Meeting guide · 45 minutes
First mentoring meeting agenda
For mentors & mentees
Use this as a starting point, not a script. Adjust the timing together, make room for questions, and finish with one manageable action for each person.
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Share only what you are comfortable sharing. Follow your program’s participation and privacy policies, and ask the program team if the match or expectations need attention.
Before you meet
- Read each other’s profile and check the meeting time, time zone, and joining details.
- Bring one topic you would like to explore and one question for the other person.
- Have your program’s expectations and the mentoring agreement worksheet available.
0–10 minutes · Get to know each other
- What would you like me to know about your experience and current role or studies?
- What brought you to this program?
- What interests or experiences might help us connect?
10–20 minutes · Explore the mentee’s goals
- What would you like to feel more confident doing by the end of this relationship?
- What have you already tried, and where do you feel stuck?
- What would a small but meaningful sign of progress look like?
20–30 minutes · Agree on how to work together
- What can each of us offer, and what is outside the scope of mentoring?
- What meeting cadence, communication channel, and preparation will work for both of us?
- What are our expectations about privacy, boundaries, feedback, and asking the program team for help?
30–40 minutes · Work through one topic
- Choose one current question or challenge rather than trying to solve everything today.
- Mentor: ask questions, share relevant experience, and check what feels useful to the mentee.
- Mentee: identify one idea you can try before the next meeting.
40–45 minutes · Make the next step clear
- Write down one action for each person, with a realistic date.
- Confirm the next meeting and one topic to return to.
- Ask: What was useful today, and what should we do differently next time?