growth.

You can only do that in a safe environment with trust and transparency.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-6.png)

## **Tip No. 4 – Engage in Active Listening**

[Active listening](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentoring-tips) is such an essential skill for a mentor. Flexing this muscle gives you a deeper understanding of your mentee. You make them realize that you’re listening, hearing, and learning about what makes them tick by listening before you speak, reading between the lines, and considering body language cues.

Focus on clarifying everything your mentee shares. The clearer the message, the easier it is for you to relate, formulate better responses, and steer your mentee in the right direction. It’s vital for a successful mentorship relationship, as, without it, you could be missing the point of what your mentee tries to tell you. And there isn’t a long way to go from that to offering bad advice.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-7.png)

## **Tip No. 5 – Provide Resources**

[Communication](/en/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-questions) and sharing your own experiences and wisdom aren’t the only ways to help a mentee be successful. To make the most out of the relationship, you must provide resources the mentee can use to grow. It could be making introductions with people in their field, signing up a mentee for a new project, especially if you work together, maybe it’s new reading material, or taking them through a hypothetical scenario.

Find resources that provide context and align with the goals and expectations set at the beginning of your relationship. You could even send your mentee on a quest to do their own research to uncover relevant and valuable information.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-8.png)

## **Tip No. 6 – Celebrate Successes**

You’ll find that mentorship relationships have different stages of success. Many achievements will happen along the way before your mentee reaches the level of success indicated at the start of your relationship, and as a mentor, you must be there every step of the way.

Make your mentees aware of small achievements and successes as they happen. They might be so caught up with the experience they won’t notice all the smaller positive results. Celebrate those successes and use them as opportunities to show your approval, validate mentees, make them see the value of the relationship, and push them harder to reach their main objective. This behavior is enough to satisfy their need for validation and your own psychological desire for recognition.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-9.png)

## **You Have to Work on Mentorship Relations, Not Make Assumptions**

Mentoring is more of a calling than a task, job, or profession. But oversimplifying it won’t do you any favors. As noble as being a mentor can be, mentorship takes work as much as having passion and wanting to help. But you also need enough time to commit and take an interest in your mentee.

There must also be something in it for you, a benefit of some sort, to motivate you. Mentorship is always a two-way street, a relationship not that different from dating. Thus, it takes work and planning to ensure you and your mentee are on the same page and heading in the right direction.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-shape-a-successful-mentorship-relationship-10.png)

# **Suggested Articles**

Check out our article on [Mentorly: The Best Fit for Mentorship](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentoring-tips)

Learn more about [Active Listening](/en/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening)


In this article, we share amazing tips on how to build a successful mentorship relationship.

How to Shape a Successful Mentorship Relationship


1.  [Knowledge and Encouragement](#knowledge-and-encouragement)

2.  [Goal Setting and Accountability](#goal-setting-and-accountability)

3.  [Mentor Fulfillment](#mentor-fulfillment)

4.  [Organizational Benefits](#organizational-benefits)

5.  [Network Expansion](#network-expansion)

6.  [Trust and Constructive Feedback](#trust-and-constructive-feedback)

7.  [Early Mentorship Can Broaden your Horizon](#early-mentorship-can-broaden-your-horizon)

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-1.jpg)

Mentorship is quickly becoming one of the most important relationships people can enter to make the most out of their personal and professional journeys. It offers tremendous benefits for both parties and can help them extend their networks, grow as people, and find fulfillment faster.

A proper understanding of the advantages of professional mentorship should make it easier to decide whether to become a mentee or to mentor someone in the workplace.

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-2.jpg)

## **Knowledge and Encouragement**

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-3.jpg)

A mentor acts as a knowledge source equipped with crucial information and insights in a particular niche. Such understanding of how to develop useful skills and perform tasks can help mentees improve themselves quicker than going through months or years of trial and error. But a mentor doesn’t just offer guidance. They provide ongoing encouragement.

Learning to develop skills from an experienced mentor can help mentees progress faster than peers who don’t have guidance. But even professional assistance and mentorship in the workplace won’t prevent the occasional struggles. Some goals are harder to reach than others, and mentees can still experience a loss of confidence. However, mentors are there to provide support and encouragement, instill confidence in mentees, and keep pushing them to accomplish what they set out to achieve.

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-4.jpg)

## **Goal Setting and Accountability**

Setting goals can be harder than many people believe, especially when they don’t have a long history of doing it correctly. Professional mentorship enables mentees to visualize specific and realistic goals and create a blueprint for how to succeed. Mentors intervene to clarify the process of goal setting and help focus mentees on creating the right goals and a system to track and measure progress.

Furthermore, mentorship creates the perfect environment for accountability. Setting goals is one aspect of achieving one’s personal or professional desires. Sticking to the plan, putting in the work even when it’s difficult, and staying focused are the elements that matter the most. This is where mentorship is beneficial.

A mentor is in the perfect position to keep a mentee accountable, focused, and true to their priorities based on the goals they set. Mentors can intervene directly or maintain accountability passively, knowing that their presence and guidance serve as extra motivation for the mentee to do the work, improve, and succeed!

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-5.jpg)

## **Mentor Fulfillment**

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-6.jpg)

It’s easy to assume that a mentorship relationship benefits only mentees. In reality, professional mentorship in the workplace is advantageous for all stakeholders in a company. Teaching and guiding a mentee pushes mentors to develop new skills, hone existing skills, and become even better at what they do.

A great example of this is [active listening](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentoring-tips), which is a key ingredient to a successful mentorship relationship. Working with one or more mentees puts mentors in a position to develop active listening skills so they can offer the best advice.

In addition, sharing knowledge and helping someone else succeed does a lot for a mentor’s self-worth. Fulfillment through teaching is a powerful motivator and can create a deeper sense of purpose or responsibility, especially for someone who has already achieved a lot in their career.

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-7.jpg)

## **Organizational Benefits**

A successful mentorship relationship can positively affect entities existing outside this relationship. For example, companies with mentorship programs benefit from having their more experienced members teach and guide newer talent. The faster someone develops in their role and learns vital skills, the quicker they can add value to the company.

Emphasizing mentorship in a professional environment also sends a strong message from the leadership to other employees. It says that the company values the development of its employees and is willing to invest time and resources to make everyone perform better.

This should help with employee retention and minimize turnover while simultaneously improving the efficiency of any talent acquisition efforts. Any company with a strong focus on career development and mentorship is an attractive workplace for new and highly qualified employees.

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-8.jpg)

## **Network Expansion**

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-9.jpg)

Making connections is one of the best ways to learn new skills, discover lucrative opportunities, and reach goals that once seemed impossible. No one can do everything independently, and working with people with complementary skills and knowledge is the quickest way to overcome obstacles and get the desired results.

Mentors can introduce mentees to the right people in their fields, connect them with experts, and create opportunities to further their growth and skill development.

A strong network of experts can be a priceless tool for career advancement. That’s why mentees must [pick a mentor](/en/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session) with experience in their niche. They will have both the knowledge and connections to guide and assist the mentee in their development and ensure consistent progress toward their goals.

Besides, as mentees gain more connections, they become new connections themselves for their mentors, helping them expand their network with skilled individuals.

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-10.jpg)

## **Trust and Constructive Feedback**

The give-and-take nature of an open mentorship relationship helps build trust between the mentor and mentee. This can give mentees more peace of mind about their career trajectory and encourage them to accept guidance. Moreover, having someone to trust can instill more confidence and make it easier to set ambitious goals and tackle complex obstacles.

Trust facilitates more constructive feedback. Of course, mentors must encourage their mentees and keep them motivated. Yet trust and open communication leave plenty of room for constructive feedback. Mentors who earn the trust of their mentees can get their messages across more easily, say the tough things that mentees might not like to hear, and ensure the guidance registers with the mentee. This is a great way to uncover weaknesses and turn them into strengths.

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-11.jpg)

## **Early Mentorship Can Broaden Your Horizon**

There’s no right or wrong time to enter a mentorship relationship. Everyone has their own reasons for needing a mentor or wanting to share their knowledge and develop more interpersonal and leadership skills. But given its numerous advantages, enlisting in a mentorship program sooner than later can help fast-track one’s social, personal, and professional development, opening new doors and creating more opportunities.

![](/images/help/articles/the-advantages-of-professional-mentorship-12.jpg)

## **Suggested Articles**

Learn to [Plan an Effective Mentorship Session](/en/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session)

Check out our article on [Getting Started with Mentorly](/en/help/articles/getting-started-with-mentorly)


Find out how beneficial professional mentorship can be as this article breaks down very interesting points.

The Advantages of Professional Mentorship


1.  [Perceived Vulnerability](#perceived-vulnerability)

2.  [The of Not Reciprocating](#the-fear-of-not-reciprocating)

3.  [Refusal Fuels Negative Emotions](#refusal-fuels-negative-emotions)

4.  [Admitting to Not Having the Answers Is A Sign of Strength](#admitting-to-not-having-the-answers-is-a-sign-of-strength)

![](/images/help/articles/asking-for-help-why-is-it-so-hard-1.jpg)

Some people may go their entire lives without improving certain skills or solving various issues because of the premium they put on self-reliance. **Asking for help doesn’t come naturally to humans - in a professional setting, this becomes even harder due to how we think we are perceived by others.**

But public perception should matter very little when trying to achieve more in life, solve issues within yourself, and grow as a person. Just because the masses see some things in a certain way doesn’t make a view correct. And generally speaking, three things might be keeping you from seeking help, entering a successful mentorship relationship or reaching your goals.

![](/images/help/articles/asking-for-help-why-is-it-so-hard-2.png)

## **Perceived Vulnerability**

How many times have you considered asking for help but never followed through? It happens to everyone at least once, especially in a work environment, because people are hardwired to be self-reliant. That makes it difficult to ask for help as it induces a feeling of vulnerability.

Yet perceived vulnerability is different from being vulnerable. Vulnerability has a negative connotation that’s constantly fueled by the masses. In reality, it can be a sign of strength, even more so because of its perceived negative aura. It takes plenty of strength to reach out to someone and ask for support or simply admit you don’t hold all the answers.

Besides, receiving help when you ask for it could be the key to solving your problem. As you implement the solution, you learn. Learning makes you stronger!

Perhaps you excel at many things socially and professionally, but you’ve decided to switch careers. You need someone to guide you through uncharted territory. That can make you appear vulnerable but certainly not weak. And believe it or not, vulnerability is more than okay, especially if you’re in a leadership position.

**Being honest about your limitations and asking for help are signs that you desire continuous improvement.** It’s a more revered attitude than being closed off from everyone else and preaching self-reliance when someone two feet away can offer their expertise.

![](/images/help/articles/asking-for-help-why-is-it-so-hard-3.png)

## **The Fear of Not Reciprocating**

It’s human nature to expect something in return when we provide a service, lend a hand, or offer some advice. It might not be the best human trait, but it’s one we all share. Despite many of us trying our hardest to suppress the behavior, you’ll find others proudly putting it on display and not even trying to hide it.

But the fear of expectation is another reason many people never ask for help. Imagine having someone willing to help you overcome a problem and are even glad to offer guidance and assistance. One of the thoughts that might enter your head is that they will expect something in return.

It may not happen now, tomorrow, or even next week, but eventually, they might want something. Perhaps you can’t return the favor or lack the expertise to assist them now or even further down the line. This mindset problem leads people to believe asking for help will make them seem vulnerable and weak.

Yet here’s **something you probably didn’t consider: People take pleasure in helping!** There’s a lot of satisfaction in knowing you’ve helped someone get better or succeed. It’s especially true when the person asking for help makes it easy and is committed to accepting help and guidance.

Asking for help doesn’t make you weak or a burden. In fact, it gives you a chance to succeed and opens the door for someone to bask in your success, improve their own standing among peers, and even elevate their self-worth.

![](/images/help/articles/asking-for-help-why-is-it-so-hard-4.png)

## **Refusal Fuels Negative Emotions**

Another big scary thought is the idea that someone might reject your request: you need help and muster up the courage to ask for it, only to hear the word no. It can be a daunting experience, especially if coming from a position of perceived vulnerability and weakness.

But here’s the issue… Why make that assumption in the first place? There’s no reason to reinforce and fuel negative emotions with hypotheticals. **More people than you think take pleasure in helping and do it without expecting something in return.** That’s reason enough alone to take a chance and ask for help.

What’s the worst that can happen if someone refuses? **A negative response isn’t a negative reflection on yourself**. Instead of clinging to the word no, try doing something else like telling yourself that the answer didn’t offend and communicating to that person that you appreciate their time.

Move on to someone else and remember that people don’t just refuse to help because they don’t want to -some of them can’t. Perhaps you asked for help from someone lacking the expertise to assist, or that person didn’t have enough time to commit to seeing you through the process.

Hearing the word ‘no’ isn’t the same as being rejected. Therefore, it doesn’t have to come from a negative place or make you feel weak or vulnerable in whatever way you perceive vulnerability. Overcoming these skewed perceptions is easier to do if you keep reflecting and reminding yourself of the times you experienced joy by helping others. **There are others out there like you, and it’s only a matter of finding the right person for the job.**

![](/images/help/articles/asking-for-help-why-is-it-so-hard-5.png)

## **Admitting to Not Having the Answers Is a Sign of Strength**

The biggest step you can take towards growing is to allow yourself to be vulnerable. The reason being is that the social perception of vulnerability is skewed from what it really means. Someone vulnerable and open about their shortcomings is a person with a desire to improve or the type of individual who doesn’t want to hold others back out of fear of how people might view them.

Ten out of ten people who ask for help will learn, grow, and achieve more than those worried about appearances rather than real substance.

![](/images/help/articles/asking-for-help-why-is-it-so-hard-6.png)

## **Suggested Articles**

Check out our article on [Finding a Mentor and Booking a Session](/en/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session).

You can also learn how to [Make the Most of Mentorship.](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship)


Jump into this article to learn about the fear of asking for help and how to overcome it for a better mentorship journey.

Asking for Help: Why Is It So Hard?


1.  [Passive vs. Active Listening](#passive-vs-active-listening)

2.  [Five Key Secrets to Active Listening](#here-are-five-key-secrets-to-active-listening-that-will-make-you-a-better-mentor)

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening-1.png)

Starting a new mentorship may feel rocky at times - you or your mentee might sense that something’s off. You can’t always put your finger on it, but it just doesn’t seem to gel. Of course, not all mentors can guide everyone, but there’s always room to improve as a better mentor for your mentee.

Sometimes, the problem can be easily fixed by simply learning to listen better, and that’s where active listening comes in. It’s a simple concept to understand, yet also easy to get wrong if you don’t know its secrets.

Here’s what active listening is and the five key elements you must get right to achieve better results for your mentees.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening-2.png)

## **Passive vs. Active Listening**

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening-3.jpg)

Not all listening techniques are equal or accomplish the same thing. When you started mentoring, passive listening was probably your go-to strategy. But it’s not really more effective than just hearing what your mentee has to say - here’s why.

When we engage in passive listening, we’re not reacting. Sure, we allow others to speak without interrupting them, but are you really paying attention? You’re probably not as attentive as you think you are because you can’t properly register the message being conveyed to you.

Unfortunately, communication can’t be a one-way street, and understanding someone takes more than hearing their words. This is where active listening comes in.

**Active listening is a two-way communication strategy where you convey that you understand what your mentee is trying to say.**

At the same time, you’re paying attention to more than words to contextualize and process the message. Doing this will make the conversation more genuine, build trust, and create a more comfortable environment for the mentee where they can open up and experience new realizations.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening-4.png)

# **Here are five key secrets to active listening that will make you a better mentor.**

## **1\. Paying Attention**

Active listening works best when you give your mentee **your undivided attention and take in their message.** You’ll want to maintain eye contact and pay attention to your mentee’s body language and avoid preparing a rebuttal or conversing with a third party - even when you’re in a group mentorship session and someone might be trying to get your attention.

Acknowledging the messages conveyed through both non-verbal and verbal communication is a crucial part of active listening and will provide more insight into your mentee.

## **2\. Show You’re Listening**

Two-way communication strategies require some back and forth. But how do you do that if you’re supposed to give your undivided attention and allow your mentee to share their story uninterrupted? **You can use body language like nodding, smiling, and various other gestures and facial expressions as indicators to demonstrate that you’re listening to what a person is saying.**

**Adopt an inviting posture** and avoid crossing your arms to help your mentee open up. Occasionally, you can throw in verbal comments like “aha,” “carry on,” “yes,” and others to show you’re listening without interrupting the message. You can accomplish a lot with the faintest gesture and a brief verbal comment without interrupting the mentee’s train of thought.

## **3\. Defer Judgment**

You might not always agree with your mentee, and there’s nothing wrong with offering a different perspective or advice - it’s inevitable! But you can still do it in a constructive manner by deferring judgment until such a time when it’s appropriate.

You have to **pick the right moment to intervene** in a conversation and share your thoughts. At no point should you do it while your mentee is talking and sharing something. That may work in casual conversations, but you’re a mentor. Your goal is to provide value!

With that in mind, **avoid interrupting the speaker**. For one, it’s a frustrating act. Secondly, it may prevent you from hearing and understanding the complete message. Keep any counter arguments until it’s your turn to speak or the other person asks you to interject.

## **4\. Offer Feedback**

Don’t be afraid to offer feedback even if you don’t fully understand the message. Active listening is a skill you must master, and it takes time. However, if you’re unsure what you took from your mentee’s story, reflect back on the message, perhaps by **paraphrasing and asking for clarification on points that confuse or elude you.**

Only then will you be ready to provide feedback at a high level, as a mentor should. This is a particularly sound strategy if you have a tendency to respond emotionally to what someone might have to say. It’ll help you **keep an open mind, clarify the message, and give you a chance to provide better feedback** without going off-topic.

## **5\. Formulate Appropriate Responses**

Remember your goal and duty as a mentor: You’ll be taking someone under your wing to guide, teach, and nurture. That’s the opposite of putting them down or attacking their opinions. Your mentees want to be understood before you offer your help and expertise.

It’s crucial to **be open and honest with your responses**. But whatever opinion you share, you must do it respectfully. Don’t make assumptions about how a person wants to be treated. Don’t treat others how you would like to be treated because you believe it’s the best way.

Take your cues from active listening and hear what the other person is conveying with oral and non-verbal communication. Whether they want to or not, they’ll give you clues on how they like to be treated and spoken to, and you can use that information to respond appropriately.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening-5.png)

## **It’s All About Two-Way Communication**

Five simple adjustments to your active listening strategy will make you a master of this skill and a better mentor. You must show you’re listening, pay close attention to all verbal and body language cues, postpone judgment, offer feedback, and come up with appropriate responses, but most importantly, you should keep in mind what active listening is all about.

This means turning communication with your mentee into a two-way street. This allows you to truly hear what the other person has to say, so you can come up with helpful responses. Simultaneously, it lets the other person know that you’re really focused, listening, and understanding the message. It’s an invaluable assurance that they’re not wasting time and you’re actually there to help.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening-6.png)

# **Suggested Articles**

Check out our article on [getting started with Mentorly.](/en/help/articles/getting-started-with-mentorly)

Mentors are you ready to start your sessions? [Add availability](/en/help/articles/adding-availability) to your calendar.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-be-a-better-mentor-the-secrets-to-active-listening-7.png)

# **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the Help tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking Go to Live Chat.


This article focuses on tips to be an active listener during your mentoring session.

How to Be a Better Mentor: the Secrets to Active Listening


Here are a few steadfast ways to make the most of sessions and mentors' precious time and expertise.

![](/images/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship-1.png)

1.  [Understand your wants and needs](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship#h_677478bb3c)

2.  [Set an agenda for your session](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship#h_7ab37cf38d)

3.  [Take advantage of Messaging tab](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship#h_519d947d43)

4.  [Follow up](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship#h_cf4299089e)

---

## Understand your wants and needs

Once you're ready to book a session with a mentor, you'll both need a roadmap to make the most of your time together. While an agenda may seem like overkill, it's a great way to clearly communicate what you need from your mentor, making sure to get all of your important points across.

## Set an agenda for your session

Here's a simple session outline to get you started:

**1 Hour Session (60 minutes)**

- Introductions - 10 min.

- Long term objective and session objective - 5 min.

- Current situation check-in - 5 min.

- Problems and/or fears - 10 min.

- Previous efforts/trials - 10 min.

- Questions - 15 min.

- Homework and scheduling a follow-up session - 5 min.

You can include this upon booking and/or share it via your Messaging tab once you've booked your session. Not only will you feel more prepared for your video call, but your mentor will greatly appreciate the time and consideration you put into clarifying your needs, which will only help them help you MORE!

## Take advantage of Messaging tab

If you've had a session, a message thread between you and your mentor has automatically been created. This is a great way to 1) ask any brief follow up questions you may have and 2) schedule your next session together. If your mentor has limited availability to answer your inbox questions, it may be best to book a second session with them.

Also, during your sessions, you can chat and all of your exchanges and notes will be saved straight to your inbox - so all of your communication stays in one place!

## Follow up

Mentorship is a two-way street. While your mentor will follow your lead, they invest a lot of time and thought into you and would greatly appreciate an update from time to time to know how you're doing and how work is progressing.

The bond between a mentor and a mentee is a very special one, worth nurturing over time.

![](/images/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship-2.png)

# More resources for mentorship:

Check out [our conversation prompts and questions](/en/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-questions) for your next session.


Tips for an improved mentorship experience for mentees

Making the Most of Mentorship


Mentorship can often resemble dating - it's not always a perfect match!

Thankfully, we've assembled a few practical tips to help you develop a strong relationship with your mentee and make the most of your sessions together.

![](/images/help/articles/mentoring-tips-1.png)

## 1\. Come prepared

Prepare yourself in advance by jotting down some notes and any questions *y*ou may have to guide structure the conversation. When your mentee booked with you, they'll have included an intro message so you'll have an idea of what they'd like to discuss during your session together.

## 2\. Practice active listening

This is probably the most important muscle to flex as a mentor! It's essential that you remain focused on what your mentee is communicating to you, to ensure you properly understand what is being said and implied.

We often feel the need to jump in and relate a thought or experience and sometimes even negate what we hear, but we may be missing the point. A good tip is to repeat what you think you understood from the exchange. Either you will have understood correctly or your mentee will try to clarify himself or herself.

Active listening essentially requires that you be aware of your communication skills and to be empathetic to the situation. Even your body language is key, so make sure to nod and face your mentee straight on with arms uncrossed. This way, you'll be able to establish a bond of trust with your mentee and let the excellent mentor within you emerge!

## 3\. Take lots of notes

This almost goes without saying: A lot can be said in an hour-long session, so be sure you have a trusty pen and paper on standby. Hold onto these notes should you like to remember what was said during your session with your mentee and track their progress.

## 4\. Keep introductions short and dive right in

Even though you have 30 minutes to an hour to talk, you'll want to make the most of your time together. We suggest you take at most 5 minutes to introduce yourselves then jump right into the meat of the conversation.

A handy way to transition is to ask your mentee how they would like to use their session, what they would like to discuss, and bring up some questions or thoughts you have after reading their introduction message sent prior to your session together.

## 5\. Be flexible, patient, and respectful

Going into your session with your mentee, you'll likely have a bunch of questions you'd like to ask them after reading their first message. That means you're well prepared, which is excellent!

However, this may also set expectations. Remember that your mentee should lead the session and this can take all sorts of twists and turns. A little flexibility and patience on your part will go a long way to making your mentee feel at ease, a win-win for both of you!

## 6\. Express optimism, not cynicism

Your mentee may come to you with very lofty goals and ambitions. While you may want to provide them with a realistic view of their industry, of its opportunities and limitations, be careful not to immediately shut down your mentee's opinions or dreams.

Instead, provide valuable insight that can help broaden their understanding and give them tools that will help them concretely build towards their goals.

## 7\. Value character over competency

Mentoring is more than imparting skill-based knowledge or checking off a list. Sure, it's important for your mentee to be aware of certain skills required for a specific task or project, but as a mentor, you should also privilege character traits that will help your mentee achieve a more well-rounded approach to their work, such as patience, curiosity, exploration, forgiveness and perseverance.

## 8\. Know when to move the conversation along

If general conversation and career guidance aren't flowing naturally, asking about your mentee's specific projects is a great way to go. See if they need any feedback to help move their project forward and go from there.

## 9\. End on a high note

Towards the end of your session, a friendly countdown will appear to indicate the amount of time you have to wrap things up.

If you had a great session, say it! Feedback is really important both for yourself as a mentor and your mentee. Don't be shy to ask how you did or if you could have improved in any wa*y* and definitely provide some positive feedback and words of encouragement to your mentee.

If you'd like to follow up with them down the line, let them know!

![](/images/help/articles/mentoring-tips-2.png)

# More resources for mentorship:

Find out why Mentorly is [the best fit for mentorship](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship).


Here are our best tips for being a mentor.

Mentoring tips


1.  [Welcome to Mentorly!](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship#h_b0e07e87a8)

2.  [Mentorship: Anywhere, anytime!](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship#h_8fd9f896f9)

3.  [Beyond the 'watercooler'](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship#h_2428ec28a4)

4.  [Approachability & Accessibility](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship#h_758aa71d64)

5.  [Expertise at your fingertips](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship#h_268375681c)

6.  [Program Managers: helping them, help you](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship#h_7e1e92345d)

---

#

Welcome to Mentorly!

We're a dedicated solution that supports and structures all of your mentorship needs - Mentorly has everything you need for mentorship, all in one place!

On top of that, we also enable your Program Manager to better support you throughout the program, so your mentorship needs are met and fulfilled.

## Let's dive into everything that Mentorly has to offer you, your program manager, and mentorship in general!

---

# Mentorship: Anywhere, anytime!

As we continue to move into a remote-friendly world, Mentorly is all about making mentorship accessible to anyone, anywhere, anytime.

We know that schedules can be busy and can change on a dime - which is why we allow Mentors to be in full control of the availability they have for mentoring. From the **Calendar** tab on their own personal dashboard, mentors can edit, add or delete time slots whenever they need to, according to their schedules, or they can integrate their existing calendar (Outlook) so that they only have one calendar to manage on a daily basis.

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship-1.jpg)

When it's time to attend a session, a mentee or mentor has to look no further than their **Sessions** tab - where they join a video conference call that's hosted on the Mentorly platform. Online sessions offers the opportunity to join from anywhere in the world - as long as you have good internet connection.

In a video call or from your personal dashboard, you can **message** your mentor or mentee at any time. The best part is no matter where you message them from, all of your messages are synced in one discussion thread - so no need to chase down any stray messages!

## From calendars to video calls, Mentorly makes it easy for mentorship to be flexible and convenient so that mentors and mentees can meet online at a time that suits them best.

---

# Beyond the 'Watercooler'

Whether your program is hosted by your company or organization, mentorship is all about making connections with long-lasting impact and learning the most effective methods of growth and progress.

That's why Mentorly makes it easy for mentors and mentees to meet other beyond their usual circle of connections, whether that be fellow colleagues in the cubicles beside them or around the office watercooler, or familiar faces at networking conferences.

Program Managers can create matches based on the compatibility between a mentor and a mentee - your best compatibility match for mentorship may be someone you've never met before, but thanks to **Mentorly's Smart Matching**, that connection is made for you!

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship-2.png)

With each program's **Mentors** page, mentees have even more flexibility and opportunity to explore all mentors available to them through the program. Searching by keywords, filtering by sector or industry - all the tools you need to find a mentor that suits you and your mentorship needs!

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship-3.png)

## This system of virtual mentorship that Mentorly enables and supports can open up new possibilities, connections and fresh perspectives for mentors and mentees alike.

---

# Approachability and Accessibility

Seeking mentorship is no easy task - it can be a daunting or overwhelming experience for anyone. That's why Mentorly believes that easing those anxieties is often the first step in benefiting from a mentorship program.

Before booking a session, not only can mentees review a **mentor's profile** to learn more about them and their experience, but they can also choose to **message** with their mentor. By making the mentor accessible, this helps breaks the ice of that first initial meeting.

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship-4.jpg)

Allowing mentors to set their own **availability for mentoring**, this creates a welcoming and open space for a mentee to book a session, without feeling like they're intruding on a mentor's busy schedule.

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship-5.jpg)

Mentorly's platform is designed for encouraging approachable mentorship - our tools are geared towards making that possible, whether it be viewing a profile, sending a message or booking a session from available timeslots.

## Approachability and accessibility inspires trust, which are all necessary elements between a mentor and mentee for an authentic mentoring relationship.

---

# Expertise at your fingertips

At Mentorly, we’re the experts on mentorship - and we’re sharing everything we know so that you can be too!

Our curated [Help Center](https://mentorly.com/en/help) has all the articles you need to succeed. Not only do we have articles that guide you through using Mentorly, we have articles that offer helpful suggestions about getting the most out of mentorship, how to set an agenda for a session, and our best tips for mentors and mentees.

---

# Program Managers: helping them, help you

Creating and managing a mentorship program is more complex than you'd think, but Mentorly makes it easy!

By using Mentorly's platform, program managers can **customize and manage their mentorship program** from A to Z, all in the goal of making it the most beneficial experience for mentors and mentees.

![](/images/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship-6.jpg)

From **Smart Matching** to **mentee-led mentor sessions**, program managers can rest easy from all the hassle that comes from creating matches and scheduling sessions. With all the time they save, they can focus on the results and impact of the program - making sure mentors and mentees are getting all the benefits of mentorship.

Not only can they easily manage all members from their own dashboard, but with a click of a button, program managers can **message** members of a program, to either share information, resources or helpful tips.

When sessions are booked on Mentorly, program managers have access to all the **data and reporting** to help track and manage engagement.

A program manager's job is to curate and manage their mentorship program, and Mentorly's tools and platform empowers and sets them up for success. When a program or program manager is successful, it has a chain reaction for mentors and mentees - everyone benefits!

---

# Ready to get your mentorship journey started?

Check out [this article](/en/help/articles/getting-started-with-mentorly) on how to set up your profile and what your next steps are.


We have everything you need for mentorship, all in one place! Find out why Mentorly is integral to your mentorship experience.

Mentorly: The Best Fit for Mentorship


1.  [Planning your session](#planning-your-session)

2.  [Agendas Simplified](#agendas-simplified)

3.  [Conversation Prompts for Mentees](#conversation-prompts-for-mentees)

4.  [Conversation Prompts for Mentors](#conversation-prompts-for-mentors)

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-1.png)

## **Planning your Session**

Not everyone knows what to expect when going into a mentorship meeting - this applies to both mentees and mentors. Each video call is different from the last, and time is of the essence.

For that reason, creating an agenda is critical for both parties involved because they should understand exactly what they want to discuss, accomplish, learn, and prepare for the next session. Creating and managing agendas isn’t always a straightforward process, which is why we’re here to help!

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-2.png)

## **Agendas Simplified**

Perhaps you’re unsure how to make an agenda because you don’t know where to start or how it should look once completed. An agenda generally contains a list encompassing topics and talking points, as well as action items or activities to go over during a meeting. When you book a session with your mentor, you’re asked to list a few things you’d like to cover during your session.

Check out our [Setting an Agenda for your Session article](/en/help/articles/setting-an-agenda-for-your-session) to learn more.

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-3.jpg)

Agendas are often used in mentorship relationships to maximize each mentor and mentee meeting and get better results by presenting a plan for staying on topic, not wasting time, and clearly outlining the scope of each meeting.

But remember that a mentorship relationship, especially a successful one, rests on the shoulders of two-way communication. Therefore, you’ll want to focus on using conversation prompts to outline the meeting as clearly as possible.

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-4.png)

# Conversation Prompts for Mentees

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-5.jpg)

As a mentee, you might need some reassurance that you’re talking to the right mentor. A large part of a successful mentorship relationship is about surrendering some control to your mentor and opening up about various issues. This is easy to do with some carefully selected conversation prompts. You can find a list of conversation prompts and questions in our [Conversation Prompts article.](/en/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-questions)

## **Bonding-Oriented or Discovery Prompts**

Although initial meetings should clearly establish goals and roles, it’s not a bad idea to have constant reminders of both the differences and similarities.

One topic of discussion for the agenda could be the mentor’s personal journey. Something as simple as “tell me more about yourself” is a conversation prompt used in many meetings to learn a bit more with every session.

Getting closer to a mentor requires sharing. You’ll likely tell them a lot about your past experiences and perceived strengths and weaknesses but will want to hear something similar in return to ensure you’re on the same page and have something relatable in common.

## **Goal-Oriented Prompts**

You can also talk about new skills you want to acquire and hone, or about goals you may have in your personal life or professional career. This will help mentors understand what you’re looking to achieve in each meeting.

## **Feedback-Oriented Prompts**

Since the whole point of mentorship is to get an outside perspective and preferably expertise and guidance to grow, you’ll likely want some feedback too. Instead of listing a bunch of virtues and flaws, ask the mentor what they believe are your strengths and weaknesses.

This will provide you with insight into yourself, a chance to reflect on your experiences, and indicate whether the mentor is actively listening. By clearly outlining your goals and finding common ground, the feedback will be more relevant to the scope of the meeting instead of generic advice.

## **Optional Update Prompts**

If this isn’t your first mentorship meeting, you’ve likely worked on your growth since the previous session, and it won’t hurt to carve some time out of the meeting to discuss anything new that’s happened. You can present new challenges, mention accomplishments, and anything else that ties into the overarching agenda topic of discussion.

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-6.png)

# Conversation Prompts for Mentors

Mentors can take charge during meetings, but that happens very rarely. Mentorship relationships are most successful when the mentor adopts an active listener role, doesn’t interrupt, and focuses on fully understanding the message before replying. Therefore, agenda conversation prompts can look a bit different for mentors.

## **Edification-Oriented Prompts**

If you’re uncertain about the quality of your advice, make sure you understand the message. A simple “Here’s what I’m hearing” followed by a “but is that what you’re trying to say?” are powerful conversation prompts that indicate you’re wary of giving feedback and advice until you’re absolutely clear about what the mentee is trying to say.

## **Own Experience Prompts**

Based on what you know about a mentee, only some of your own experiences and parts of your journey may apply to their situation. Unless you’re two peas in a pod, you want to use your knowledge and insight into the mentee to prepare some personal experiences to share that they might draw valuable information from.

## **Get Feedback on the Session**

Don’t be afraid to ask the mentee how they feel the relationship is progressing. Save mentorship-oriented feedback conversation prompts for the end of the meeting. These should be further down on the agenda and will help create better meeting agendas moving forward.

## **Validation Prompts**

If a mentee shares recent successes, they do it because they seek validation. Mentors should celebrate wins, even small ones, to give the mentees a real sense of progressing in the right direction by using validation-oriented conversation prompts.

## **Personal Insight Prompts**

Many mentees will talk exclusively about their professional lives, goals, and challenges, but avoid going deep into themselves as people. Yet mentorship relationships work when the mentor takes a genuine interest in the mentee as a person.

Learning about what makes them tick strengthens the bond and makes both parties more involved and committed to the process. Asking about their lives or how professional challenges might have impacted their social interactions can yield relevant information.

Since mentees are unlikely to willingly offer this information or could be oblivious to its value, it’s up to mentors, to you, to dig a bit deeper. These conversations show a more vested interest, foster trust, and open up new possibilities for offering assistance.

## **Planning, Openness, and Clarity Are Keys to Successful Mentorship Meetings**

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-7.jpg)

Mentors and mentees can meet a few times a week or only once a month -but even the lowest session frequency can produce amazing results if the meetings are carefully planned. Mentees should be open and structure their agenda around their most important conversation topics while aiming to achieve at least one minor goal per section.

Mentors must curate their agenda around conversation prompts that clarify the mentee’s message, so they can offer the best advice in a specific scenario.

If you can get these things right every time, each mentorship session will go smoothly and accomplish far more than a discussion with no clear topic or end in sight.

![](/images/help/articles/planning-an-effective-mentorship-session-8.png)

## **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


This article talks about how to effectively plan for your mentorship session. We also share different conversation prompts.

Planning an Effective Mentorship Session


![](/images/help/articles/the-science-of-giving-back-why-mentoring-will-make-you-happier-1.jpg)

There are many reasons to become a mentor. This noble and healthy path can add value to people’s lives and have a therapeutic effect on the mentor. Giving back can do more good for you than you realize, and here are some examples to prove that mentoring will make you happier.

![](/images/help/articles/the-science-of-giving-back-why-mentoring-will-make-you-happier-2.png)

## **It Decreases Stress**

Volunteering, giving practical help, or even providing someone with emotional support can make you happier yourself. Volunteer work has been associated with health benefits for a very long time. That’s because it goes a long way toward [decreasing stress](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07448481.2015.1015028).

Focusing your attention on someone else and improving their lives is what mentoring is all about. It just so happens it will likely improve your overall health. At the very least, it will help alleviate stress - which helps keep your serotonin levels within optimal ranges and make you feel happier.

![](/images/help/articles/the-science-of-giving-back-why-mentoring-will-make-you-happier-3.png)

## **It Improves Social Connections**

Mentoring is all about giving, but it’s far from a one-way experience. Mentorship is a partnership, and it involves back-and-forth communication. This kind of cooperation and collaboration can create a deep social connection between mentors and mentees.

Your exchanges become the basis of instilling a sense of trust in each other. The more you trust someone, the closer you get. As you earn their trust in response, your social interactions quickly improve, creating a strong social connection based on positive collaboration.

This is essential for good mental health. Mental health, positive social interactions, and earning trust have all been associated with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

![](/images/help/articles/the-science-of-giving-back-why-mentoring-will-make-you-happier-4.png)

## **It Makes You More Successful**

Giving back is usually rewarded, and that’s why many mentors are successful. The simple act of [giving](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0963721413512503#ref-15) something of yourself or sharing your experience will bring you more success. Whether you’re directly rewarded by someone you help or others is irrelevant - your success ultimately comes from an increased desire to improve yourself so you can benefit your mentees even more.

## **It’s a Validating Experience**

What else can you do to improve yourself? Mentoring is an excellent answer! **Being a mentor allows you to guide someone on their own path toward success.** You can foster another person’s sense of validation and self-worth and improve their life.

Doing that says a lot about your impact, experience, and personality and shows that your success can come from your mentee’s success. Their validation can be your validation and mark of approval that you’ve done something great. It’s one of the easiest ways to feel validated and happier about who you are and what you do.

## **You Learn More About Yourself**

Looking at your experiences objectively is one of the most difficult things you can do. Some go their entire lives without seeing the past in a different light. But what if you could do that consistently? Just imagine how many moments and experiences have shaped you into the person you are today.

Mentoring can be an exercise in self-discovery. Using your experiences to teach and guide others means sharing your experiences. Doing it out loud and not with the express purpose of self-reflection can help you see things more objectively.

Likewise, you might re-evaluate memories that should’ve had a more significant impact on your character.

It’s one of the many ways you can reshape your perception of self and gain valuable insight into what makes you tick. Think of it as getting out of your headspace for a while and learning what truly makes you happy.

![](/images/help/articles/the-science-of-giving-back-why-mentoring-will-make-you-happier-5.png)

## **You Keep Improving**

Sometimes happiness is hindered by a sense of stagnation. After spending years knowing there’s more to do, a sense of stagnation can quickly affect your happiness levels.

Mentoring is a [development process](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10956-009-9180-4), as much for you as it is for your mentees. As a mentor, you keep working on your communication skills, you learn new things about yourself, and you get to master active [listening](/en/help/articles/how-to-build-an-impactful-mentorship-program).

You can polish your leadership abilities and increase your emotional intelligence. Mentoring others to succeed in their fields constantly boosts your own reputation and develops your capacity to provide useful feedback. As it stands, **mentoring is one of the few ways to keep pushing your limits and notching up new achievements.** If achievements make you happy, mentoring will make you happy!

![](/images/help/articles/the-science-of-giving-back-why-mentoring-will-make-you-happier-6.png)

## **Suggested Articles**

Check out our article on **Making the Best of Mentorship**


Dive into this article to see why mentoring boosts happiness and the benefits that comes with mentorship.

The Science of Giving Back: Why Mentoring Will Make You Happier


We all know the incredible benefits of receiving mentorship - but we also know that sometimes people need an extra push to getting that mentorship.

That's why this month we're sharing some of our best conversation prompts so that you can share them with your program. We're also pulling back the curtains on every plan's features and limitations!

What are we waiting for? Let's get to it!

![](/images/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-plan-features-explained-1.png)

# **Help get the conversation started...**

Whether your mentees are matched with a compatible mentor or your mentees are searching for mentors that suit their needs, they might not know where to start the conversation.

Seeking mentorship can be overwhelming and nerve-wracking - offering some guidance to your mentees (or mentors!) can help normalize the experience and make mentees feel more at ease or comfortable with booking a session with a mentor.

Conversation prompts are a great way to offer that guidance and help mentees engage with mentors. By selecting 2-3 on a biweekly basis and communicating that to your program, this can help boost engagement.

Here are a few helpful conversation prompts:

- What was the career path that led you to your current position?

- What values drive your actions?

- What lessons have you learned from your successes and failures?

- What are the most memorable mistakes you have made?

## Want to send members of your program some conversation prompts?

It’s quick and easy - it should only take a few minutes of your time!

1.  From the program dashboard, go to your **Messaging** tab, click the **New Message icon**, and then select **‘Announcement’**.

2.  Choose what members you’d like to send the announcement to - you can filter by mentees or mentors, specific sector/industry, or even tags!

3.  Once you have your intended audience, write an encouraging message to remind them to book and provide your preferred conversation prompts.

4.  Hit send!

![](/images/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-plan-features-explained-2.jpg)

**Good to know:** If a recipient of your announcement replies, it won’t start a group chat with the entire recipient list - their message will go directly to you!

Learn more about announcements [here](/en/help/articles/announcements), and here are different tips on [how mentees can make the most out of mentorship](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship).

![](/images/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-plan-features-explained-3.png)

# **Plans and Features**

At Mentorly, we have five types of plans that each have their own included features and limitations:
Teams, Teams +, Pro, Enterprise and Enterprise White Label.

If you feel like your mentorship program's success is being hindered by the type of plan you have - whether that be the amount of users or your matching questionnaire, it might be **time to upgrade your plan**!

Our [plans and features](/en/pricing) page outlines what is included in each plan.

## Interested in a listed feature that's out of your plan's reach?

No worries - we got you! Contact your MSA or the Mentorly Support Team and we'd be happy to provide a quote for the specific feature you want.

![](/images/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-plan-features-explained-4.png)

**Want to talk more engagement strategies for your program?**
Check out our [last few month's](https://mentorly.com/en/help/program-manager#monthly-engagement-newsletter) engagement tips or contact your MSA to set up a meeting! We're here for your success.

**Happy Mentorship! 💛**


Conversation Prompts and Plan Features Explained

We know you’re the backbone of your program and you’ve got a lot on your plate. Mentorly is here to help empty that plate!

This month, we're sharing why it’s important to show off your mentors, and sharing some improvements we’ve made for our users.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-1.png)

# **What Makes a Mentor’s Page so Vital?**

When mentees are ready to book, they’ll visit the Mentors page of your program’s portal to get an idea of what mentors are available to them.

A mentor’s profile gives an overview of the mentor’s experiences and if they believe the mentor will be a good fit. When this page is blank or has very few options, it’s hard for mentees to know who's available to them.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-2.png)

# **The more options the merrier!**

**It’s the start of a great relationship between the mentor and mentee:**

A lasting and healthy mentorship is based on the ability to connect. Thanks to the mentor page shows a professional and human touch, mentees are given an effective way to build these crucial connections.

**It displays the mentor’s experience and talent:**

![As we know, an essential part of mentorship is passing on experience, and the mentor’s page is where this is best showcased.](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-3.png)

As we know, an essential part of mentorship is passing on experience, and the mentor’s page is where this is best showcased.

![Ready to showcase your mentors?](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-4.png)

# **Ready to showcase your mentors?**

You can easily showcase your mentors by **approving your mentors.**

Approving a mentor means their profiles will be visible/public on the Mentors page.

![To add a mentor to the Mentors page, follow these steps:](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-5.jpg)

**To add a mentor to the Mentors page, follow these steps:**

1. Click on the **Members** tab

2. Filter by **mentor**

3. Select the mentor(s) you would like to approve

4. After selecting, click on the down arrow

5. Click on **approve mentor**

To remove a mentor from the Mentors page, you can follow the same steps and click on _unapprove mentor._

**Good to know:** You can modify the list of mentors at any time!

**Good to know:** If they are marked as **approved**, a mentor must also be Onboarded in order to be visible on the Mentors page.

You can find more information and tips about managing the members of your program, by visiting our [Inviting Members to your Program article.](/en/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program)

![Introducing: A New Look for Emails!](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-6.png)

# **Introducing: A New Look for Emails!**

We've launched a makeover of our transactional emails! Here's what the updates include:

- **Updated language:** Specifying 'mentorship' will clear any confusion and bring it to top of mind.

- **Functionality:** All emails have Call to Action buttons that lead directly to different tabs on the Personal Dashboard.

- **Overall style:** An improved look to make mentorship all the more appealing.

![As always, all programs have their own custom branding for a header and footer images for transactional emails.](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-7.jpg)

As always, all programs have their own custom branding for a header and footer images for transactional emails.

**Want to have a look at what all the email templates look like?** Head over to your Program Dashboard > Program tab > Email templates.

**Did you know?** You can customize the email content by upgrading to our Enterprise or Enterprise White Label plan. Contact your MSA or Mentorly's support team for more information!

![For even more mentorship content,<a href=](/images/help/articles/how-to-showcase-your-mentors-and-optimize-mentor-mentee-connections-8.png) follow us on Linkedin where we share all the latest updates and celebrate our programs' successes."/>

**For even more mentorship content,** [follow us on Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/mentorly/) where we share all the latest updates and celebrate our programs' successes.

Want to talk more engagement strategies for your program? Check out our [last few month's](https://mentorly.com/en/help/program-manager#monthly-engagement-newsletter) engagement tips or contact your MSA to set up a meeting! We're here for your success.

How to Showcase Your Mentors and Optimize Mentor-Mentee Connections


![](/images/help/articles/how-to-optimize-mentorship-program-success-with-smart-matching-1.png)

# **👋 Hi!**

🎵 _"Summer's here and the time is right to go racing"_... to success with your mentorship programs!

We're back at it with another newsletter for the month of June: This month, we're sharing the feedback we've heard from our users in mentorship programs to help ensure that your programs are set up for success.

If you could use some new processes to hire and retain talent, you're invited to our [Lunch and Learn](https://mentorly.typeform.com/to/crNIXTRh) on June 21st.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-optimize-mentorship-program-success-with-smart-matching-2.png)

# **Matchmaking: The key to mentorship**

The Mentorly team recently surveyed our users that are in mentorship programs to learn about the biggest challenges they face with mentorship.

Responses showed that **27% of program members** said that finding the right mentor or the right fit was a huge obstacle when seeking or offering mentorship.

The great news? Mentorly has the solution! 🤩

Our **Smart Matching and matching insights** can help you make educated and data-supported matches - giving you the confidence that you're helping your program members get the most out of mentorship.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-optimize-mentorship-program-success-with-smart-matching-3.jpg)

When you **activate a match** on Mentorly, it also gives both direct access to one another's **profiles**, where they can start **messaging** right away and **book sessions** together!

What's more is that by activating a match, an automatic email is sent to both the mentor and mentee to let them know they have a new match to check out - so there's less for you to do as a program manager!

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-optimize-mentorship-program-success-with-smart-matching-4.png)

## Ready to create new matches?

If you already have matches made for your program, consider creating more matches. It only takes less than a minute for each match you make!

**For best engagement results and success**, we recommend 1-3 mentor matches per mentee of your program.

If you haven't opted for matching in your program yet, no worries - your Mentorly Success Advisor or Mentorly Support team is here to help you set up! To learn more about our [Smart Matching](/en/help/articles/smart-matching), check out [this article.](/en/help/articles/smart-matching)

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-optimize-mentorship-program-success-with-smart-matching-5.png)

# **Join our Lunch and Learn!**

We host learning sessions for our community so that our Program Managers can keep upskilling and growing. This month, you’re invited to…

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-optimize-mentorship-program-success-with-smart-matching-6.png)

“**The Downturn: How Talent Organizations are Responding**” with [Ashley Werhun](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAHtYRYBB7lPTcjNAkU_AI4OPFw3OeKGYGQ), CEO of Mentorly and a special guest, [Samantha Bateman (She/Her)](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAAf1qUBheOULwypySlHipROt4PP7OL6TTY), Director of Talent Acquisition and founder of Integria.

In this Lunch & Learn session you will:

- Get a perspective on today's market

- Learn how to hire and retain talent in a talent-favored market

- Understand how companies can win with strategic flexibility

📆 Come Lunch with us on June 21st @ 12pm EST.

Reserve your spot [here](https://mentorly.typeform.com/to/crNIXTRh), and we'll send you more information!

[Reserve your spot!](https://mentorly.typeform.com/to/crNIXTRh)

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-optimize-mentorship-program-success-with-smart-matching-7.png)

**For even more mentorship content,** [follow us on Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/company/mentorly/) where we share all the latest updates and celebrate our programs' successes.

Want to talk more engagement strategies for your program? Check out our [last few month's](https://mentorly.com/en/help/program-manager#monthly-engagement-newsletter) engagement tips or contact your MSA to set up a meeting! We're here for your success.

**Happy Mentorship! 💛**


Find out what program members are struggling with the most and Mentorly's solution!

How to Optimize Mentorship Program Success with Smart Matching


[FAQ for all](#how-do-i-join-my-session)

[FAQ for Mentees](#mentees)

FAQ for Mentors

## How do I join my session?

You can join your session by logging into your Personal Dashboard then going to your sessions tab. Click Join call on your session. The **Join Call** activates 10 minutes before your session.

![](/images/help/articles/faq-personal-dashboard-1.jpg)

---

## I am unable to join my session

When joining your call, make sure your browser is allowing access to your camera and microphone. If you have multiple devices for your microphone or camera, you can select which to allow from the drop-down menu.

![](/images/help/articles/faq-personal-dashboard-2.png)

**Troubleshooting tips:**

- Close down any other program, app and/or browser that might be using your camera or microphone.

- If your microphone/camera are **internal** e.g. laptop, please check your **System Preferences** and ensure your microphone **input/output** are properly set ([Mac](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mchlp2256/mac) or [PC](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4520288/windows-10-fix-sound-problems) instructions).

- If you are using a private work laptop, your company may have restricted your permission settings: it is best to join your video session from a personal laptop.

- We recommend the following browsers: Chrome, Firefox and Safari.

---

## How do I reset my password?

To reset your password, head on to your programs portal and click on **Log in** on the top right hand side. Click on **Reset Password** under **Social Login.** Enter the e-mail address associated to your account and then click on **Send me the link.** You will receive a password reset link in your e-mail. Click the link in your e-mail to reset your password.

---

## I'm unable to sign up for my program

Please reach out to your program administrator if you're not able to sign up for your program.

---

**How can I add my session to my personal calendar?**

Once a session is booked, you can add it to your personal calendar (iCal, Google Cal, Outlook, Yahoo). From your **Sessions** tab, click on **(+calendar)** and then select your personal calendar provider. You can also add the session to your calendar from your confirmation e-mail.

![](/images/help/articles/faq-personal-dashboard-3.jpg)

---

## **What should I do if I can't attend a session and have to cancel?**

As soon as you know you're unable to attend a session that's been booked, you can cancel by going to the **Sessions** tab and then click on the three dots of the session you'd like to cancel. You can also cancel the session from the **Calendar** tab. Find the session date and time then click on the session. Click on the **circled x**, select a reason for cancelling and then click on **confirm**.

![](/images/help/articles/faq-personal-dashboard-4.mp4)

---

# **Mentees**

## How do I find a mentor?

_It's important to know that your program may have matched you with a mentor, or you may have to find a mentor on your own._

**A. Matched with a Mentor**

If you have the **Matches** tab on your Personal Dashboard, that means your program will be matching you with a mentor.

You can view your matches by going to the **Matches** tab - you'll see each match (you might have more than one!). From here, you can view their profile and book a session by clicking on the match.

![](/images/help/articles/faq-personal-dashboard-5.jpg)

If you have the **Matches** tab and have not been matched, you can contact your program administrator.

**B. Browsing for Mentors**

If you don't have the **Matches** tab, no worries! That just means your program has enabled you to browse for a mentor, so you can choose who interests you the most.

From your Personal Dashboard, click on **Mentors** at the top of your screen. You'll be brought to your portal that features all the available mentors that you can book with. You can search for a specific mentor or keyword, filter by sector/industry and areas of expertise - or you can just browse all!

Once you've found a mentor who interests you, click on **View Profile** to learn more about them and/or book a session.

![](/images/help/articles/faq-personal-dashboard-6.jpg)

## Can I meet with the same mentor more than once?

Yes, as long as the mentor accepts the session.

## Do I need to fill out my profile?

Filling out your profile is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended! Your profile will be visible to your mentor(s), so it's a great way for your mentor to learn more about you before your session.

---

# **Mentors**

## As a mentor, will I get double-booked?

No. Once you’ve been booked from your available time slots, that time slot is removed from your calendar to prevent any other mentee booking with you at that time.

## Do I have to accept sessions?

Yes, sessions are not automatically confirmed. Even if it's an availability that's been booked by the mentee, the session is not automatically accepted. To accept a booking, head over to your **sessions** tab, and click on **Accept** or **Decline**.

![](/images/help/articles/faq-personal-dashboard-7.png)


Frequently Asked Questions about your personal dashboard

FAQ Personal Dashboard


You're ready to book with a mentor and start getting mentorship - but where to begin? Consider this list of helpful questions or conversations to help guide your first and subsequent sessions with your mentor.

![](/images/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-questions-1.png)

- Tell me about yourself and your professional journey.

- What are your areas of expertise and which subjects would you like to avoid discussing during our sessions?

- As my mentor, what expectations do you have of me, of our sessions together?

- How often would you be available to mentor?

- Based on what I've told you about my work, do you see any weaknesses or potential problems?

- Do you have feedback on my work?

- What important lessons have you learned along your professional path that can help me potentially avoid the same mistakes and obstacles?

- What are the realities of my market, positive and negative, that I should be aware of?

- Do you have insecurities? If so, how do you keep them at bay?

- When I'm negotiating with a supplier or potential client, what should I keep in mind?

- When you're in a conflict with someone, what do you find is the best way to resolve the situation to mitigate discomfort and potential setbacks?

- Which resources do you recommend I look into?

- Do you have feedback regarding our session together?

- Can I send you files or notes along the way to prepare our next sessions together?

- What's your next availability?

![](/images/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-questions-2.png)

# More mentorship resources:

Learn how to [make the most out of mentorship](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship).


Here are some helpful questions or conversation prompts to help you establish a good connection with your mentor!

Conversation prompts and questions


Once you've booked a session with a specific mentor, you'll both need a roadmap to make the most of your time together.

While an agenda may seem like overkill, it's a great way to clearly communicate what you need from your mentor, making sure to get all of your important points across.

![](/images/help/articles/setting-an-agenda-for-your-session-1.png)

1.  [Introduction](#1-introductions-10-minintroduce-yourself-your-work-and-what-you-hope-to-gain-out-of-your-sessions-with-your-mentor-allow-your-mentor-to-do-the-same-so-that-you-can-make-the-most-of-their-expertise)

2.  [Longterm objective and session objective](#2-longterm-objective-and-session-objective-5-minshare-your-longterm-objective-along-with-a-few-short-term-goals-and-explore-the-best-session-structure-to-help-you-reach-them)

3.  [Current situation check-in](#3-current-situation-check-in-5-min)

4.  [Problems and/or fears](#4-problems-andor-fears-10-min)

5.  [Previous efforts/trials](#5-previous-effortstrials-10-min)

6.  [Questions](#6-questions-15-mintime-to-think-more-broadly-this-is-your-chance-to-expand-on-your-initial-questions-andor-pain-points-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-mentors-expertise)

7.  [Homework and scheduling a follow-up session](#7-homework-and-scheduling-a-follow-up-session-5-min)

# 60-Min Session Agenda Outline

## 1\. Introductions (10 min)

Introduce yourself, your work and what you hope to gain out of your session(s) with your mentor. Allow your mentor to do the same so that you can make the most of their expertise.

Question for Mentors:

- Tell me about yourself and your professional journey

- What are your areas of expertise and which subjects would you like to avoid discussing during our sessions?

---

## 2\. Longterm objective and session objective (5 min)

**Share your longterm objective along with a few short term goals and explore the best session structure to help you reach them.**

- As my mentor, what expectations do you have of me, of our sessions together?

- How often would you be available to mentor?

---

## 3\. Current situation check-in (5 min)

## Start with getting a sense of the impression your mentor has of your work and goals to see if you're both on the same page.

- Do you have feedback on my work or my expectations?

- What do you think we should tackle first?

- Do you see any weaknesses or potential problems?

---

## 4\. Problems and/or fears (10 min)

## Tackle the areas that are most difficult for you right now and explore ways to overcome them with your mentor.

- What do you see as most urgent and requiring immediate attention?

- What important lessons have you learned along your professional path that can help me potentially avoid the same mistakes and obstacles?

- Do you have insecurities? If so, how do you keep them at bay?

---

## 5\. Previous efforts/trials (10 min)

## Describe the steps you've taken to move your work forward and mitigate the challenge(s) you have faced.

- Here's what I've tried in the past and their outcomes

- Here's what I've done so far and the current status

---

## 6\. Questions (15 min)

Time to think more broadly! This is your chance to expand on your initial questions and/or pain points to get the most out of your mentor(s) expertise.

- What are the realities of my market, positive and negative, that I should be aware of?

- When I'm negotiating with a supplier or potential client, what should I keep in mind?

- When you're in a conflict with someone, what do you find is the best way to resolve the situation to mitigate discomfort and potential setbacks?

---

## 7\. Homework and scheduling a follow-up session (5 min)

## Time to wrap up! Show gratitude, plan your work and clarify communication expectations over the following weeks.

- Which resources do you recommend I look into?

- Do you have feedback regarding our session together?

- Can I send you files or notes along the way to prepare our next sessions together?

- What is your next availability?

You can include this agenda upon booking and/or share it via **Messaging** once you've booked your session.

Not only will you feel more prepared for your video call, but your mentor will greatly appreciate the time and consideration you put into clarifying your needs, which will only help them help you more 😀 !

![](/images/help/articles/setting-an-agenda-for-your-session-2.png)

# More resources for mentorship:

Check out more [conversation prompts and questions](/en/help/articles/conversation-prompts-and-questions) for your mentor.


How to prepare as a mentee so you get the most out of each mentoring session.

Setting an agenda for your session


Don't worry, we're not letting the month of May end before letting you in our best secret for engagement!

Mentorly has hosted a number of mentorship programs, and we've learned a thing or two about what works - and what doesn't work.

This month is all about flexible mentorship, setting goals, and knowing why Mentorly is the best fit for mentorship.

![](/images/help/articles/the-secret-to-flexible-mentorship-1.png)

# **Flexible mentorship is best**

On Mentorly, there are two ways for sessions to be booked: from activated matches or general browsing, and each of these ways have their own benefits and limitations.

When mentees are only offered the option to book via general browsing on the Mentors page, it offers them the most flexibility and choice in who they get to meet with. However, depending on the size of the program, this can be very overwhelming for a mentee as too many choices or options make it difficult to focus.

![](/images/help/articles/the-secret-to-flexible-mentorship-2.png)

When mentees are matched with a mentor, it allows for a more direct and immediate connection, while at the same time restricting their access to more mentorship opportunities.

**By having a flexible program that offers both matches and general browsing, you get the best of both worlds!** Matches will guide the mentee on who their most compatible mentor may be, while general browsing still gives them the freedom to book with whoever they want.

If you’re interested in enabling matching for your program, here are the following steps you’ll need to take:

1.  Work with your MSA or the Mentorly Support Team to set up a matching questionnaire.
    This matching questionnaire will determine the best compatible matches in your program. Any customization options are determined by your program’s Mentorly Plan.
    **Estimated time:** 10-15 minutes to review and finalize.

2.  Allow program members to fill out the questionnaire.
    **Estimated time:** roughly 1-2 weeks (suggested).

3.  Review and activate matches based on compatibility scores.
    **Estimated time:** For smaller-sized programs, this can be 5-10 minutes, and for larger-sized programs, this can be 15-30 minutes or more.

![](/images/help/articles/the-secret-to-flexible-mentorship-3.jpg)

If you want to have general browsing enabled for your program, all it takes is two quick and easy steps!

1.  Go to your Members tab and view by Mentors.

2.  Select all mentors and from the dropdown menu, select 'Approve all mentors'
    **Estimated time:** 1-3 minutes.

![](/images/help/articles/the-secret-to-flexible-mentorship-4.jpg)

When a mentor is **approved**, it means they're approved to have a public profile on the Mentors page. However, it's important to note that a mentor must be fully **onboarded** (profile complete and matching questionnaire complete) in order to be visible.

## A Success Story 🌠

One of the programs hosted on Mentorly was operating under an ‘general browsing’ system for 9 months out of the year.

Wanting to boost the number of sessions being held in the program, the program manager opted to enable matching. Since doing so, they’ve seen their session numbers grow by 100% and still counting! 🙌

Want to learn more about Smart Matching before choosing it for your program? Check out [this article](/en/help/articles/smart-matching).

![](/images/help/articles/the-secret-to-flexible-mentorship-5.png)

# **Set your goals! 🚦**

At Mentorly, we love goals: it's what helps us stay on track and the best way to gauge our progress. We're not talking one big goal either - we're talking baby steps! We know that the best way to accomplish one big goal is to break it up into small, more achievable goals.

Your mentorship program is no different! If you're hoping to increase your program's engagement, we recommend setting monthly goals.

Your goals should be aligned with the needs of your mentorship program - consider focusing on total number of sessions: aim high and double the count, or aim for consistency (it's key!).

Need help in setting goals for your program? Talk with your MSA or reach out to Mentorly's support team to find one that suits your needs.

![](/images/help/articles/the-secret-to-flexible-mentorship-6.png)

# **Mentorly: The best fit for mentorship**

We have everything you need for mentorship, all in one place! Find out why Mentorly is integral to a mentorship experience.

[Learn more](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship)

Beginning this month, our Customer Success team is excited to start sharing our best tips and advice about mentorship for mentors and mentees!

Once a month we'll share our mentorship expertise about how to set up an agenda for a session, what are the best questions to ask, general tips - and of course, reminders for members to book sessions.

![](/images/help/articles/the-secret-to-flexible-mentorship-7.png)

Want to talk more engagement strategies for your program? Check out [last month's](/en/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions) engagement tips or contact your MSA to set up a meeting! We're here for your success.


Flexible mentorship: matching and general browsing, setting goals and why Mentorly is the best fit for Mentorship.

The Secret to Flexible Mentorship


Spring is in full swing and with summer right around the corner, the Customer Success team is excited to launch our very first edition of our new monthly newsletter! 🎉

Every month, we'll deliver our best tips and tricks for boosting or maintaining engagement with your programs - all designed for you and your program members to get the most out of Mentorly!

![](/images/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions-1.mp4)

## **Feature your mentors! 🤩**

The mentors of any program are the true key of success - their experience, knowledge and guidance are what mentees are most often looking for in mentorship.

When a program is ‘a la carte’, it can be easy for mentors to get lost in the crowd, and even easier for mentees to miss opportunities with a mentor that might be a perfect fit.

Your program’s landing page offers a great opportunity to showcase mentors of your program, and allows mentees to find mentors more quickly. The best part is that you can choose who to feature on your landing page - and you can change this at any time!

![](/images/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions-2.jpg)

Here are the quick and easy steps to feature mentors on your landing page - this should take just a few minutes!

1.  From the Program Dashboard, go to your Members tab.

2.  Select the mentor you want to feature.

3.  Scroll down, check the box that says ‘Featured’, and hit save!

![](/images/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions-3.jpg)

Good to know: You can feature up to 8 mentors at a time.

Learn more about [inviting members](/en/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program) to your program.

![](/images/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions-4.png)

## **The more the merrier! 🙌**

Whether you’re launching a new program, discussing a common topic or breaking the ice, sometimes multi-people sessions are the way to go - and Mentorly has your back!

As Program Managers, you have the ability to create **Masterclasses** or **Group Sessions** in your program.

**What’s the difference?**

A **Masterclass** is a mentor-led presentation about a given topic. The session is public, meaning anyone who is a member of the program can reserve a spot.

**Group sessions** are multi-person sessions sharing a discussion about a given topic. These sessions are private, therefore only those invited to the group session are able to join the video call.

![](/images/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions-5.png)

## **🧐 Which session type is best?**

Masterclasses are a great way to spotlight a specific mentor, capitalize on a mentor’s limited available time and get more mentees engaged at once.

Group sessions are a perfect opportunity to offer peer-to-peer mentorship or organize ice-breaker conversations.

**Creating a group session:**

![](/images/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions-6.png)

It takes only two minutes to create either a Masterclass or Group Session as a program manager - here’s how:

1.  From your Program Dashboard, go to your Sessions tab.

2.  Click on ‘Create a Session’

3.  Choose between either Masterclass or Group session, and fill out the details of title, the host of the session, description, and date and time, and invite participants.

Once the session is created, all participants will receive an email to notify them, and it will appear on their sessions tab.

Whether you choose to create Masterclasses or Group Sessions, both types of sessions offer a chance to program members to meet in a group setting - creating connections and alleviating the possible anxiety of 1:1 mentorship with someone they’re less familiar with.

Want to learn more about Masterclasses or Group Sessions? Check out our article about [Managing your program.](/en/help/articles/managing-your-program)

![](/images/help/articles/featuring-mentors-and-setting-up-masterclasses-or-group-sessions-7.png)

Want to talk more engagement strategies for your program? Contact your MSA to set up a meeting! We're here for your success.


A Guide to Maximizing Mentorly's Potential!

Featuring mentors and setting up masterclasses or group sessions.


While managing your program, you're likely familiar with creating new conversations. These messages become an ongoing thread sent to all members in the conversation, and each member can reply in this thread - which is great for group discussions!

We're introducing a new feature, called **announcements**, which allows Program Managers to send read-only messages to a group of users.

This is a great way to keep your members engaged in the program, offer mentorship tips or session-conversation prompts. You can send attachments or any resource material you may have for your program, too!

---

1.  [Here's how to send an announcement](#heres-how-to-send-an-announcement)

2.  [Selecting recipients](#selecting-recipients)

3.  [Sending an announcement](#sending-an-announcement)

---

## Here's how to send an announcement:

Go to your **Messaging** tab from the Program Dashboard and click on the pencil icon.

This will open the new message screen, where you can choose between a new conversation or a new announcement.

![](/images/help/articles/announcements-1.jpg)

By selecting a new announcement, if a member chooses to reply, their message will only be sent to and seen by you, the program manager.

## Selecting recipients:

Choosing your group of members to start a conversation or send an announcement to just got a lot easier.

You can either choose to individually enter each member's name in the 'To:' field, or filter and bulk-select from the Members tab.

![](/images/help/articles/announcements-2.png)

From the members tab, you're able to sort and combine filters by each mentor/mentee, cohorts, tags, status and more.

![](/images/help/articles/announcements-3.png)

You can also use the checkboxes to select certain individuals from a given group of results. This way, you can easily curate the list of members that you need to communicate with.

Once you've selected your targeted audience, click on the drop-down menu of the number of selected members, and click 'send new message'.

![](/images/help/articles/announcements-4.jpg)

## Sending an announcement:

Choose between a new conversation or new announcement, compose your message and hit enter to send!

![](/images/help/articles/announcements-5.png)

**Good to know:** You can change the title of the announcement at anytime, by clicking on the pencil icon beside the title.

**Good to know:** You can check the list of recipients by clicking on the cluster of icons in the top right corner of the message.

---

# Have any questions or need any assistance?

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

If you have a designated MSA, simply reach out to them via email with any questions or concerns you may have.

If you do not have an MSA, contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Introducing 'Announcements', a new way to communicate with the members of your program!

Announcements


## Sync Calendar from your dashboard

By following these steps:

1.  Click on “Settings” in the bottom left-hand corner of their Mentorly dashboard.

2.  Click on "Connections" in the newly appeared menu located on the left-hand side, then click on "Add calendar account"

3.  Choose the calendar provider and follow the prompts to authorize the connection.

4.  Once authenticated, determine which of your calendars you'd like Mentorly to sync with by selecting your preference in the "Sync to this calendar:" dropdown menu.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-sync-your-calendar-and-choose-your-meeting-location-1.jpg)

### _🔎 Now you can **decide where you want to host your sessions**:_

_Directly on Mentorly or through your calendar provider. You can specify this in the **"Host your meetings on"** section, choosing either **"Mentorly" or "Your calendar provider"**._

---

## Verify your Calendar tab on Mentorly

To verify that your external calendar has been synced, head over to your **Calendar** tab to see your available times.

It will pull all of the free times from your calendar, and once a mentee books with you (and you approve) it will **automatically add the session to your calendar.**

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-sync-your-calendar-and-choose-your-meeting-location-2.png)

---

---

## Logging sessions you scheduled on your own calendar

If you and your mentor or mentee set up a session in your own calendar (Outlook, Google, and so on), Mentorly can log it for you automatically once your calendar is connected. You do not need to add it in Mentorly by hand.

For this to work, the calendar invite needs to be just between the two of you:

- A one-on-one invite between you and your mentor (or mentee) is logged as a session.
- A meeting that also includes other people, like a team or company meeting, is not logged. Neither is a personal time block with no one else on it. Those are not mentorship sessions.
- Only one of you needs a connected calendar for the session to be logged.

As long as the invite is between the two of you, the session shows up in Mentorly on its own.

---

## **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Here's how to connect your external calendar, and choose where to host your session.

How to Sync Your Calendar and Choose Your Meeting Location


Matching is at the heart of your program, as it's where you can match mentors and mentees. Smart matching helps you create direct connections for your members to easily provide and access mentorship!

By default, matching is enabled for every program.

1.  [What types of matching does Mentorly offer?](#what-types-of-matching-does-mentorly-offer)

2.  [How to prepare](#how-to-prepare)

3.  [Ready, set match!](#ready-set-match)

4.  [Creating matches](#creating-matches)

5.  [Removing matches](#removing-matches)

6.  [A mentors/mentees perspective](#a-mentormentees-perspective)

---

# What types of matching does Mentorly offer?

Mentorly generates compatibility scores between mentors and mentees based on their answers to our program Matching questions.When designing their program, Program Managers can choose between two types of matching:

**Automatic matching** allows the Program Manager to automatically generate several matches at once with the click of a button by pairing up mentors and mentees with the highest compatibility scores.

**Manual matching** allows for the Program Manager to create specific matches one at a time, regardless of a compatibility score.

Before inviting members to your program, be sure to review the Matching Questions, as they provide the data that feeds Mentorly's matching algorithm.

⭐ Only **Enterprise** programs allow for new questions to be added to the algorithm, and **Pro** programs can add questions, however **Teams** programs can only remove questions or modify possible answers. Please reach out to your MSA or Mentorly support team for any modifications.

---

# Ready, set, match!

When you're ready to start matching members of your program, head on over to your **Matching** tab in your program dashboard. For best results, we strongly recommend you start matching when the majority of your mentors and mentees are onboarded, as this means they will have completed their matching questionnaire.

You can check on the status of your members by verifying the **User Progress** chart on the **Home** tab.

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-1.png)

The Matching tab is very easy to navigate. For easy viewing, you can sort the first column by either mentors or mentees, and the second column is where you can create matches or view current ones.

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-2.mp4)

---

# Creating matches

To manually create a Match, select the mentor or mentee that you'd like to create a match for and click on 'add mentee/mentor'.

You can choose from a list of the top suggestions based on compatibility, or search for a specific user. Once selected, hit "Draft 1 Match". When you're ready to activate, simply press the activate button in the purple banner at the top! It’s that simple.

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-3.mp4)

To automatically generate multiple matches based on compatibility scores, simply click on the Automatic Matching button in the top right-hand corner of the Matching page.

You will then need to select the number of matches allowed per mentor/mentee. Once done, you will be notified that Matching is running. The more users in your program, the longer it will take for matching to be completed.

Once complete, the page will automatically refresh and you will now have multiple drafted matches that you can choose to activate whenever you're ready.

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-4.mp4)

All drafts are indicated by a pencil icon in place of the user's profile picture.

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-5.png)

Activating a Match triggers a notification email for both the Mentor and Mentee, introducing them and giving them access to their full profile.

An activated Match enables Mentor & Mentee to communicate with each other via Mentorly's messaging tool, and mentees will be able to book with their mentor.

**Want to review a mentor's or mentee's answers to their program questions?** Head over to the Members tab, type in their name, and go to the Program Questions tab.

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-6.jpg)

---

# Removing matches

At any point in the program, you can always **deactivate** any matches.

To do so, just click on the row of the selected mentor/mentee that you want to deactivate matches for and the list of their matches will appear.

Select the matches to delete by clicking on the minus sign - you can select more than one - then click **delete match(es)** in the upper right corner.

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-7.jpg)

When a match is deleted, neither the mentor or the mentee will see it appear in their Matches tab. If you delete an activated match, it will remain visible with a stop sign, indicating the Match was deactivated. Check the Last Updated column to see the Start and End date of every Match.

---

# Matching insights:

Once a match has been activated, you can view and compare the answers of a match to see what they have in common that generated their compatibility score.

**Here's how:**

1\. Click on the **Matching tab** from your Program Dashboard.

2\. Filter by Status: Matched

3\. Select a row by clicking on the drop down arrow beside the mentor or mentee's name.

4\. Click on the ℹ️ beside the compatibility score (%).

![](/images/help/articles/smart-matching-8.jpg)

5\. Review both the mentor's and mentee's responses: You'll see green check marks for the answers they share in common.

---

# A mentor/mentee's perspective

Members will have a **Matches** tab that will appear on their personal dashboard, and they will have access to the matching questions during the onboarding process.

For more information on the mentor or mentee's experience, check out [this article](/en/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session) that outlines each step on how to explore their Matches.


Here's everything you need to know about Mentorly's smart matching!

Smart Matching


Once your members have either been invited or signed up, it's time to start looking at ways you can manage your program while it's ongoing.

---

# **Matching:**

When you're ready to start matching members of your program, head on over to your **Matching** tab in your program dashboard and [click here for more information](/en/help/articles/smart-matching) on how to use Smart Matching.

---

# **Sessions:**

Whether your members have been matched up or you're allowing them to book 'a la carte', let the sessions begin!

To generate enthusiasm, we recommend communicating to your program members when sessions are set to begin.

As a Program Manager, you can track all sessions that are taking place in your program, via a calendar overview on your **Sessions** tab.

![](/images/help/articles/managing-your-program-1.png)

The types of sessions are colour-coded:

- Yellow: 1:1 sessions between a mentee and mentor

- Green: Masterclasses hosted by a mentor

- Purple: Private group sessions

## **Create a session:**

As a program manager, you have the ability to create either a private group session or public masterclass for your members.

![](/images/help/articles/managing-your-program-2.png)

By clicking the **create a session** button, it will prompt you to select a group session or masterclass, then fill out the form. Once saved, invited members will receive an email notification.

---

# **Tracking Engagement & People Analytics:**

Once sessions are underway, you can track Program Engagement as well as participant sentiment, mentee goals, conversation themes, skill gaps, and growth opportunities in the [Intelligence](/en/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program) tab.

![](/images/help/articles/managing-your-program-3.png)

There are various different ways of determining engagement levels: mentee adoption rate, repeated sessions per mentor, session reviews and sentiment, or monthly sessions overview. Find what works for you and your program's needs!

**Noticing low engagement?** No worries, there are a lot of different strategies that you can take to help boost these levels.

If you have an MSA, reach out to them for an engagement strategy call. If you don't have an MSA, reach out to Mentorly's support team for some friendly advice and tips. We're here for your success!

---

# **Ratings and Reviews:**

When participants have completed a session in Mentorly, they're prompted with a Ratings and Reviews survey at the end of their call. While these reviews are not shared with the other mentor/mentee being reviewed, Program Managers have full access.

![](/images/help/articles/managing-your-program-4.png)

As long as Mentors and mentees synced their calendar with Mentorly, they can leave a review no matter where or how their session took place—in Mentorly, other virtual means or in person. We're meeting them where they are, so sharing feedback fits into their flow, not the other way around.

![](/images/help/articles/managing-your-program-5.png)

To view, just head over to your **Home** tab and scroll down to **view more** on Ratings & Reviews. You can view an in-dept sentiment analysis of all accumulated reviews in the Engagement section of the [Intelligence](/en/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program) tab.

At first glance, you'll see an overview of total reviews and average rating at the top of the page. You can also filter reviews by rating, user name/email, or content, and sort them by date or name.

![](/images/help/articles/managing-your-program-6.png)

Mentorly's **satisfaction rating** reflects user contentment with their mentoring program. It's a crucial metric indicating your program's success facilitating meaningful connections and delivering value. A high rating boosts reputation, attracts more users, and fosters growth.

---

# **What's next?**

If you're thinking about expanding your program, reach out to your MSA or Mentorly's support team for assistance!

---

# **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

If you have a designated MSA, simply reach out to them via email with any questions or concerns you may have.

If you do not have an MSA, contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Here's how to manage your program once members have been onboarded.

Managing your program


1.  [How to invite members to your program](#how-to-invite-members-to-your-program)

2.  [General Sign up](#general-sign-up)

3.  [Know your limits](#know-your-limits)

4.  [Onboarding progress chart](#onboarding-progress-chart)

5.  [Mentors page](#mentors-page)

6.  [Cohorts and tags](#cohorts-and-tags)

After setting up your program, it's time to start inviting members.

Mentorly gives you the key tools to add members to your program and how to best manage their onboarding process.

⭐ For **all** plans with an MSA, we offer a one-hour live demo that helps introduce the platform to your members. Alternatively, we can provide a demo recording instead. Speak with your MSA or Mentorly Support Team to find what works best for you.

Let's begin! 🎉

---

# **How to invite members to your program**

There are two ways you can invite or recruit members to your program.

## **Manually upload:**

This method is ideal if you already have a set list of members you want to have in your mentorship program. You can either add a new member individually, or multiples at a time.

Head over to the **Members** tab of your Program Dashboard.

## **To add a new member individually:**

Click the + button, enter their name and email. If the member is a mentor, just click the box that says 'Mentor'. Hit save, and send them an invitation email, where they can sign up and start filling out their profile.

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-1.jpg)

## **Adding multiple members at once:**

From the **Members** tab, click the upload icon (beside the + button). The instructions will prompt you to download our [CSV template](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OCxDr8DeKbLHjXK5ajrGghLPFb1mS05bJzaaVxlgSgg/edit?gid=1043438006#gid=1043438006) so you can import multiple users at once.

The mandatory information required for the CSV upload is the member's name, email and if they are a mentor. Once the template has been filled out, you can import it.

If your program is using tags, you can include the tag in this template as well - however, it's important that the tag is created _before_ you upload this list.

After importing the list of members, you'll see (on your Members tab) a notice that you have users pending an invitation. Simply click **send invitation emails** and you're good to go!

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-2.png)

**Good to know:** By manually uploading your users (either individually or multi-upload), mentors are automatically approved, which means they will be featured on your program's Mentors page once they've completed onboarding. For more information on what this means, continue reading this article!

# **General sign up:**

If you're not sure who you want to take part in your program and want to allow for general sign up, then the good news is that you can!

Anyone visiting your program's landing page will have the option to sign up themselves, either as a mentee or a mentor. Once they sign up, they'll be prompted to follow the onboarding steps - the same as when members are specifically invited.

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-3.mp4)

**Good to know:** With general sign up, mentors will need to be approved by the Program Manager in order to be visible on the Mentors page. More information about this is provided below!

**Good to know:** The general sign up page is always available on your landing page to visitors. Please speak with your MSA or Mentorly support team to see about removing it if need be.

---

# **Know your limits:**

The amount of members you're able to have in your program is designated by the plan you've purchased with Mentorly.

**Teams:** Up to 100 users

**Pro:** 100 - 500 users

**Enterprise:** 500 + users

If you have any questions surrounding your user limits, please don't hesitate to reach out to your dedicated MSA or Mentorly's support team.

---

# **Onboarding progress chart:**

Once your members have started signing up, you can track their onboarding progress via the **Home** tab with the **Onboarding Progress** chart.

Each of these statuses can be considered as steps in a user's mentorship journey in your program. In order to be booked, mentors and mentees must have been invited, signed up and completed their onboarding (fulfilling their profile requirements and answering the matching questionnaire).

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-4.png)

**Good to know:** Your program may not require mentors and mentees to be matched, and that's okay! You can simply disregard that progress bar if this is the case.

**Good to know:** These progress statuses are also featured on the Members tab, where you can filter by status.

**Good to know:** These progress statuses are visible to Program Managers only, so members won't be able to see what progress status they are at.

---

# **Mentors page:**

Along with a landing page, your program also has a **Mentors** page that is accessible at the top of every member's Personal Dashboard.

This **Mentors** page is designed to not only display mentors available in your program, but allow mentees and other mentors to browse the available mentors.

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-5.jpg)

As a program manager, you have control over how this page is viewed by the members in your program.

If your program is using matching, and you only want your members to meet with their specific matches, then you may not want mentors to appear on this page.

In order to appear on this page, a Mentor's profile must be marked as **Approved.** There are two ways this happens:

- When a mentor is manually uploaded by a Program Manager, they are automatically marked as **Approved.**

- When a mentor signs up themselves, they will not be marked as **Approved**. To do so, you will need to access the mentor's profile via the Members tab, scroll down and click **Approved**.

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-6.jpg)

**Good to know:** If they are marked as **approved**, a mentor must be at the Onboarded status in order to be visible on the Mentors page.

**Good to know:** You can also choose to **Feature** mentors. This means they will appear on the landing page of the program itself. This is a great way to showcase a specific group of mentors.

---

# **Cohorts and Tags**

You may choose to either group or track your members in specific ways, and that's where cohorts and tags come in! Cohorts and Tags can co-exist, and here's how each individually function.

# **Cohorts:**

By its design, a cohort is a private group of members. When in a cohort, a mentee or mentor will only be able to view other mentors of the same cohort on the **Mentors** page.

Cohorts have a reporting functionality - this means that the **Reporting > Activity** tab will break down data per cohort. This is great if you want to compare the amount of sign-ups or sessions per cohort.

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-7.png)

⭐ If your program is on **Teams**, you are limited to only 5 cohorts at one time. For **Pro** and **Enterprise** plans, you are able to have an unlimited amount of cohorts.

**Good to know:** A member can only be part of one cohort at a time.

**Good to know:** A member won't know what cohort they are a part of - this is visible only to the Program Manager.

## To create a cohort:

Head over to your **Members** tab and click **Cohorts**. Click on the + button, name your cohort, and you're done!

To add members, go to your **Members** tab and search for the member you want to be part of the cohort. You can assign the member a cohort at the bottom of their Info tab of their profile.

# **Tags:**

Tags can serve a few different functions for your program. You can use them to label certain members or restrict who they have access to within the program.

While tags don't have a reporting function like cohorts do, members can be part of as many tags as needed.

You have two options when creating a tag: public and filtering.

**Public:** By making a tag public, this means the name of the tag will appear on the mentor or mentee's profile. This is helpful for when you want to showcase certain members as part of a certain group.

By not making the tag public, you keep this categorization private and the member who is tagged will not know they have this tag.

**Filtering:** When a tag is filtering, this means you are limiting all those within the tagged group to only see those with the same tag.

If you choose not to filter the tag, it means a member will be part of the tagged group but still have access to those outside of that tag.

## To create a tag:

Head to your **Members** tab and click on **Tag groups.** Click on **+ Create Tag Group,** enter a name and choose if it should be public and/or filtering, and you're done! Once the tag is created, you can easily add members right away by searching for their name.

![](/images/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program-8.jpg)

---

# **What's next?**

Check out how to best [manage your program](/en/help/articles/managing-your-program) once members start engaging in the platform.

---

# **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

If you have a designated MSA, simply reach out to them via email with any questions or concerns you may have.

If you do not have an MSA, contact the Mentorly support team by going to the Help tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking Go to Live Chat.


The key to a successful program? It's all about the members!

Inviting members to your program


Mentorly offers a wide variety of ways in which you can customize your mentorship program to suit the needs of your mentors and mentees. Before inviting members, be sure to complete all the crucial and key steps in setting up your program.

**Good to know:** This article will guide you through all the steps needed, but as always, please reach out to your dedicated MSA for assistance or contact Mentorly's support team if you have any questions!

# **Let's get started!** 🎉

---

1.  [Designing your portal](#designing-your-portal)

2.  [URL](#url)

3.  [Disciplines and Sub-disciplines](#sectorsindustries)

4.  [Transactional Emails](#transactional-emails)

5.  [Making decisions for your program](#making-decisions-for-your-program)

6.  [Matching type](#matching-type)

7.  [Allowed session types](#allowed-session-types)

8.  [Length of sessions](#length-of-sessions)

9.  [Max sessions](#max-sessions)

---

# **Designing your portal:**

From your Program Dashboard, head on over to the **Program** tab - this is where all design decisions for your portal will take place.

It's important to customize your portal to represent your mentorship program and your company's branding or style guide.

![](/images/help/articles/setting-up-your-program-1.mp4)

Consider the following when designing your portal:

- Include a solid description that includes any motives or goals behind the mentorship program

- Customize the colours according to your company's branding or style guide

- Upload program images and partner logos

**Good to know:** The text fields under the Program tab are HTML-friendly.

**Good to know:** You can click on **View website** at the top-right of your Program Dashboard any time to see what your portal looks like.

---

# **URL**

The URL for your portal will be your program-name.mentorly.co

⭐ **For Enterprise programs:** If you're a white-label Enterprise, you're able to create a custom URL without Mentorly's domain. Please let your MSA know what URL you would like for your program and we'll take it from there!

If you're on the **Teams** or **Pro** plan, talk to your MSA or Mentorly sales rep to find out how to have a custom URL.

---

# **Sectors/Industries**

Sectors/industries and areas of expertise are a series of options from which a mentor and mentee can choose from when creating their profiles. Each sector/industry added should have related Areas of Expertise, which means these fields have a parent-child relationship.

This list can be customized to best represent the demographic of your program.

You can create your list of sectors/industries by going to the program tab and clicking on the sectors/industries section.

![](/images/help/articles/setting-up-your-program-2.jpg)

**Good to know**: Once members begin filling out their profile, it's strongly recommended not to modify the sectors/industries, as it affects members' profiles.

---

# **Transactional Emails**

Throughout the program, your members will be notified via email for things like new messages and session requests.

By default, these transactional emails have Mentorly's branding in the header and the footer, however this will be customized by Mentorly's CS team to suit your program's style guide.

⭐ **For Enterprise programs:** If you're on the Enterprise plan, then the text of each transactional email is also customizable. Ask your MSA for a copy of all transactional emails and let us know what changes you would like to make.

If you're on the **Teams** or **Pro** plan, talk to your MSA or Mentorly sales rep to find out how to have customizable email content.

---

# **Making decisions for your program**

There are a few pre-program key decisions to make to shape your program according to your needs.

Head over to your **Program** tab and scroll down to the bottom.

![](/images/help/articles/setting-up-your-program-3.mp4)

# **Matching type**

You have the choice between leveraging matching for your program, or only allowing for a more 'à la carte' style.

**À la carte** is the most flexible option for the members of your program. It allows mentees and mentors to book sessions with any mentor they would like in the program.

**Smart matching** generates compatibility scores between each mentee and each mentor. This gives you a wide variety of matches to review and activate.

**Manual matching** allows for the Program Manager to create specific matches, regardless of a compatibility score.

**By default, smart matching is enabled for all new programs.** This means, all members will need to fill out their matching questionnaire during onboarding.

Your MSA or Mentorly Support Team will include the matching questionnaire for review in your pre-program set up steps.

⭐ **Pro** and **Enterprise** programs allow for new questions to be added to the matching questionnaire, however **Teams** programs can only remove questions or modify possible answers. Please reach out to your MSA or Mentorly support team for any modifications.

# **Allowed session types**

**Group sessions** are when mentees book a session with a mentor, where they can invite others to the session. These are private sessions where only the invited guests can join the session.

![](/images/help/articles/setting-up-your-program-4.png)

**Masterclasses** allow mentors to create/host a group session in which they are the host and lead the discussion or presentation. These are public and featured events, which anyone in the program can attend.

# **Length of sessions:**

You can choose whether your members can meet for 30-minute sessions, 60-minute sessions, or both.

# **Max sessions**

If you want to limit the amount of sessions a user can book or the amount of sessions a mentor, you can specify the amount for each.

---

# **What's next?**

Once your program has been set up, it's time to [start inviting members](/en/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program).

---

# **Have questions or need assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

If you have a designated MSA, simply reach out to them via email with any questions or concerns you may have.

If you do not have an MSA, contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


These are the crucial steps and details to complete before onboarding members to your program.

Setting up your program


At Mentorly, we're committed to providing a platform where mentorship can flourish. The first step to getting the best of our platform is to make sure you're using a browser that's supported by our website.

For your best experience using Mentorly, we recommend using the latest version of Chrome, Safari or Firefox.

**Good to know:** We currently do not support Beta or Test versions of browsers.

**Are you using a personal computer and need to update your browser?** Here's how to get the latest version of the following:

[Chrome](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop)

[Safari](https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-update-safari-browser-on-mac)

[Firefox](https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/update-firefox-latest-release)

**Are you using a work computer and need to update your browser?** Contact your company's IT department for assistance.

---

# Need help?

Mentorly prides itself on its highly responsive customer service and technical support - **our support team is available Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm EST**.

Simply click on the **Help** tab on the bottom left of your personal dashboard, and reach out to us on Intercom by clicking on '**live chat**', or contact us at [support@mentorly.co](mailto:support@mentorly.co). We'll be happy to help!

![](/images/help/articles/what-browsers-are-supported-by-mentorly-1.png)


Make sure you're connected with the right tools.

What browsers are supported by Mentorly?


---

1.  [Permission settings](#permission-settings)

2.  [Browser](#browser)

3.  [Sessions hosted on Zoom](#sessions-hosted-on-zoom)

---

Here are our key troubleshooting tips to ensure a smooth video call experience.

# **Permission settings:**

- Be sure to allow access to your microphone/camera by accessing your permission settings of your browser.

  (Examples below are using the latest version of Chrome)

![](/images/help/articles/troubleshooting-your-video-call-session-1.png)

![](/images/help/articles/troubleshooting-your-video-call-session-2.png)

- If your microphone/camera are **internal** (like on a laptop), please head to your **System Preferences** and ensure your microphone **input/output** are properly set.

- If you are using a private work laptop, your company may have restricted your permission settings: it is best to join your video session via a personal laptop.

# **Browser:**

- Close down any other program, app and/or browser that might be using your camera or microphone.

- The following browsers are best supported: Chrome, Firefox, Safari

- To optimize your Mentorly experience, please ensure you are using a recent version of your browser. Older versions may not be supported.

# **Sessions hosted on Zoom:**

Mentors can host their sessions on their own Zoom account instead of Mentorly Video. If the session page shows **Join on Zoom**, the call runs in Zoom.

- Camera and microphone permissions are then managed by Zoom, not by your browser on the Mentorly page. Check your devices in Zoom before the call.

- The meeting opens in a new tab. If you closed it by mistake, go back to the session page in Mentorly and click **Join on Zoom** again.

- Mentors: if you see a prompt to reconnect Zoom, go to the **Meeting settings** card on your **Calendar** page and reconnect your account. Until you do, new sessions fall back to Mentorly Video so no session is left without a link.

Read more in [Using Zoom for your Mentorly sessions](/en/help/articles/using-zoom-for-your-mentorly-sessions).

---

## **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.

Please include the following when you chat with us:

- A screenshot of your entire browser screen

- The URL of the page you are on

- The type of device and browser


Troubleshooting your video call session


Are you a new Program Manager and looking to get to know everything the Mentorly platform has to offer before you launch your program? You're in the right place!

The following article will outline every tab of the Program Dashboard and highlight any opportunities to customize your program.

---

# **Your Program Dashboard**

Your Program Dashboard will be your main hub for managing your program. It will give you access on designing and customizing the program, managing the members, tracking sessions and viewing reporting data.

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-1.mp4)

---

# **Home tab:**

The **Home** tab, pictured above, is your one-stop overview of the program. It will give you a quick glance at your mentors and mentees and where they are in their **User Progress.**

Once sessions are underway, it will display a chart for **Program Activity** and generate the **Ratings & Reviews** of your members.

---

# **Program tab:**

The **Program** tab is where you begin to start designing and customizing your program to suit your needs. The program tab is divided into four different sections. You have the **Info** section as well as **Design**, **Email Templates** & **Sectors/Industries**.

**Info Tab**

On the **Info** tab, you can start defining your program by giving it a title, tagline and description in the about text.

**Good to know:** This information will be viewable on your program's website, which you can view after hitting save by clicking **View Website** at the top-right of the Dashboard.

**Good to know:** The Info tab is also where you can adjust the customisable settings for your program. More information on those settings can be found in this article about [Setting up your Program](/en/help/articles/setting-up-your-program).

**Design**

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-2.mp4)

On the **Design** tab, you can customize the colours and font of your program's website to reflect your own brand or style guide. As you update the colours, the example on the right will update in real-time to give you a preview.

The **Design** tab also allows you to upload a variety of images to your program: partner logos, program images, and default profile image!

⭐For **Enterprise** clients, you have the option to upload a header/footer logo as well.

**Email Templates**

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-3.jpg)

The **Email Templates** tab allows you to preview emails that are sent to your users when you complete an action.

⭐For **Enterprise** clients, you have the option to customize the emails.

**Sectors/Industries**

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-4.jpg)

On the **Sectors/Industries tab**, you are able to add the sectors/industries and areas of expertise related to your mentorship program. When users onboard, they will choose from the list you created.

---

# **Members** **tab:**

Your **Members** tab is where you'll be able to manage all the members in your program.

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-5.png)

You can filter to view only mentors or mentees (or all), their selected industry, their user progress and their tags (if any).

By clicking on the three dots on the right-side of the screen, you can view their profile, send them a message, \*archive or delete them from the program.

\*Instead of deleting a member, you can choose to **archive** them instead. Archiving a member will save all of their data. If you delete a member, all their data will be deleted. _Once you archive a member, they will no longer be able to access their portal._

You can also view and edit specific members profiles by simply clicking on their name.

The **Cohorts & Tags** tab is where you are able to build custom grouping for your members. You can pre-create groups, otherwise wait until after Members have signed up (more information in [this article](/en/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program)).

⭐ For more information on how to upload or invite members to your program, check out [this article](/en/help/articles/inviting-members-to-your-program).

---

# **Matching tab:**

The Matching tab allows you to create, modify or delete matches for members in your program.

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-6.png)

⭐ For more information on how to use **Matching**, please read [this article.](/en/help/articles/smart-matching)

---

# **Sessions tab:**

The **Sessions** tab will give you a monthly, weekly or daily overview of sessions being held within the program.

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-7.png)

The types of sessions are colour-coded:

- Yellow: 1:1 sessions between a mentee and mentor

- Green: Masterclasses hosted by a mentor

- Blue: Private group sessions

As a program manager, you have the ability to create private group sessions or public masterclasses between members in the program, by clicking the **Create a group session** button. More information can be found in this article about [Managing your program](/en/help/articles/managing-your-program).

---

# **Messaging tab:**

The **Messaging** tab allows you to communicate with individual members or groups of members within your program.

Mentorly Messaging is a helpful tool discuss your sessions or even share news and files - it keeps all the communication in one place on the platform! As a Program Manager, you also have the option to send read-only [Announcements](/en/help/articles/announcements).

To get started, click on the pencil next to the search bar (see image below)select your recipient(s), and compose your message.

Participants will receive an email notification for every message sent in Mentorly to ensure they don't miss out on anything.

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-8.png)

---

# **Intelligence** **tab:**

[Mentorly Intelligence](/en/help/articles/mentorly-intelligence-understand-what-s-really-happening-in-your-program) is an AI-powered reporting feature that gives you a clear picture of how your mentorship program is performing. With insights across engagement, participant sentiment, mentee goals, conversation themes, skill gaps, and growth opportunities, you can make data-informed decisions to strengthen your program and support every participant’s journey.

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-9.png)

---

# **Help** **tab:**

The **Help** tab will bring you to our collection of Help Center articles designed for our Program Managers. There are articles that detail the entire Program experience, from A to Z for your reference.

The **Help** tab also provides access to live chats with our Support team, for any questions you may have.

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-11.png)

**Good to know:** [Mentorly's Help Center](https://mentorly.com/en/help) is also where you can find articles that chronicle the mentor or mentee's journey during a program as well. If you're curious, check it out!

---

# **What's next?**

## Projected timeline:

When getting ready to start your program, reach out to your MSA or Mentorly's support team to discuss a projected timeline for your program. The timeline should include completing your program set up, onboarding your members, matching (if necessary) and start date of sessions. This timeline helps us be there for you when you need it!

## Mentor/Mentee experience:

Now that you're familiar with the Program Dashboard as a Program Manager, it might be helpful to understand the Personal Dashboard from a mentor or mentee point of view.

We recommend adding yourself to the program (from the Members tab) as either a mentor and mentee to explore what Mentorly has to offer members of your program.

⭐ For **Pro** and **Enterprise** plans with an MSA, we offer a one-hour live demo that helps introduce the platform to your members. Alternatively, we can provide a demo recording instead. Speak with your MSA to find what works best for you.

---

# **Ready to start setting up your program?**

Check out [this article that outlines the key pre-program steps to kicking off your mentorship program](/en/help/articles/setting-up-your-program)

**If you have a dedicated MSA,** please reach out to them for assistance or any questions you may have.

**If you don't have an MSA**, no worries! Simply reach out to our dedicated Support Team via Live Chat or emailing [support@mentorly.co](mailto:support@mentorly.co).

![](/images/help/articles/get-to-know-the-platform-12.png)


Get familiar with Mentorly and your Program Dashboard, so that you can begin creating your program or continue managing your program.

Get to know the platform!


Once your Mentee profile is all set up, the next step is to find your mentor and book a session with them!

It's important to know that your program may have matched you with a mentor, or you may have to find a mentor on your own.

---

1.  [Matched with a Mentor](#a-matched-with-a-mentor)

2.  [Browsing for Mentors](#b-browsing-for-mentors)

3.  [Viewing a Mentor's Profile](#viewing-a-mentors-profile)

4.  [Ready to book](#ready-to-book)

5.  [View your sessions](#view-your-sessions)

6.  [Message your mentor](#message-your-mentor)

---

Please see below on which is relevant to you and your program.

#

**A. Matched with a Mentor**

If you have the **Matches** tab on your Personal Dashboard, that means your program will be matching you with a mentor.

You can view your matches by heading over to the **Matches** tab - you'll see each match (you might have more than one!). From here, you can view their profile by clicking on the match.

![](/images/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session-1.png)

# **B. Browsing for Mentors**

If you don't have the **Matches** tab, don't fret! That just means your program has enabled browsing the mentors in the program, so you can choose who interests you the most.

From your Personal Dashboard, simply click on **Mentors** at the top of your screen. You'll be brought to a page that features all the available mentors that you can book with.

![](/images/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session-2.png)

You can search for a specific mentor or keyword, filter by sector/industry and areas of expertise - or you can just browse all!

Think you found a mentor that suits your interest? Click on '**View Profile**' to know more about them.

![](/images/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session-3.png)

---

# **Viewing a Mentor's profile**

Whether you were matched with a mentor or you selected a mentor yourself, the next step is viewing their profile.

On their profile, you'll get to learn more about them including their areas of expertise and their bio.

![](/images/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session-4.png)

**Good to know:** You can send a message to a mentor even before booking a session with them - simply select that option from the list of actions on the right side (just below their photo).

---

# **Ready to book?**

Click on the '**book session'** button on the mentor's profile.

If the mentor has availability, those dates will be bolded. If no dates are bolded or the times provided don't work for you, please click 'Suggest another time'.

Select your date, your time, and you must include **a booking message** before confirming your request. The booking message should include why you want to meet with the mentor and mention the topics you wish to discuss - that way your mentor can best prepare for the session. From here, you'll be able to add the session to your personal calendar.

![](/images/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session-5.jpg)

**Good to note:** Your program may be designed to give you the option between an individual or group session with a mentor. An **individual session** is a 1:1 between you (a mentee) and your mentor. A **group session** is where you are able to invite other participants to a session with a mentor.

**Good to note:** Sessions are not automatically confirmed, you will get an email when it's confirmed by your mentor.

---

# **View your sessions**

Once your mentor has accepted your session request, you'll be able to see all your future sessions under the **My sessions** tab of your personal dashboard.

![](/images/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session-6.png)

From the **My Sessions** tab, you'll be able to **Join call** 10 minutes before your session starts. You can also view session page, share the session, and more.

The types of sessions are colour-coded:

- Yellow: 1:1 sessions between a mentee and a mentor

- Green: Masterclasses led by a mentor

- Blue: Private group sessions

---

# **Message your mentor**

You can start chatting with your mentor by either clicking '**view discussion**' on your individual **session,** or by accessing your **Messaging** tab.

**Good to note:** The discussion or message thread with your mentor will be active before, during and after your session. Any messages sent during the video session will be synced to your thread - so all communication will stay in one place!

![](/images/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session-7.png)

**Good to note:** You can also send attachments to your mentor by clicking the paper clip icon beside the text box.

---

# **What's next?**

Learn more about [how to join your video call session](/en/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session)

[How to set an agenda for your session](/en/help/articles/how-to-set-an-agenda-for-your-session)

---

# **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Here's everything you need to know about finding your mentor and booking a session with them.

Finding a mentor and booking a session


1.  [Access your availability tab](#1-access-your-availability-tab)

2.  [Adding and modifying your available time slots](#2-adding-and-modifying-your-available-time-slots)

Once you're fully onboarded, the next step is to add your availability manually or by [syncing your calendar](/en/help/articles/how-to-sync-your-calendar-and-choose-your-meeting-location).

A mentee will be able to request a session from your availability, or suggest a time if your available times don't work. As a mentor, you'll be responsible for **accepting** or **declining** a booking request.

---

#

**1\. Access your availability tab**

From your personal dashboard, click the **Calendar** tab on the left-hand side. This will bring you to your Mentorly calendar.

You can use the 'previous' or 'next' buttons to switch between weeks. Your timezone will be indicated in the upper left corner.

![](/images/help/articles/adding-availability-1.mp4)

# **2\. Adding and modifying your available time slots**

When accessing the 'edit availabilities' feature, you gain the ability to effortlessly establish your availability by employing a simple click-and-drag method to create dedicated time slots. These designated blocks represent your indicated periods of availability.

Moreover, you have the flexibility to set any time slot as a recurring occurrence weekly! In edit mode, select the desired time slot and activate the 'repeat every week' toggle. Confirm your choice, and voila!

Should the need arise to remove a specific time slot, fret not! A quick solution awaits you – click on the corresponding time block and utilize the trash can icon. After refreshing your page, the deleted time slot will no longer be visible.

![](/images/help/articles/adding-availability-2.jpg)

When you're done editing your availability, be sure to hit '**Done Editing**'.

**Good to note:** It's best to keep your Mentorly calendar up to date a few weeks at a time to ensure mentees can book with you, knowing you are actually available!

---

# What's next?

Here's how to [respond to session requests](/en/help/articles/session-requests-and-viewing-your-mentee-s-profile)

---

## **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Here's how to add your availability as a mentor.

Adding availability


1.  [Create a Masterclass](#1-create-a-masterclass)

2.  [Enter Details](#2-enter-details)

3.  [Confirm the Session](#3-confirm-the-session)

4.  [Before Hosting your Masterclass](#4-before-hosting-your-masterclass)

If your program allows, mentors have the ability to create masterclass-like group sessions on topics that you're passionate about to share your knowledge and expertise with others!

---

# **1\. Create a masterclass**

To create a Masterclass, head to your **Sessions** tab on your Personal Dashboard. From here, you'll see a '**Host a masterclass**' button. Click that button to begin.

![](/images/help/articles/creating-a-masterclass-session-1.png)

**Good to know:** Don't see the **Host a Masterclass** button? That just means your program hasn't enabled these types of sessions. No worries! You'll still be able to have 1:1 sessions with mentees.

---

# **2\. Enter details**

You'll need to provide some information on what this Masterclass will be about - enter a title and description of the session.

All required fields will be noted with an \* asterisk.

![](/images/help/articles/creating-a-masterclass-session-2.png)

**Good to know:** If you know who you want to invite to your Masterclass, you can enter their names in the 'Guests' field. Otherwise, anyone who has access to your profile will be able to sign up for any future Masterclasses.

**Good to know:** Once a participant has been invited to a Masterclass, they are automatically listed as 'attending' unless they choose to leave the session.

---

# **3\. Confirm the session**

Once you're done filling out the details, review the information and hit **Save** at the bottom of your screen.

![](/images/help/articles/creating-a-masterclass-session-3.png)

The Masterclass will then appear in your **Sessions** and **Calendar** tab.

**Good to know:** Once a Masterclass is created, you're unable to edit the date and time. If you do need to reschedule, you'll need to cancel the existing Masterclass and create a new one.

---

# **4\. Before hosting your Masterclass**

**Messaging your participants:**

When a Masterclass is created, it starts a discussion thread with all attendees. You can access this discussion by heading to your **Messaging** tab, or by viewing the Masterclass session on your **Sessions** tab.

![](/images/help/articles/creating-a-masterclass-session-4.png)

**New participants:**

Other mentees or mentors will be able to reserve a spot in your Masterclass by viewing your profile - you'll receive an email notification every time a new participant joins your Masterclass.

You can view a list of all participants by clicking on the cluster of profile images.

![](/images/help/articles/creating-a-masterclass-session-5.jpg)

**Need to cancel?**

If something unforeseen comes up and you need to cancel the Masterclass, you'll able to do so by clicking on the **3 dots** on the Masterclass and provide a reason for the cancellation.

Your participants will be notified by email and the Masterclass will appear under **Sessions > Cancelled.**

---

# What's next?

Check out this article on [how to join a video session](/en/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session).

---

# **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


How to create a "masterclass" as a mentor. *Program permitting

Creating a Masterclass session


Welcome to Mentorly! We've partnered with your organization to provide mentorship sessions with ease.

On the Mentorly platform, you can — book sessions, hold video calls, chat and share files with mentors — all in one place!

Here are the key steps to get you started as a mentor or a mentee.

To get started, check out [this article](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentorly-the-best-fit-for-mentorship) to learn about why Mentorly is the best fit for mentorship.

---

# **1\. Set up your account**

Once your program manager has invited you to join Mentorly or you've signed up, you will receive an email asking you to sign in and complete your account.

Follow the link in the email, set up your password, and you're in!

**Don't have the invitation email?** Your account already exists, so **Sign Up** is not the button you want. Go to your program's site, click **Log in**, then **Reset Password** below the form. You'll receive an email that lets you set your password and sign in. Clicking **Log in** on its own won't offer to create a password for you: the form asks for one you haven't set yet.

---

# **2a. Begin your onboarding experience**

Once you've signed in, Mentorly will guide you through a few Onboarding steps that will allow you to start building your mentor or mentee profile.

We'll ask about you and your experiences, your skills, as well as to upload a profile picture and adjust your settings.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-with-mentorly-1.png)

**Good to know:** You'll be able to edit this information later on from your personal dashboard.

**Good to know:** Mentorly only allows your profile to be under **one** **sector/industry** (not multiple). However, you can add multiple **areas of expertise**.

# **2b. Matching questionnaire**

If your program has chosen matching for mentor/mentee pairings, then you will also have a matching questionnaire as part of your onboarding steps.

Simply fill out the questionnaire with answers that pertain to you - the more specific the better!

---

# **3\. Complete your Profile**

Once you've completed your onboarding, you will be brought to your Mentorly personal dashboard.

At the top of your dashboard, you'll be shown a progress bar for completing your onboarding.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-with-mentorly-2.png)

By clicking on this box, you will first be brought to your profile to complete, and then your program questionnaire (if applicable).

On your **Profile** tab, the text boxes highlighted in light blue are required for your profile to be complete.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-with-mentorly-3.png)

You can also adjust your settings (email, location, timezone) from the **Settings** tab.

**Good to know:** Mentorly is time-zone smart, which means the times indicated throughout the site will be based on your browser's location.

---

# **4\. Messaging**

Mentorly **Messaging** is a helpful tool discuss your sessions or even share news and files - it keeps all the communication in one place on the platform!

It allows you to communicate with your Program Manager and your Mentor(s).

To get started, click on the pencil next to the search bar (see image below), select your recipient(s), and compose your message.

Participants will receive an email notification for every message sent in Mentorly to ensure they don't miss out on anything.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-with-mentorly-4.png)

---

# **5\. Support**

The **Help** tab will link you to our Mentorly Help Centre, which has a number of articles, all designed to provide assistance in every step of the program.

Mentorly prides itself on its highly responsive customer service and technical support - **our support team is available Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm EST**.

If you have a designated MSA, simply reach out to them via email with any questions or concerns you may have.

If you do not have an MSA, contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.

---

# **What's next?**

Are you a mentor? [Add your availability](/en/help/articles/adding-availability)

Are you a mentee? [Find a mentor](/en/help/articles/finding-a-mentor-and-booking-a-session)

---

## **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Here's everything you need to begin your mentorship program as a mentor or mentee

Getting started with Mentorly


1.  [Viewing your mentee's profile](#viewing-your-mentees-profile)

2.  [Responding to your request](#responding-to-your-request)

3.  [Messaging your mentee](#messaging-your-mentee)

4.  [Need to cancel](#need-to-cancel)

As a mentor, mentees will either be able to request a session from your existing availability, or suggest a new time for a session.

When a request or suggestion is made, you will be notified by email.

You can manage your session requests by accessing your **Sessions** tab. From here, you will be able to view all requested and confirmed sessions, and past, cancelled and future sessions.

![](/images/help/articles/session-requests-and-viewing-your-mentee-s-profile-1.png)

---

# **Viewing your mentee's profile**

When a session is requested, you will be able to review the mentee that requested it, the date and time, as well as their message that will explain what they would like to discuss in the session.

To view your mentee's profile, **simply click on their profile image on the session request**. You will be brought to their profile where you can review things like their bio, skills, short and long term goals.

![](/images/help/articles/session-requests-and-viewing-your-mentee-s-profile-2.png)

**Good to know:** You will either be matched with a mentee who will book sessions with you, or you will be available for sessions to all mentees within the program.

**Unsure which applies to you?** If you have the **Matches** tab, then your program will have you matched with someone. If you don't have the **Matches** tab, then your program is offering 'a la carte' mentoring, in which mentees have a wide selection of mentors (including you!) to choose from.

![](/images/help/articles/session-requests-and-viewing-your-mentee-s-profile-3.png)

---

# **Responding to your request**

To accept a request, simply click **Accept** on the session request. By accepting, the mentee will be notified, and both of you will receive an email to confirm the booking. You will also see it under **Sessions** > **Future.**

If you **decline** a booking request, the mentee will be notified, and the session request will be removed from your Sessions tab.

![](/images/help/articles/session-requests-and-viewing-your-mentee-s-profile-4.jpg)

---

# **Messaging your mentee**

You can start chatting with your mentor by either clicking '**view discussion**' on your individual session, or by accessing your **Messaging** tab.

The discussion or message thread with your mentor will be active before, during and after your session. Any messages sent during the video session will be synced to your thread - so all communication will stay in one place!

![](/images/help/articles/session-requests-and-viewing-your-mentee-s-profile-5.png)

**Good to know:** You can also send attachments to your mentor by clicking the paper clip icon beside the text box.

---

# **Need to cancel?**

If something unforeseen comes up and you need to cancel, you'll able to do so by clicking on the **3 dots** on the session and provide a reason for the cancellation.

Your mentee will be notified by email and the session will appear under **Sessions > Cancelled.**

---

# **What's next?**

Prepare for your session by checking out these [Mentoring Tips](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentoring-tips).

[Join your session](/en/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session) 10 minutes before it begins.

---

# **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Here how's to respond to incoming session requests from mentees and view their profiles.

Session requests and viewing your mentee's profile


Welcome to Mentorly! Here are the key first steps to starting your mentor journey.

# 1\. Sign up

The first step is joining Mentorly! You can sign up as a Mentor by heading to [https://marketplace.mentorly.co/en](https://marketplace.mentorly.co/en) and clicking the 'Sign up' button from the Marketplace homepage, followed by clicking on the Mentor option.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentor-with-mentorly-1.jpg)

---

#

2\. Begin your onboarding experience

Once you've signed up, Mentorly will guide you through a few Onboarding steps that will allow you to start building your Mentee profile.

We'll ask about you and your experiences, your skills, as well as upload a profile picture and adjust your settings.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentor-with-mentorly-2.jpg)

**Good to know:** You'll be able to edit this information later on from your Personal Dashboard.

**Good to know:** Mentorly only allows your profile to be under **one** **sector/industry** (not multiple). You can add multiple **areas of expertise**.

---

#

3\. Complete your Profile

Once you've completed your onboarding, you will be brought to your Mentorly personal dashboard. From here, you can finish completing your profile by clicking on the **Profile** tab on the left side.

You can add more information to your profile such as links to your social media pages (LinkedIn, Instagram, Youtube, etc), personal websites, and upload photos.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentor-with-mentorly-3.png)

You can also adjust your settings (email, location, timezone) from the **Settings** tab.

**Good to know:** Mentorly is time-zone smart, which means the times indicated throughout the site will be based on the browser location.

---

# 4\. Resources and Support

**Our Mentorly Help Centre is always available at the bottom of the screen. It has a number of articles all designed to provide assistance every step of the way.**

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentor-with-mentorly-4.png)

Mentorly prides itself on its highly responsive customer service and technical support - **our support team is available Monday - Friday, 9am - 6pm EST**. Simply reach out to us on Intercom (the icon below - found in the bottom right corner) or contact us at [support@mentorly.co](mailto:support@mentorly.co). We'll be happy to help!

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentor-with-mentorly-5.png)

---

# What's next?

**[Add your availability, set your pricing and choose your cancellation policy](/en/help/articles/add-availability-pricing-and-cancellation-policy)**


Here's everything you need to begin your mentorship journey as a mentor with Mentorly.

Getting started as a Mentor with Mentorly


As a mentor, mentees will either be able to request a session from your existing availability, or suggest a new time for a session.

When a request or suggestion is made, you will be notified by email. You can manage your session requests by accessing your **Sessions** tab.

From here, you will be able to view all requested and confirmed sessions, and past, cancelled and future sessions.

![](/images/help/articles/responding-to-session-requests-1.jpg)

When a session is requested, you will be able to review the mentee that requested it, the date and time, as well as their message that will explain what they would like to discuss in the session.

If you **decline** a booking request, the mentee will be notified, and the session request will be removed from your Sessions tab.

If you **accept** a booking request, the mentee will be notified, and both of you will receive an email to confirm the booking. You will also see it under **Sessions** > **Future.**

![](/images/help/articles/responding-to-session-requests-2.jpg)

---

# Need to cancel?

If something unforeseen comes up and you need to cancel, you'll able to do so by clicking on the **3 dots** on the session and provide a reason to the cancellation.

Your mentee will be notified by email and the session will appear under **Sessions > Cancelled.**

---

# What's next?

Prepare for your session by checking out these [Mentoring Tips](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentoring-tips).

[Join your session](/en/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session) 10 minutes before it begins.


Here how's to respond to incoming session requests from mentees.

Responding to session requests


Once your profile is set up and has been approved, the next steps are adjusting your Mentor-specific settings.

---

# Update your Pricing

From the **Payments** tab, you can set and update your **sessions rates**. Enter an individual rate for one-hour sessions, and your 30-minute sessions rate will be adjusted to 60% of your hourly rate.

As a mentor, you are able to book with other mentors too. This is where you can update your **payment information** to ensure payment to the mentors you book with.

![](/images/help/articles/add-availability-pricing-and-cancellation-policy-1.png)

**Good to know:** You can update or change this information at any time.

---

# Set your Cancellation Policy

From your **Payments** tab, you're able to select your preference for a cancellation policy. Choose between flexible, moderate and strict policies for when a mentee has to cancel a session with you.

![](/images/help/articles/add-availability-pricing-and-cancellation-policy-2.png)

**Good to know:** This information is displayed on your Mentor profile, so a Mentee will be aware when they book.

---

#

Add Availability

Adding available time slots is a great way to get more bookings as a mentor.

A mentee will be able to request a session from your availability, or suggest a time if your available times don't work. As a mentor, you'll be responsible for accepting or declining a booking request.

#

1\. Access your availability tab

From your personal dashboard, click the Availability tab on the left-hand side. This will bring you to your Mentorly calendar.

You can use the 'previous' or 'next' buttons to switch between weeks. Your timezone will be indicated in the upper left corner.

![](/images/help/articles/add-availability-pricing-and-cancellation-policy-3.jpg)

# 2\. Add your available time slots

By clicking and dragging, create grey blocks that indicate your available time slots. To delete time slots, simply click on the x of the time slot you wish to delete.

![](/images/help/articles/add-availability-pricing-and-cancellation-policy-4.jpg)

**Good to note:** It's best to keep your Mentorly calendar up to date a few weeks at a time to ensure mentees can book with you!

---

# What's next?

[Respond to your session request](/en/help/articles/responding-to-session-requests)

[See how to get more sessions as a mentor](/en/help/articles/get-more-session-bookings-as-a-mentor)


Here are all the steps you need to add your availability for sessions and other Mentor settings.

Add availability, pricing and cancellation policy


Once your profile is complete, you're ready for the next step - browsing and booking with our Mentorly mentors!

---

# 1\. Browse mentors

You can access all available mentors by clicking on '**Mentors**' at the top of your screen.

![](/images/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors-1.jpg)

From here, you can choose to browse all mentors, or filter them based on sector / industry to find someone to suit your specific interests. If you know the name of the mentor you want to book with, or other keywords, simply type it into the search bar!

---

# 2\. View a mentor's profile

Think you found a mentor that interests you? You can click on '**View profile**' to learn more about them, their skills and experience.

![](/images/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors-2.png)

**Good to know:** If you're not sure if a mentor is the right fit for you, you can always send them a message before requesting to book. Click '**send a message to** **\[Mentor name\]**' from the list under their photos.

---

# 3\. Review the session rates and cancellation policy.

Mentor's are responsible for setting their own session rates and cancellation policies, so these will vary between mentors. Before booking a session, we recommend you review the rates and policies of your selected mentor.

From the mentor's profile, click the '**book session**' button. This is where you will see the mentor's **session rates** and their **cancellation policy**.

![](/images/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors-3.png)

**Good to know:** You can learn more about the specifics of the chosen cancellation policy by clicking on the tool tip, or by referring to the following chart:

![](/images/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors-4.png)

---

4\. Booking a session

Once you've found a mentor that you'd like to meet with, the next step is booking a session!

Click on the '**book session'** button on the mentor's profile.

If the mentor has availability, those dates will be bolded. If no dates are bolded or the times provided don't work for you, please click 'Suggest another time'.

Select your date, your time, and you must include **a booking message** before confirming your request. The booking message should include why you want to meet with the mentor and mention the topics you wish to discuss - that way your mentor can best prepare for the session.

![](/images/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors-5.jpg)

**Good to note:** Sessions are not automatically confirmed, you will get an email when it's confirmed by your mentor.

---

# 5\. View your session

Once your mentor has accepted your session request, you can see your future session under the **Sessions** tab of your Dashboard.

The **join call** button will become active within ten minutes of the session's start time.

![](/images/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors-6.jpg)

To **cancel a session**, click the **3 dots** in the top right corner of the booking. **Please keep in mind that the mentor will have a specific cancellation policy** which is viewable on their profile.

---

# 5\. Message your mentor

You can start chatting with your mentor by either clicking '**view discussion**' on your individual **session,** or by accessing your **Messaging** tab.

The discussion or message thread with your mentor will be active before, during and after your session. Any messages sent during the video session will be synced to your thread - so all communication will stay in one place!

![](/images/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors-7.png)

**Good to note:** You can also send attachments to your mentor by clicking the paper clip icon beside the text box.

---

# What's next?

[How to make the most out of your mentorship](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/making-the-most-of-mentorship)

[Mentee preparation questions](/en/help/articles/mentee-preparatory-questions)

[How to set an agenda for your session](/en/help/articles/how-to-set-an-agenda-for-your-session)

[Session tips for mentees](/en/help/articles/session-tips-for-mentees)

[How to join your Video Call session](/en/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session)


Here's how to browse and book with mentors.

Browsing and Booking with Mentors


Welcome to Mentorly! Here are the key first steps to starting your mentee journey.

# 1\. Sign up

The first step is joining Mentorly! Head to https://marketplace.mentorly.co/en and click on the 'Sign up' button from the Marketplace homepage, then click the Mentee option.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentee-with-mentorly-1.png)

---

# 2\. Begin your onboarding experience

Once you've signed up, Mentorly will guide you through a few Onboarding steps that will allow you to start building your Mentee profile.

We'll ask about you and your experiences, your long term and short term goals, as well as upload a profile picture and adjust your settings.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentee-with-mentorly-2.png)

**Good to know:** You'll be able to edit this information later on from your Personal Dashboard.

**Good to know:** Mentorly only allows your profile to be under **one** **sector/industry** (not multiple), and cannot be edited later on. You can add multiple **areas of expertise**.

---

# 3\. Complete your Profile

Once you've completed your onboarding, you will be brought to your Mentorly personal dashboard. From here, you can finish completing your profile by clicking on the **Profile** tab on the left side.

You can add more information to your profile such as links to your social media pages (LinkedIn, Instagram, Youtube, etc) and personal websites, and upload photos.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentee-with-mentorly-3.png)

You can also adjust your settings (email, location, timezone) from the **Settings** tab.

**Good to know:** Mentorly is time-zone smart, which means the times indicated throughout the site will be based on the browser location.

**Good to know:** You can view your own profile by clicking the **view my profile** button on your Personal Dashboard menu.

---

# 4\. Add your payment method

By accessing your **Payments** tab, you can add or modify your payment method. You will only be charged once a mentor accepts your booking request.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentee-with-mentorly-4.png)

**Good to know:** You can see the mentor's session rates once you begin to book a session with them.

---

# 5\. Resources and Support

Our available resources will bring you to the Mentorly Help Centre, which has a number of articles all designed to provide assistance every step of the way.

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentee-with-mentorly-5.png)

Mentorly prides itself on its highly responsive customer service and technical support - **our support team is available Monday - Friday, 9am - 6pm EST**. Simply reach out to us on Intercom (the icon below - found in the bottom right corner) or contact us at [support@mentorly.co](mailto:support@mentorly.co). We'll be happy to help!

![](/images/help/articles/getting-started-as-a-mentee-with-mentorly-6.png)

---

# What's next?

The next step is to start browsing mentors and booking sessions! Please see this article on [how to browse and book with mentors](/en/help/articles/browsing-and-booking-with-mentors).


Here's everything you need to begin your mentorship journey as a mentee with Mentorly.

Getting started as a Mentee with Mentorly


You can view your session history and join your upcoming sessions by accessing your **Sessions** tab on the left hand side of your dashboard.

For best results, we recommend joining your video session using Chrome, Firefox or Safari.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-1.png)

The **Join call** button below will activate 10 minutes prior to your session starting.

**Hosted on Zoom?** Mentors can choose to host their sessions on their own Zoom account instead of Mentorly Video. When a session is hosted on Zoom, clicking **Join call** takes you to a page with a **Join on Zoom** button that opens the meeting in a new tab. The controls described below belong to Mentorly Video, so in a Zoom session you use Zoom's own controls. See [Using Zoom for your Mentorly sessions](/en/help/articles/using-zoom-for-your-mentorly-sessions).

---

# **Joining your call**

When joining your call, make sure your browser is allowing access to your camera and microphone. If you have multiple devices for your microphone or camera, you can select which to allow from the drop-down menu.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-2.png)

## **During your video session:**

You can control your microphone, camera, sharing your screen and other settings by the settings bar at the bottom of your screen.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-3.jpg)

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-4.png)

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-5.png)

The micro-phone icon is to control your mic.

The camera icon is to turn your camera on/off.

_You can test your audio and view your camera info by clicking on the arrows above the icons._

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-6.png)

The screensharing icon is to start/stop sharing your screen.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-7.png)

The hand icon is to raise/lower hand.

_You can send reactions by clicking on the arrow above the hand icon_

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-8.png)

The tile icon is to adjust the view of your video session.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-9.png)

The performance icon is for adjusting performance settings for laggy video.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-10.png)

The grid icon is to adjust to full screen or minimize full screen mode.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-11.png)

The three dots icon gives you access to all the settings.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-12.png)

The red phone icon is to end the session.

**Chat:**

You can **chat** with your mentee or mentor by clicking on the message bubble icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen.

You can **report** a call to Mentorly or reach out to our **support** team in the bottom left corner of your screen.

![](/images/help/articles/joining-your-video-call-session-13.png)

---

# **Breakout Rooms:**

As moderators in video sessions, mentors can create breakout rooms during the sessions. They can create as many breakout rooms as needed and send users to separate rooms. The mentor also has the option to join & delete the rooms, as well as remove an individual from a room.

**Here’s how:**

1.  A user needs to raise their hand by clicking on the hand icon. The moderator can raise their own hand as well.

2.  Click on the yellow hand icon at the top of the video session

3.  A tab on the right-hand side of the session will appear with all the participants. Click on **Add breakout room** to add rooms as needed.

4.  Once the moderator has created the breakout rooms, they can hover over the participant's name and click on the three dots beside their name to send the user to the desired breakout room. The moderator can also search by the participant's name in the **Search Participants** box.

To send the participants back to the main room, hover next to the user's name and click on the three dots beside their name, then click on "Send participants to".

**To delete a breakout room:**

Hover next to the breakout room you would like to remove. Three dots will appear next to it and click on **remove**.

**Good to know:** The mentor is set as a moderator by default but can give moderator rights as well.

**Good to know:** A moderator can also join a breakout room by hovering over the breakout room they wish to join and can click on **Join**.

---

# **Troubleshooting tips:**

- Allow access to your microphone/camera by accessing your permission settings of your browser.

- Close down any other program, app and/or browser that might be using your camera or microphone.

- If your microphone/camera are **internal** (like on a laptop), please head to your **System Preferences** and ensure your microphone **input/output** are properly set. ([Mac](https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/mac-help/mchlp2256/mac) or [PC](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4520288/windows-10-fix-sound-problems) instructions)

- If you are using a private work laptop, your company may have restricted your permission settings: it is best to join your video session via a personal laptop.

- If your session is hosted on Zoom, the camera and microphone permissions are managed by Zoom, not by the Mentorly page in your browser. Check them in Zoom.

---

# **After your video session:**

Once you end the call at the end of your video session, you will be prompted to leave a rating and review for either your mentor or mentee, and the platform. These ratings and reviews are only visible to your Program Manager and Mentorly's support team.

For a session hosted on Zoom, come back to the Mentorly page once your Zoom meeting is over and click **Done** to leave your rating and review.

---

## **Have any questions or need any assistance?**

Not to worry, we’re here to help!

You can contact the Mentorly support team by going to the **Help** tab found on your personal dashboard and clicking **Go to Live Chat**.


Where and how to join your video call session and basic troubleshooting tips.

Joining your Video Call session

Test article


(FOR SXSW & SXSW EDU ATTENDEES)

Hi SXSW & SXSW EDU Mentors! This is your mini guide to holding optimal mentorship sessions on Mentorly during SXSW and SXSW EDU Online.

# WHAT TO EXPECT

**SXSW EDU Online Mentor Sessions** takes place March 9 – March 11, 2021. The SXSW EDU program facilitates purpose-driven, one-on-one connections between experienced professionals and solution-seeking attendees.

**SXSW Online Mentor Sessions** take place March 16 – March 20, 2021 and give registrants the opportunity for one-on-one meetings with experts in a specific field. Mentor Sessions are divided among Interactive, Film, Music, and Convergence tracks, which are all part of the SXSW Conference.

Attendees - mentees in this case - will be able to book **15-minute** sessions with you.

Though Mentorly is accessible via mobile, in order to hold optimal sessions, **we strongly recommend using a computer with a webcam and finding a quiet location with a strong and reliable Internet connection**.

In either case, you will need to **1)** **ensure your device's browser is up to date** and **2) that your webcam is properly connected**.

**⚠️** Mentorly supports all up-to-date browsers except 🚫 **Microsoft Edge/Internet Explorer** and some 🚫 **Bluetooth devices** such as ear pods may conflict with the platform, so we recommend disconnecting them prior to holding your sessions.

#

WHAT TO DO

As a mentor, your main objective is for mentees to book sessions with you, but first - we need to get you set up!

Below are the steps you should follow to optimize your experience on Mentorly. You can also view this webinar for a live walkthrough of the platform.

---

## ① Sign Up

To sign up to one of the mentorship portals below, you can do so via the SXSW & SXSW EDU Online event platform.

☞ Click **[SXSW EDU Online Mentor Sessions](http://mentors.sxswedu.com/)** to access the portal.

☞ Click **[SXSW Online Mentor](http://mentors.sxsw.com/)** [**Sessions**](https://sxsw.mentorly.co/en/) to access the portal.

Once entered, you will be directed to your dashboard where you can complete the steps indicated below.

Your **Mentorly Dashboard** is your very own control center where you can:

→ Modify your profile settings

→ Update your availability
→ Review and access your session bookings
→ Join your video calls

→ Review your experience

→ Contact live support

---

## ② Your Profile

Mentorly has integrated SXSW Online and SXSW EDU Online platforms to pull your most relevant bio information and display it on your very own Mentorly profile page.

To view you profile page, head to your **Dashboard > Profile tab.**

---

## **③ Add Availability**

To get bookings as a mentor, you need to **make yourself available**, which means adding available time slots to your profile and keeping them up-to-date. That way, mentees can book with you right away.

On your dashboard, head to **Availabilities** and **drop and drag** the time slots you wish to create. i.e.: If you drop a new event at 10am and drag until 3pm, then 20 x 15-minute session slots will be created. This means you will likely end up having multiple back-to-back 15-minute sessions for an hour or two, or more! You can duplicate times once added.

→ [How to update your Dashboard Calendar](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/how-to-add-availability-to-your-dashboard-calendar)

**Note:** If you don't update your availability, mentees **CANNOT** request or suggest times to book with you.

![](/images/help/articles/sxsw-sxsw-edu-mentor-guide-1.png)

For example, the following mentee below, Max, has decided to book with mentor Ryan on the 14th of March from 10:30am to 10:45am.

![](/images/help/articles/sxsw-sxsw-edu-mentor-guide-2.jpg)

Max must add a **booking message** in order to confirm his session with Ryan.

![](/images/help/articles/sxsw-sxsw-edu-mentor-guide-3.jpg)

Ryan will be able to review the booking and any links that were shared on the > **Sessions Tab** on his personal dashboard, like this example below.

![](/images/help/articles/sxsw-sxsw-edu-mentor-guide-4.jpg)

**Note:** You will **not** be required to approve or decline a request, however you can **cancel** a session if necessary, by clicking the **3 dots** in the top right corner of each booking.

---

## ⑤ Before joining your session

When a session has been booked with you, an **email notification** will be sent to your external email associated with your account.

It will direct your attention to the details of the session booking, including: the name of your mentee, their booking message, the start time and **the link to the session**.

Since sessions are roughly 15 minutes in length, that leaves very little time to join your next session. It will be crucial to have ready access to your **Dashboard > Sessions Tab** in order to keep track of your sessions and join your next call.

→ Before joining your session, we recommend you [test your computer setup](https://mentorly.co/prepare).

---

## ⑥ Join your session

When ready to start your session, click JOIN CALL on your session booking on **Dashboard > Sessions Tab > Future >** first booking at the top of the page.

![](/images/help/articles/sxsw-sxsw-edu-mentor-guide-5.jpg)

You can always join your sessions **10 minutes in advance** if ever you want to make sure you're properly set up when the clock starts.

🚨 There's a countdown timer in the top left corner of your session window. Keep an eye on it as the session will **automatically** end at the designated time.

**Note:** Clicking the 🏴 icon will signal an issue with a specific Inbox thread and Mentorly will be directly notified.

→ [How to Join Your Session](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/where-and-how-to-join-a-video-session)

---

## ⑦ Reviewing your experience

The SXSW team would love to know how you appreciated your experience connecting with your mentees and using the Mentorly platform.

After each session, you will be prompted by 3 questions with ⭐️ ratings:

1. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ **Rate how you enjoyed connecting with your mentee.** A less than 3-star rating will require you to leave a comment.

2. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ **Rate the platform.** Once again, 3 stars or less will require you to leave a comment.

3. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ **Leave** **additional feedback (optional).**

These ratings and reviews will be shared with both the SXSW and Mentorly teams.

![](/images/help/articles/sxsw-sxsw-edu-mentor-guide-6.png)

---

## ⑧ Where to go for support

Mentorly prides itself on its highly responsive customer service and technical support, which is principally offered via [Intercom](https://www.intercom.com/) in both English (and French) and which will be available during event hours.

**For technical questions**, reach out to Mentorly’s team via the **Intercom message icon below**, usually found at the bottom-right corner of the webpage:

![](/images/help/articles/sxsw-sxsw-edu-mentor-guide-7.png)

Questions, concerns, and feedback can also be directed to [info@mentorly.co](mailto:info@mentorly.co).

**For EDU program questions**, please email [programming@sxswedu.com](mailto:programming@sxswedu.com).

**For SXSW program questions**, please email [sessions@sxsw.com](mailto:sessions@sxsw.com).

---

# What's next?

- [Mentoring Tips](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/mentoring-tips)

- [Program Member collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/general)


How to use Mentorly to prepare and hold your mentorship sessions

SXSW & SXSW EDU Mentor Guide


(FOR MARKETPLACE USERS)

One of the best ways to get the most out of your mentorship sessions is to share your portfolio, any documents you want reviewed, or a folder of files with your mentor or mentee, either before your session starts -- to give them some context about your situation -- or after your session ends -- to prep the conversation for the next session.

Our Mentorly Inbox allows you to attach and send any file from your computer 🗂 .

To do so, go to your [Inbox](https://mentorly.co/inbox):

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-send-an-attachment-to-your-mentor-mentee-1.png)

Then, click on the person's name you want to send the attachment to:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-send-an-attachment-to-your-mentor-mentee-2.png)

At the bottom-right of the screen, find the attachment icon:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-send-an-attachment-to-your-mentor-mentee-3.png)

Find the file you want to send from your computer, and click Open:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-send-an-attachment-to-your-mentor-mentee-4.png)

And you'll see the attachment sent:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-send-an-attachment-to-your-mentor-mentee-5.png)

And there you have it! The file is now in their DM 📥

---

# What's next?

- [Where to join your video sessions](/en/help/articles/where-to-join-your-video-call-session)

- [Marketplace Member collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/marketplace-member)


Share files with your mentee or mentor with Mentorly Messaging and better prepare your sessions and follow up with progress.

How to send an attachment to your mentor/mentee


(FOR B2B PROGRAM MANAGERS)

Mentorship programs are proven to help strengthen employee onboarding and retention, decrease learning curves, and improve company culture. Most importantly, mentorship programs increase employee happiness levels and help create an open and supportive environment where everyone feels heard and empowered.

In building your own powerhouse mentorship program, there are many variables to consider. Building a program from scratch can be daunting, but the great news is we’re here to help. Here is a step by step guide to help you build your program.

In this article, we will explore Mentorly’s **“PLAN IT”** guidelines, to make sure your program is successfully launched.

**P**rogram structure
**L**isten

**A**ttract

**N**urture
**IT**erate

# 1\. Program structure

_Before deciding the structure, the first and most important step is to define the objective of your program._

## 🤔 What is your overarching goal?

In alignment with your company’s strategic goals, define the area that has the most room to improve or benefit from mentorship. The structure of the program will be different whether you want to welcome new remote employees with a mentor by their side or want to provide executive mentorship to the company’s current and future leaders.

Within your Mentorly portal, you can have multiple programs running at once - having an idea of the specific objectives and guidelines for each will help tremendously. By having multiple programs, you can ensure that all employees are offered the benefit of mentorship.

A program’s goal should be connected to your company’s Key Performance Indicators, or for short, KPIs. Some examples of these KPIs are: internal promotion rate, talent satisfaction, turnover rates, employee engagement, and cost per hire. Remember, mentorship has a net positive result for both the mentors and the mentees, so your outcomes can be reflective of both of their growth, not only limited to the mentees. The benefits of mentoring for mentors include reinforcing mentors' own skills and knowledge, developing their management style, and creating higher levels of overall fulfillment in the workplace.

## 🏗 What kind of structure would you like to create?

Since you are reading this article, you are likely the dedicated Program Manager for this mentorship program. If not, it is important that someone is assigned to this role.

The role of Program Manager is no longer such a heavy commitment thanks to the magic of Mentorly streamlining all of your tools and data in one place. However, a Program Manager **_is_** **_elemental_** to the smooth running of your program and should have a few hours a week set aside to ensure the success of your mentorship initiatives.

Now, a successful mentorship program has a few basic requirements to consider, such as the time commitment of the mentor and mentee, the length of the program, matching criteria, and so on.

Let’s evaluate **mentor-mentee-matching** and see a bird’s eye view of matching structures available within your Mentorly portal.

##

💡 What are some ways to match mentors and mentees?

**One to one:** Mentorly will match each mentee with one mentor. This reflects a traditional mentorship model of the master and the apprentice.

**Mentor suggestions:** Mentorly will suggest multiple mentors for each mentee, enabling them to decide who to connect with first. It’s also a great option for mentees seeking guidance on varying topics.

**À la carte:** This allows mentees to book with any mentor within a program. This is a great offering when you have a large mentee base and would like to empower mentees to feel supported within a company culture. Allowing your mentee’s to self-select shows a sense of flexibility from the company, and an acknowledgment that there are no limits to who they may be mentored by.

**Program manager matching**: This allows you, as the Program Manager, to create matches. Ideal for small programs, you can use your historical knowledge to generate custom matches.

# 2\. Listen

_While planning your mentorship program, it is very important to listen to your people._

Before choosing which types of mentors to recruit, listen to both your mentees’ and company’s needs. Sending assessment surveys is one way to get the insight you need, and we also invite you to speak directly to your employees to have a solid sense of their most pressing needs. Use past exit interviews to see the gaps in talent experience and learning & development. You can bridge those gaps by providing opportunities for growth through this new digital mentorship initiative.

Consider sending a **Mentee Assessment Survey**, which you can send to all mentees prior to building your program. This kind of survey is designed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data around the needs of mentees. Some areas that mentees will be looking to develop are: strategic thinking, planning, communication, networking, public speaking, and the ability to adapt. With mentee’s answers, you will be able to clearly see the areas in which they want to improve, and thus recruit mentors that have these skills and qualities.

On the other end of the equation, it is important to listen to mentee’s expectations of a program. It should be made clear that participation does not have any guaranteed outcomes. For example, participating is not a guaranteed path to promotion!

By gaining a better understanding of what your employees expect out of a program, you as a Program Manager you will have a better chance of delivering a positive experience for both mentors and mentees. As the saying goes, “You cannot achieve success if you don’t know what success looks like!”.

# 3\. Attract

_Select mentors and mentees who are not only willing to participate but also are excited about mentoring. There are two pillars of success when it comes to attracting participants._

🔎 **Clarify expectations**

Be clear about the time commitment, nature of the mentorship relationship, and other expectations for all program participants. Engagement won’t be as strong if these are unclear.

If the mentors are unsure of their willingness to mentor, you can replicate this insightful template on [Mentor Assessment Quiz](https://mentorly.typeform.com/to/JoAwmGYo) to measure interest, availability, and desires. _Note, that if you share this link, we'll be able to see responses._

We also recommend that you create a Code of Conduct for your users to ensure that they engage with each other and the platform respectfully. You can refer to our [Code of Conduct as described in section 7](https://mentorly.co/terms).

📣 **Marketing**

In order to attract mentees and mentors, you have to talk about your mentorship program within the company! It sounds like a no-brainer, but often programs fail because nobody knows about them.

Mentorly enables you to invite and onboard participants at any time. Have a couple of super users? Let them be your cheerleaders! If a user is loving her experience as a mentor, grab a quote from her and share it within your company. If you’re looking for external participants, be sure to be active on social media to highlight the benefits of your program - it may just help you recruit more talent!

Recruiting is the most time-demanding piece of the puzzle. We recommend setting aside 1.5 to 2 months prior to kicking off your program, to send internal and/or external communications announcing the initiative and giving interested mentors and mentees a clear call to action: SIGN UP!

# 4\. Nurture

Mentorship programs have 3 major players: mentors, mentees and you, the Program Manager.

As participants' needs evolve, so do their mentorship needs. Thankfully, Mentorly collects ongoing usership data, which lets you feel the pulse of your mentorship program at all times. Despite this, it is always recommended to check in on participants from time to time, sending them individual or group messages of announcements and encouragement. Without your regular participation, you may miss key interactions that require your assistance.

In the case they are not paid for their efforts, it is important to keep your mentors incentivized at all times. So, recognize your mentors! If mentors are doing a great job, speak about their contributions publicly on your website, their LinkedIn, etc. This will help them feel recognized, valued, and will encourage them to provide more mentorship.

🎉 **Celebrate results**

Be sure to highlight and nurture the importance of mentorship within your company, specifically among the leadership team. Speak to them about the progress and impact of your program by sharing key data and testimonials on how it is improving your overall company culture. This way, you can ensure that the program will continue to grow and support your people.

# 5\. Iterate

Great mentorship programs are always evolving. With Mentorly’s live data tracking and feedback from participants, don’t get stuck repeating the same exact structure program to program! Improve and expand on the exceptional parts of your program, and iterate on the elements that fell short. Great company culture is built when a workplace stays aligned with their employees needs, however they evolve.

Mentorly has been able to uncover some great improvements to programs! Here are some great adjustments you can make if your program depending on your desired outcome.

🔄 **Change matching style**

You may consider switching your matching style. Mentorship traditionally is based on one-to-one matching, however mentoring is evolving to fit the needs of the next generation of workers, and Mentorly’s matching styles are setting the stage for what mentorship can look like. For example, if in the first 6 months of your program you are seeing feedback that the mentees would like to meet with multiple mentors, you may want to consider from a one-on-one matching to an à la carte program.

🕺🏾 **Recruit more mentors**

We generally suggest that a 1:3 mentor to mentee ratio is the sweet spot where mentees are getting enough support and information from their mentors. If you have a less than a 1:3 mentor to mentee ratio, you risk the change of overwhelming your mentors with too many mentor requests which can lead to mentor churn.

📆 **Extend and renew your mentorship program**

Often times, mentorship programs make the mistake of only allowing a few months for connections to be made. Based on the engagement of your members, you may want to consider expanding the time in which they have to interact with their mentor. Mentorly has found that mentees need ample time to book sessions, gain insight, and put their mentor’s advice into action! With a short time frame of a mentorship program, mentee and mentor growth can be less than their full potential.

# And there you have it! 🥁

You now have the information you need to kick off your mentorship program.

The great news is that Mentorly will support each step of the way. If you have a Pro or Enterprise plan, your dedicated **Mentorly Success Advisor (MSA)** can help you work out through these steps. If you are on a Teams Plan and feel like you could use the extra support provided by an MSA, [get in touch](https://mentorly.co/en/pricing)!

Now, go forth and build your impactful, digital mentorship program like the rockstar you are! 👩🏾🎤🎸

---

# What's next?

- [Program Manager collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/program-manager)

- [Onboarding resources to share with mentors and mentees](https://mentorly.com/en/help/general)


Set your mentorship program up for success

How to Build an Impactful Mentorship Program


1.  [For Marketplace users](#for-marketplace-users)

## FOR MARKETPLACE USERS

\*Please note that you have to set your payment information before booking your session.

1.  Once you have found the mentor you are looking for, click on **View profile** and then **Book a session.** You will be able to choose an available date in the calendar or you can **suggest another time**

2.  Choose the session length (30 or 60 minutes) and then the time. The calendar is timezone smart 😎

3.  Click on **Next** and be sure to fill out **What you would like to cover** with a detailed booking message or [session agenda](/en/help/articles/setting-an-agenda-for-your-session)

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-book-a-session-with-a-mentor-1.jpg)

By clicking **Confirm**, your mentor will receive an email notification of your booking request, and will be asked to either **Approve** or **Decline** the booking. That response is sent to both you and the mentor.

If the booking request is **Approved**, you will see the booking on your personal dashboard in the **My Sessions** tab page. You will be able to **Join call** from there 10 minutes prior to your session.

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-book-a-session-with-a-mentor-2.png)

If the booking request is **Declined**, you may [chat with your mentor in your Inbox](https://mentorly.co/inbox) to reschedule, or start browsing for another mentor.

---

#

What's next?

- [How/where to join your session](/en/help/articles/where-to-join-your-video-call-session)

- [Prepare your computer (a day or 10 min) before your session](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/troubleshoot-audio-can-t-hear-and-video-can-t-see-issues)

- [Marketplace Member collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/marketplace-member)


After finding the mentor you want, what to do and what to expect next

How to Book a Session with a Mentor


(FOR MARKETPLACE USERS)

Go to your [Mentorly profile](https://mentorly.co/settings/profile) or click on the 'Profile' below:

[![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-1.png)](https://mentorly.co/settings/profile)

Make sure to complete **all** of the sections to really make your profile stand out! 🤩

**Note:**
Currently we only allow your profile to be under **one** **discipline** (not multiple) which was set up upon creating your account and you can no longer change it yourself. i.e. Visual Art

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-2.png)

Here are all the **discipline** categories:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-3.png)

If you'd like to **change the discipline** you're under, please contact us at [support@mentorly.co](mailto:support@mentorly.co).

However, you may add multiple '**Areas of interest**' (sub-disciplines):

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-4.png)

Here are all the **sub-disciplines** (areas of interest), in this case, for Visual Art:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-5.png)

Lastly, if you want, you can create a **custom URL** for your Mentorly profile:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-6.png)

Enter the profile name you want and click **UPDATE.** For example: annali

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-7.png)

This way, your profile will show like this:

![](/images/help/articles/how-to-edit-your-profile-8.png)

and you can share it with your networks on social media! 😎

**Note:**
If you want to **become a mentor**, please contact us to apply after reviewing our FAQ.

---

# What's next?

- [How/where to join your session](/en/help/articles/where-to-join-your-video-call-session)

- [Prepare your computer (a day or 10 min) before your session](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/troubleshoot-audio-can-t-hear-and-video-can-t-see-issues)

- [Marketplace Member collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/marketplace-member)


Here is where to update your Mentorly profile such as your bio, pictures, and new portfolio links or a website

How to Edit Your Profile


(FOR MARKETPLACE USERS)

You can **view session history** and **join upcoming sessions** on your [Bookings](https://mentorly.co/bookings) page.

![](/images/help/articles/where-to-join-your-video-call-session-1.png)

The JOIN VIDEO CALL button below will activate 10 minutes prior to your session starting.

[![](/images/help/articles/where-to-join-your-video-call-session-2.png)](https://mentorly.co/bookings)

If you're **rejoining** **a session**, please be sure to **refresh** your browser prior to clicking on the JOIN VIDEO CALL button.

**Hosted on Zoom?** Mentors can host their sessions on their own Zoom account instead of Mentorly Video. If your session is hosted on Zoom, the session page shows **Join on Zoom**, which opens the meeting in a new tab. The chat, screen share and file upload below are Mentorly Video features; on Zoom you use Zoom's own tools. See [Using Zoom for your Mentorly sessions](/en/help/articles/using-zoom-for-your-mentorly-sessions).

---

# Don't forget:

1.  You can **chat**, **screen share**, and **upload files** during your video call.

2.  Sessions countdown 10 minutes prior to the end of the call and automatically close. Keep an eye on the ⏰ !

3.  You can flag 🚩 a call in the case you want to signal a problem to Mentorly.

---

# What's next?

- [Troubleshoot or prepare your computer (a day or 10 min) before the video session](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/troubleshoot-audio-can-t-hear-and-video-can-t-see-issues)

- [Marketplace Member collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/marketplace-member)


Where and how to join or rejoin your video call session on Mentorly as a mentor or mentee

Where to Join Your Video Call Session


Once you've booked a session with a specific mentor, you'll both need a roadmap to make the most of your time together.

While an agenda may seem like overkill, it's a great way to clearly communicate what you need from your mentor, making sure to get all of your important points across.

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# 60-Min Session Agenda Outline

## 1) Introductions (10 min)

_Introduce yourself, your work and what you hope to gain out of your session(s) with your mentor. Allow our mentor to do the same so that you can make the most of their expertise._

Question for Mentors:

- Tell me about yourself and your professional journey

- What are your areas of expertise and which subjects would you like to avoid discussing during our sessions?

## 2) Longterm objective and session objective (5 min)

**_Share your longterm objective along with a few short term goals and explore the best session structure to help you reach them._**

- As my mentor, what expectations do you have of me, of our sessions together?

- How often would you be available to mentor?

## 3) Current situation check-in (5 min)

## _Start with getting a sense of the impression your mentor has of your work and goals to see if you're both on the same page._

- Do you have feedback on my work or my expectations?

- What do you think we should tackle first?

- Do you see any weaknesses or potential problems?

## 4) Problems and/or fears (10 min)

## _Tackle the areas that are most difficult for you right now and explore ways to overcome them with your mentor._

- What do you see as most urgent and requiring immediate attention?

- What important lessons have you learned along your professional path that can help me potentially avoid the same mistakes and obstacles?

- Do you have insecurities? If so, how do you keep them at bay?

## 5) Previous efforts/trials (10 min)

## _Describe the steps you've taken to move your work forward and mitigate the challenge(s) you have faced._

- Here's what I've tried in the past and their outcomes

- Here's what I've done so far and the current status

## 6) Questions (15 min)

_Time to think more broadly! This is your chance to expand on your initial questions and/or pain points to get the most out of your mentor(s) expertise._

- What are the realities of my market, positive and negative, that I should be aware of?

- When I'm negotiating with a supplier or potential client, what should I keep in mind?

- When you're in a conflict with someone, what do you find is the best way to resolve the situation to mitigate discomfort and potential setbacks?

## 7) Homework and scheduling a follow-up session (5 min)

## _Time to wrap up! Show gratitude, plan your work and clarify communication expectations over the following weeks._

- Which resources do you recommend I look into?

- Do you have feedback regarding our session together?

- Can I send you files or notes along the way to prepare our next sessions together?

- What is your next availability?

You can include this agenda upon booking and/or share it via **[inbox](https://mentorly.co/inbox)** once you've booked your session.

Not only will you feel more prepared for your video call, but your mentor will greatly appreciate the time and consideration you put into clarifying your needs, which will only help them help you more 😀 !

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# What's next?

- [Prepare your computer (a day or 10 min) before the video session](https://mentorly.com/en/help/articles/troubleshoot-audio-can-t-hear-and-video-can-t-see-issues)

- [Marketplace Member collection](https://mentorly.com/en/help/marketplace-member)


Prepare as a mentee to get the most out of each session

Don't forget:

What's next?

Related Articles

Joining your Video Call session

Getting started with Mentorly

Session requests and viewing your mentee's profile

Video Call Features

Using Zoom for your Mentorly sessions