Professional Documents
Culture Documents
It is important to understand that mentoring and participation in the Cargill Global Scholars Program
are not a guarantee of a role within Cargill or career sponsorship from the mentor.
Be proactive
Ask mentors insightful questions
Formulate preliminary academic and professional goals
Initiate conversations with mentor (i.e. be an active participant)
Reflect on mentors questions and feedback
Respond to mentors communication in a timely manner
Share information about curricular and extracurricular interests and passions
Demonstrate enthusiasm in interactions with mentor
Meeting Guidelines:
Phone or virtual (Skype, etc.) meetings should be scheduled for at least once
every two months (once a month is highly encouraged).
Keep in touch with your mentor throughout the month using e-mail, however be
respectful of your mentors time and schedule. See tips for effective virtual mentorship
(page 5).
Goal Setting:
Work with your mentor to define and set short and long-term academic and professional goals.
Activities, discussions and learning opportunities recommended by your mentors will be aligned to
best support your development toward these goals. Your progress against goals will be discussed
throughout the mentorship.
Confidentiality and Trust:
Maintain privacy and confidentiality of conversations with your mentor. They will do the same. It is
important to discuss confidentiality and trust during your first meeting with your mentor to ensure
that you have alignment. You should speak freely about any questions or concerns that you may
have. These questions and concerns may relate to any facet of your life whether it is academic,
professional, personal, or social.
W T O ST R UC T UR E Y O U R R EL A T IO NSH I P
Preparation
In preparation for your first meeting with your mentor, the following questions will help you think
about what you want to develop and gain through the course of this relationship:
What facets of my life are important for me to share with my mentor so that together we can
start setting my short and long-term goals?
What could I share about myself that would help us get to know each other (e.g. academic
history, career history, leadership style, successes, missed opportunities, personal life)?
What opportunities have I been seeking to gain a better understanding of what I want my
academic and professional path to be?
What are my top three strengths? What three things are possible barriers to reaching my
potential?
Your first few meetings should be focused on getting to know one another and building a relationship
of trust. Additional discussion topics that will help guide your first few meetings with your mentor
are outlined in the next section.
Closure
A mentoring relationship is not expected to be permanent. It is up to you and your mentor to
determine whether youd like to continue to keep in touch once the mentorship year comes to its
conclusion.
The following are topics to discuss during your wrap-up session with your mentor:
Discuss what facets of the relationship went well and what each of you would do differently
next time (takeaways for both about being a mentor and mentee)
Tell your mentor what you have valued most in the relationship
D ISC USSI O N T O PI C S
Below are some reflection questions to help guide your first few discussions with your mentor.
These questions will help you share with your mentor your academic and professional goals,
challenges, strengths and a bit of personal information.
Academic
Development
Career
Guidance
Personal
Development
Which of the classes that you have taken thus far did you find most interesting? Examples may be
provided both within your major and outside of the major.
Which classes are you most looking forward to taking? Examples may be provided both within your
major and outside of the major.
What kinds of experiences are you hoping to engage in while pursuing your undergraduate degree?
What made you decide to pursue your field of study?
What successes have you recently experienced? Why were they successful? Examples can come
from academics or extra-curricular activities.
What are your short-term and long-term academic goals?
What skills would you like to develop?
What do you see yourself doing after you complete your undergraduate degree? What steps are you
planning on taking in order to reach those goals?
What type of career are you most interested in pursuing?
What are your short-term and long-term professional goals?
What do you do to expose yourself to new ideas and new ways of thinking?
What are your current strengths and areas you wish to develop? What steps are you taking to
improve these areas?
What are your interests and hobbies?
What individuals, books, experiences or events have most impacted who you are?
What are you passionate about?
Have you traveled or lived abroad? If so, what did you enjoy most about your international
experience?
Tips on Virtual Mentoring Relationships: E-mail is a fast, easy and inexpensive way to communicate with your mentor
between meetings.
Frequency of contact is important, especially in the first few months. It will help you move beyond small talk and
show that you want to discuss a variety of issues.
Lync, Skype, FaceTime, and WebEx are suggested technologies to connect with your mentor. Please work with
your mentor to determine the method that works best for your communications.
Show enthusiasm! In e-mails, this means responding promptly, giving thoughtful answers, thanking your mentor
for sharing ideas, using exclamation points when appropriate, giving feedback and telling him or her that you're
enjoying the experience.
Contact IIE at Cargillglobalscholars@iie.org and alert them of the situation. Dont be afraid
to solicit advice on how best to handle the situation.
Dont feel obligated to answer every question raised by your mentor if you feel that the
topic area is too personal/sensitive. Tell your mentor that you do not feel comfortable
commenting on the question.