What is it:

A cross-organisation mentoring scheme for women professionals.  Female mentees are matched with mentors who work in a complementary discipline of the profession (eg in-house lawyer with private practice economist, or European Commission official with private practice lawyer). 

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The programme aims to give mentees access to impartial and independent career advice from their mentors, and to give participants in the programme networking opportunities in W@ activities.

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How it works:

• The W@ Mentoring Programme Team will select the mentees from the full list of applicants, aiming to ensure a broad cross section of experience and specialism
• We will then match the mentors and mentees, taking into account any preferences put forward on either side
• We will initially ask mentors to get in touch with their allocated mentee, and then expect the mentee to take responsibility for organising their mentoring meetings

Who can become a mentee:

Eligible mentees are female professionals who could benefit from external mentoring in the field, either because their own organization does not offer mentoring opportunities or if they would benefit from a fresh perspective and new ideas on how to achieve their career ambitions.

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What is expected of mentees:

• Time (at least six hours over the period of the programme)
• Commitment to the mentoring programme, including through taking responsibility for arranging all meetings / phone calls with their allocated mentor
• To be clear about what they want to achieve from the programme and what they do / don’t want to discuss with their mentor
• To complete the application form by 10 Dec

Time commitment:

The mentoring programme is launched in Dec 2024 and will conclude in Jul 2025.  Within that  period, mentors and mentees are expected to meet by phone or in person for cc. 1 hour at least six times. 

W@ does not, however, mandate either the time, duration or frequency of mentoring meetings – this is something the mentor & mentee should agree between them to suit the mentee’s needs, and their respective diary commitments. 

Mentors and mentees are also invited to join W@ events and other projects. 

In addition to their formal mentoring sessions, mentors and mentees may of course also want to be in contact by email/phone etc. between sessions.

Please note:

Mentee applicants should first decide which programme they want to be part of: 

• Competition – Brussels
• Competition – France
• Competition – Turkey or
• Privacy

And then select their preferred mentors only from within that programme (e.g. Competition - Brussels).  Applications seeking mentors from more than one programme will be put aside and considered only if there are any remaining mentee slots available after the initial matching has been finalised. Given the benefits of in-person mentoring, the Project Team also encourages mentee applicants (where possible) to select mentors from the same jurisdiction where they are based. 

Mentors should:

• Keep conversations confidential (unless otherwise agreed)
• Be willing to share experiences but also to ask questions to understand your mentee’s objectives
• Be a source of motivation, encouragement, and support
• Offer trusted advice to help your mentee identify realistic goals and pathways to achieving them

Mentees should:

• Keep conversations confidential (unless otherwise agreed)
• Take an active role in managing the mentoring relationship
• Identify what you want to achieve and tell your mentor
• Be open, honest and willing to listen
• Accept that mentoring can help but that you are ultimately responsible for your own growth & development

First meetings – top tips:

• Get to know one another - discuss your career paths to date
• Set clear and realistic expectations for your mentoring relationship
• Establish confidentiality ground rules for your mentoring discussions
• Agree meeting logistics for subsequent meetings (who will set up, and how)
• Agree action points and/or discussion topics for the next meeting

Further meetings – discussion ideas

• Review mentee’s professional objectives: how to develop relevant skills/expertise, learning and development opportunities, progression opportunities in current role (and any barriers to achieving them)
• Discuss any professional concerns: performance issues, work-related problems, how to handle difficult people
• Consider other work concerns: work/life balance, expanding networks