What are Mentors?

Mentors are online members who have opted in to being part of the mentoring programme. Mentors are highlighted on the Careers & Mentoring Page and appear when matched to critera when a search for a mentor check is completed.

To be highlighted as an OH mentor we kindly request you must fulfill the following criteria:

• Be opted in to mentoring
• A photo on your profile
• A career profile is added to enable mentor/mentee matches

Who's included in the mentoring programme?

By signing up for the mentoring programme, and filling out a profile, you are volunteering to support a private network of like-minded people. Every individual within our community has a strong connection to Hymers, whether that be a former student, current or former parent, or former staff member; everyone shares a similar background.  

Online members of the OH community website are able to search for and find other members who are willing to provide advice. When they conduct a search the results will show those who are online mentors. The results will not show members who have not opted-in to the mentoring programme, members who have reached their specified number of requests they are happy to support, or those who do not meet the search criteria.

What does it mean to become a mentor, how do I volunteer and what if I want to opt out of the programme at a later date?

The mentor programme is designed to provide knowledge sharing between alumni network members without the pressure to develop a long-term relationship.

You can opt-in to being a mentor by registering on the Old Hymerians website; you will be prompted to volunteer upon registration or you can visit the Careers & Mentoring Page where you can also volunteer to become a member.

Once you've opted-in to being a mentor, you will see some extra controls on the settings page of your profile. You get to your profile easily by clicking on your name on the right hand side of the home-page after you have logged in. 

Scroll down until you get to the Mentoring heading, then click the cog to open up the selections to update your options.

These settings will allow you to:

• Select 'how' you are willing to help (e.g. restrict your help to career advice only, or job interview prep only)
• Limit how many people you're willing to hear from at any one time (counts 'active' interactions only, any closed interactions will not contribute to the limit)
• Option to temporarily hide yourself from the mentoring programme for 30 days because you're busy, or to permanently opt-out of the programme and be hidden from the search results completely.

How will I know if someone chooses me as a potential mentor?

If another member messages you via the 'Search for a Mentor' platform, you will receive an email notification to the email address you use to sign-in to the Old Hymerians website. The email will be sent via the OH website, it will include the personal message from the member and a series of options for your response.

By clicking one of the links in the email notification you will communicate your decision to the member. If you click on 'Yes I Can Help', you will be redirected to your OH website messages so you can reply to the member asking for your advice. If you are unable to help this will automatically take you to the page where you can update your settings in your member profile. 

Note: Your contact details are not shared and will not be visable to the member requesting your help. You are free to use whatever communication platform suits you and the member seeking your advice. However, it is very important that your first response is by clicking one of the links in the email notification so that the Development Office can track how well this system is working for users who request mentoring support.

Update your Profile

Please don't forget to update your profile. Adding your current industry experience, education and workplace allows for our platform to make meaningful matches when a search is conducted.  This can be done by clicking on your name on the right hand side of the home-page after you have logged in.

Support for Online Mentors

Once you have opted-in to being a mentor you are added to the Mentors Group so you can easily see all the guidance and resources available to you. Within this group will be other members of the Old Hymerians community who have volunteered to become a mentor and will be available to answer any questions you may have about being a mentor.

If you need any further assistance please contact the Development Office at oldhymerians@hymers.org where one of the team will respond.

Other Useful Links:

Code of Conduct for Mentee and Mentors

Best Practice Guide for Mentors

Giving back to your Community through Mentoring

A Guide for Mentees: How Mentoring can help you

Goal Setting for Mentees