Participating in the HHS Mentoring Program provides an exciting opportunity for you to take charge of your professional future. Through this Program, you are empowered to play a very strategic and proactive role in your professional development. In order to take full advantage of the mentoring experience, you must be an active player and (1) reflect on your professional goals; (2) select the right mentor; and (3) be open to feedback and coaching.
Reflect on Your Professional Goals:
In order to prepare for the mentoring relationship, you should engage in some self-reflection about your short- and long-term professional goals. You should assess your current situation and determine realistically where you wish to be in terms of your individual performance and profession prior to meeting with your mentor. Additionally, self-reflection should be an ongoing process in the mentoring relationship that teaches helps you to honestly assess your performance, areas for growth, strengths and result in learning that will contribute to the overall success of your organization.
For more detailed information on the competencies, visit: http://hhsu.learning.hhs.gov/DevMentoring/app/CompetenciesInfo.aspx for more information.
Find the Right Fit:
You should carefully think about what characteristics and knowledge are personally important to you in a mentoring relationship. Think about your expectations of a mentor. You may know someone that you believe would make an excellent mentor. Use the HHS Mentoring Matching System (MMS) Self-Selection Matching option to choose them as your mentor. If you don’t know someone or just want to keep your options open on finding a mentor, you should use the HHS Mentoring Matching System (MMS) Auto-Matching option to facilitate finding a match. Thereafter, you should speak with potential mentors about expectations of a mentoring relationship, and select the mentor that most suits your professional needs and your personal style. When searching for a mentor who is a good “fit,” check to see if the mentor possesses some of the following characteristics and abilities mentioned below:
• Understanding of HHS’ mission, vision, values and norms
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Organizational knowledge
• Supportive and patient
• Confidential
• Sense of personal power
• Strong leadership skills
• Interested in people and their development
• Motivates and inspires you to reach your full potential
• Comfortable providing constructive feedback
While you may not be able to assess whether a potential mentor has everything that you are looking for in the initial conversation, ask a few probing questions to learn more about the person. Talk with the potential mentor about your specific professional needs and expectations of the mentoring relationship and allow them to share what they believe they would bring to a mentoring relationship.
Be Open to Feedback and Coaching:
As a mentee, you should want and expect continuous feedback and coaching from your mentor to enable your professional growth. Participation in this program, will provide you with an opportunity to receive confidential 1-1 guidance, feedback, and coaching to improve your performance and support you in achieving your professional goals. This should occur through regular sessions and help you to transfer knowledge and skills from the mentoring sessions to the workplace. Use active listening techniques when communicating with your mentor and be open to feedback and coaching.
Last revised: 12/15/2008
