Suggestions for meeting topics, discussion questions, and preparation and training

How to use this Guide

If you are serving in a mentoring role, this guide will help you plan and structure meetings with your mentee.

Although mentor-mentee meetings should be guided by the mentee’s interests, concerns, and goals, a mentor’s role to ensure those meetings are productive, on-task, and beneficial.

Suggested method

  • At least 3 meetings over the semester; more if the relationship extends beyond one semester or if more meetings are useful
    • The first meeting is introduction/ relationship building, the last meeting is wrap-up/ goal-setting, and then you can have as many as you and the mentee mutually decide is useful in the middle.
  • Each meeting should last at least 35-45 minutes
  • Where: Dining hall, coffee shop, walk on campus, living space as appropriate, take “a side quest” to go: shopping, the grocery store, grab food off campus, etc.

Each meeting has the following information to guide you:

  • Goal: what is the goal of this particular meeting?
  • Outcome: what is an expected end result of this meeting?
  • Mentoring skills used: based on the Peer Mentoring Development Framework
  • Suggestions: such as where to meet
  • Discussion questions: these will help guide you and keep you on task. You don’t need to use all of them! Use whatever is most useful to you and your mentee.
  • Action steps: determine next steps with your meeting

Recommended meeting flow

Click the links for agenda, discussion questions, and more guidance to help you plan productive meetups with your mentee.

  2. Meeting 2 – Options include: