Mentoring program

You can apply as a mentor if you are LUT alumni and you have a work experience of five years at the very least.What we expect from a mentor:

• Commitment to meet with the actor online approximately once a month.
• Setting goals and agreeing on the practicalities together with the actor.
• Supporting the student’s career readiness and finding his/her full potential in the labor market.
• Understanding that the actor’s individual needs and desires form the basis of the mentoring process.

What we do not expect from a mentor:

• Offering a job, internship or a thesis position to the actor.
• Sharing all the contacts in one’s network.
• Being able to answer all the questions the actor has.

The application period for mentors has finished on 31.8.2022. Thanks for all applicants! Will will contact each of you at the beginning September.

Who can apply?

• LUT master’s students
• Newly graduated LUT alumni (max one year after graduation) if they are still looking for work from their own field

What we expect from an actor

• commitment to meet with the mentor approximately once a month from November to May
• commitment to participate three group meetings during the program
• taking an active role when agreeing on the meetings, topics and practicalities with the mentor
• setting objectives for the program
• understanding that the mentor is not expected to offer a job, an internship or a thesis position to you

On the application form you define three mentors you would like to work with (options 1-3). You can apply to any mentor regardless of what you have studied. Mentors and mentees will be matched up based on their compatibility. The students’ application process is rolling which means that the pairs are matched up on a continuing basis instead of after a particular deadline. All applicants (whether chosen to the program or not) will be contacted during September or October.

The application period for actors for 2022-2023 program has been closed.

Tuesday 1.11.2022 at 17.00-18.30

• an online kick-off event for all the mentors and mentees

December 2022 – April 2023

• the mentoring pairs meet one another online (or face to face, if they choose to do so) approximately once a month

Tuesday 14.2.2023 at 17.00-18.30

• an online mid-way meeting for all the mentors and mentees

Tuesday 16.5.2023 

• a closing ceremony and dinner in Helsinki for all the mentors and mentees
• the event will take place in the evening – time and place will be announced later

The program will be carried out mainly online, but the pairs can meet each other also face to face, if they happen to be in the same area.

The program consists of three group meetings that all the mentors and actors participate. In addition, there will be at least five meetings together with one’s own pair. The joint meetings will be carried out in English.

It’s smart to agree on the dates and times for the pair meetings early on. This is something that the pairs can do in the kick-off event in November.

Mentoring is based on voluntariness, so no fees are paid. To participate the program, one needs to commit to the whole mentoring process, including group and pair meetings. 

In the beginning of the process the mentor and the mentee get to know each other, create the ground rules, and make a plan for the whole process. In the kick-off event pairs agree on at least the following:

• Objectives for the mentoring process
• The themes and questions they are going to work on. Also, what will not be covered.
• Confidentiality: What can and cannot be discussed with others.
• The dates and times for their meetings and practices for rescheduling or cancelling meetings. The recommended number of pair meetings is 5 times. The recommended duration for one meeting is roughly 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Communication during mentoring, including channels and means
• The roles and responsibilities of each party, how to prepare for meetings

Please remember that commitment and reliability are very important work life skills in Finland, so therefore, no-show is never an option.

It’s smart to prepare the topics for each pair meeting beforehand in order to benefit from the meetings as much as possible. The topics can be, for example:

• The student’s professional strengths and competences
• Jobs and employers
• Working life skills and practices
• Experiences from the labor market
• Career and career development
• Forming networks

There’s a handbook for mentoring available. The handbook includes, for example, themes and exercises that can be utilized during the program.

If you have any questions concerning LUT mentoring program, please contact:

careerservices[at]lut.fi