Career Mentoring Opportunities
Linked In | MentorNet | Tips for Talking with a Mentor| Job Zone Professional Network
Ever wonder what working in your field will be like? How you'll get a job and what's needed to make it in your field? How to make yourself stand out in the competitive marketplace? The key can be establishing a relationship with a expert in the field who wants to share their expertise with you! We have pulled together some great LinkedIn information for you.
How does mentoring work?
A mentoring relationship allows you to connect one-on-one with a mentor volunteer for an informational interview, or for other conversations. Mentors are able to offer professional development, networking, and real world experience to you - the next generation of leaders. In volunteering to share their expertise, career knowledge and talents, they can help you make the transition from the academic to the work environment.
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LinkedIn is an interconnected network of experienced professionals from around the world, representing 170 industries and 200 countries. You can find, be introduced to, and collaborate with qualified professionals that you need to work with to accomplish your goals.
Latest LinkedIn Facts
LinkedIn has over 47 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the world.
A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second, and about half of our members are outside the U.S.
Executives from all Fortune 500 companies are LinkedIn members.
Relationships Matter
Your professional network of trusted contacts gives you an advantage in your career, and is one of your most valuable assets. LinkedIn exists to help you make better use of your professional network and help the people you trust in return. Our mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. We believe that in a global connected economy, your success as a professional and your competitiveness as a company depends upon faster access to insight and resources you can trust.
Job Zone's Professional Network
This option in Job Zone allows you to connect with alumni, employers, and friends of RIT in your field for advice, insight and motivation on your career and job search. You have the opportunity to connect for one-time informational interviews, or to develop a longer term mentoring relationship.
• Communicate by email, phone, IM, or face to face about career goals, course work, strategies for finding a co-op job, and many other topics.
• Open to all RIT students, in all majors, at any time during the year
• A great way to build your professional network!
• Past mentors have come from companies including: IBM, Microsoft, FBI, Accenture, Toyota, George Eastman House, Thomson Reuters, Bristol Myers, Scripps Network, and many others!
Who is in the JZ Professional Network?
A mentor in the Professional Network is an RIT alumni or friend of the Institute who volunteers to provide you with career development support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive examples. Mentors are good listeners, and provide constructive feedback about career goals and job search plans. Mentors are dedicated people who want to help you expand on current strengths and to develop new skills necessary to be successful in the world of work.
How Do You Access the Professional Network?
If you would like to develop a mentoring relationship initiate a request through the RIT Job Zone system, using the Professional Network tab. You can search the Network by employer, or view majors for someone closely aligned with your career interests. If you’d like to establish contact, simply click the “Interested” button for that volunteer. An email is generated to the volunteer, and if they are available, they will respond directly to you. Together, you establish the parameters of the relationship, including timeframe, goals and objectives, and communication method (email, phone, IM, face to face, etc).
Expectations of Students
When working with your mentor volunteer, whether for a one-time informational interview, or a longer mentoring relationship, please adhere to the following professional standards.
• Discuss your needs and expectations with your mentor; think about and communicate what you want out of the program.
• Be committed to follow through with agreed upon goals.
• Be receptive to suggestions and feedback.
• Keep your mentor informed of progress.
• Contact your mentor if you are unable to attend scheduled meetings in a timely manner.
• Realize that having a mentor is a privilege and work hard to take advantage of the opportunity.
• Maintain a professional demeanor.
• Respect the parameters you have established for your relationship, and thank your mentor for their advice and guidance.
Expectations of Mentors
We have also asked our Professional Network volunteers to adhere to the following when serving as a mentor for RIT students:
• Listen to the needs and expectations of the student.
• Work with the student to help him/her develop and establish realistic and obtainable goals.
• Keep the student aware of his/her progress.
• Encourage the student to explore new areas.
• Offer suggestions and feedback
• Be committed to serve as a resource to the student.
• Contact the student if they are unable to attend scheduled meetings.
• Be knowledgeable about the services of Office of Cooperative Education and Career Services, http://www.rit.edu/co-op/careers.
MentorNet
MentorNet is the award-winning nonprofit e-mentoring network that positively affects the retention and success of those in engineering, science and mathematics, particularly but not exclusively women and others underrepresented in these fields. Founded in 1997, MentorNet provides highly motivated protégés from many of the world's top colleges and universities with positive, one-on-one, email-based mentoring relationships with mentors from industry, government, and higher education.
The MentorNet Community offers:
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MentorNet's One-on-One E-Mentoring Program, pairing undergraduate and graduate students with experienced professionals in their fields for email-based mentoring relationships.
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The MentorNet E-Forum: web-based discussion groups for anyone interested in topics such as Work/Life Balance, Job Searching, and Graduate School.
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Resources for and about mentoring, diversity, and careers in engineering and science.
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A Résumé Database for students seeking jobs or internships.
What is the One-on-One E-Mentoring Program?
The MentorNet E-Mentoring Program is designed to provide information, encouragement, and support to undergraduate and graduate students. Protégés are matched in one-on-one e-mentoring relationships with mentors who have work experience, and MentorNet provides the training, coaching and support for them to pursue an 8-month mentoring relationship.
The program has proven effective by providing "real world" information, encouragement, advice, and access to networks that are otherwise often unavailable to women and people of color in the male-dominated fields of engineering and science. This is why over 90% of participants would recommend MentorNet's One-on-One E-Mentoring Program to a friend or colleague.
How does the program work?
Protégés:
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Fill out a Protégé Profile, which asks for basic information and interest in discussing common mentoring topics, such as school decisions, work/family balance, and gender issues. This profile also identifies a protégé's preferences for a mentor, such as gender, field of work, location, ethnicity, alma mater, and citizenship. A protégé can fill out a protégé profile at any time of year, as long as her/his college or university is a current participant.
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Immediately after creating a profile, a protégé is presented with the mentor profiles (minus the mentor's name and email) of up to 5 potential matches. Protégés can choose a match, opt to let MentorNet try to match them automatically, or come back anytime within the next 14 days to check for new potential matches.
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If no mentors are available immediately, protégés can revise their profile, changing preferences to be less restrictive, to try to better the chances of finding a match.
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If a protégé opts immediately to let MentorNet try to make the match, s/he will no longer have the option to choose a mentor.
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If a protégé does not immediately choose a mentor or opt to let MentorNet try to make the match, s/he will receive 2 reminder e-mails encouraging her/him to come back and check for, and choose from, potential matches.
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If a protégé does not choose a mentor within 14 days, MentorNet will automatically attempt to find a match for her/him, based on the information in the protégé profile.
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No matter how a protégé is matched (s/he chooses or MentorNet chooses), we will check that the mentor is still available. Once the mentor's availability is confirmed, the e-mentoring relationship begins immediately. Mentor and protégé can view each others' profiles through the MentorNet web site to learn about their partner. Mentor and protégé begin receiving regular discussion suggestions from the MentorNet program to help start and build the relationship.
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If the protégé chooses a mentor and the mentor is not available, the protégé will have another 14 days to view potential matches and choose again before MentorNet attempts to automatically make a match.
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The official MentorNet program lasts for 8 months.
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Protégés may edit their profile or delete it at any time while they are not matched.
Requirements to Get a Mentor:
A MentorNet Protégé must meet ALL of the following criteria:
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Considering or pursuing a degree, certificate, or postdoc in engineering, science, technology, or math.
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Currently enrolled as a community college, undergraduate, or graduate student, OR employed as a postdoctoral scholar or untenured faculty member.
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Enrolled or employed at a college or university partnering with MentorNet, OR associated with one of MentorNet's Affiliated Partners Plus. RIT is a participating university.
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Potentially interested in a career in industry, government, the non-profit sector, or higher education, but not pursuing pre-medicine, pre-dental, pre-nursing or pre-veterinary studies.
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Willing to exchange email messages regularly with a mentor over an 8-month period.
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Regular access to email.
For more information and to sign up for a mentor through MentorNet, go to the website – www.mentornet.net.
Tips For Talking with a Mentor
• Discuss your mentor’s career and educational background, and how individual work values have impacted his/her career choices
• Critique your portfolio, resume, cover letter, and/or school project
• Attend a networking event or professional meeting together
• Plan a job shadow day for you, or a tour of your mentor’s workplace
• Introduce each other to professionals within your field who have similar interests
• Practice a job interview, on the phone, in person
• Discuss the Co-op Program and your degree program, and compile a list of your mentor’s contacts that could assist you in your job search
• Read and discuss a book related to your field of interest
These are suggestions; we encourage you to tailor your mentoring relationship to suit your needs and the availability of your mentor.
Advice for Both Mentors and Students
• Respect confidences and trust each other.
• Discover common ground and respect your differences.
• Be yourself and be flexible.
• Be a good listener.