In March 2014 the first e-Mentor Program match took place. Two Human Resources professionals, Mary from Toronto, ON and Mila from St. Petersburg, Russia started their sessions. Please see below their reflections on their e-Mentoring journey they kindly shared with us.

“In a knowledge society, learning is the work, and the work is learning”
Jay Cross, expert in the field of non-formal learning

We started our wonderful volunteer opportunity with English Online in the ESL program, teaching and learning English as a Second Language.  As HR professionals, we were offered the opportunity to participate in a pilot e-mentoring project as the first mentor-mentee pair and we gladly accepted.  It has been a wonderful experience, well supported by Margarita and Julia from English Online!

Mila’s Reflections:

When I enrolled in the program for English language training at English Online Inc., I was offered the opportunity to participate in a pilot e-mentoring project. Since I work in the HR sphere, I had the opportunity to be matched with another HR professional who would act as my mentor as I prepare for my move to Canada from Russia. Naturally, as a true HR professional, I could not miss the opportunity for self-improvement in my favorite sphere and meet with new HR professionals.

Mary became my mentor. She is an incredible person by her personal qualities: sensitive and very supportive, and, of course, she is a real professional. Our meeting has already played an important role in my life and in my professional preparation for immigration to Canada.

Now I would like to tell you a little about my impressions from the program: I love the idea of providing an opportunity to  new / potential immigrants to better understand  the industry where we are going to work, to discuss what is common, what  the differences are and things to be aware of in order to be ready when you arrive to a new country. Also, this is a great opportunity for networking. As for me, I’ve learned a lot of interesting details and nuances that will help me in my future job search and development in the HR industry.

Mary’s Reflections:

Mila and I started our eMentoring on a cold, snowy day in March.  Mila and I were excited to meet one another and even though our Skype connection wasn’t great, our personal connection was, and we had a great first meeting  getting to know one another, discussing needs and expectations of the program and of one another.  Our first lesson learned was to be prepared for anything when dealing with technology.  We both needed to be patient, as we kept hanging up and calling back while we both dealt with internet connection problems.  Mila was a perfect mentee in that she was always willing to learn, not afraid to let me know what she needed, took responsibility for any action items and was always willing to take risks, including conducting a mock interview with a learner in Tel Aviv using Vyew.com.  Since March, we’ve had over a dozen Skype calls and in July, met in person in Toronto!

As I started to write this article I was reminded of advice I received from a parent that I met when my daughter was in pre-school.  The advice was “to prepare the child for the path, not the path for the child”.  I never forgot that advice and I believe this advice is directly applicable to mentoring.  My role as mentor is to help guide my mentee in her career challenges and aspiration; to provide suggestions, guidance and advice;  to share my experiences and listen to hers and; most importantly, to learn as well as teach.

What we loved about English Online e-Mentoring:

• A highly supportive team. We loved that our co-ordinators followed our journey and gave us positive, inspiring feedback!
• Useful resources for mentors and mentees (mentor handbook, e-learning platform, interactive learning journal).
• The program gave us a timeframe that seemed manageable (10 hours over approximately a 10 week period) yet was flexible to allow for more time. We met more times and over a longer period of time due to holidays and other commitments.

Mila’s Advice for Mentees:

1. The first step to successful collaboration is to overcome feelings of fear or embarrassment.  Do not be afraid to take the initiative in hand, share your ideas & experience and offer topics for meetings.
2.  Always try to complete any homework or research that your mentor gives to you, because with additional independent study only you can achieve the desired effect.
3.  No matter how hard it is to find time, please, try to complete your learning journal. First of all, it organizes you, and secondly, it is easier to track your progress.  And finally, you can see which topics have been covered and what else you want study.

Qualities which will help mentees be successful in this program, in Mila’s opinion:

• Be purposeful
• Take responsibility for your professional growth and development
• Take the initiative and willingness to learn
• Use mentor’s time and advice in the right way
• Be receptive to learning
• Participate in this program as an opportunity and privilege

Mila’s perfect portrait of a mentor:

• Is able to take the lead
• Shows patience and a willingness to work with others
• Ready to help mentees in goal setting
• Helps a mentee to gain confidence
• Understands the importance and responsibility of the role he plays and gets satisfaction from this work
• Teaches by his/her own example

In conclusion, I would like to say that of the greatest importance is the trust factor!

Mary’s Advice for Mentees:

• Be prepared for conversations with mentors by identifying topics you’d like to discuss or questions you want to ask.
• Be flexible in scheduling as differing time zones can make scheduling challenging.
• Be open to new ideas and be prepared to share your experiences and culture.
• Never be afraid to raise topics that YOU want to discuss, or to change the agenda based on what you need at that time (that day, that week).
• Be sure to share your observations in your Learning Journal, as soon after your meeting as possible, so you don’t forget what was discussed and how you felt.  The payoff is that a warm, supportive Co-ordinator will review your reflections and provide wonderful encouragement and feedback!

Mary’s Advice for Mentors:

• Always ensure you are meeting your Mentee’s needs!  Prepare an agenda based on the previous discussion (ask your Mentee what he/she wants to discuss next time) and send the agenda ahead of the scheduled meeting time.
• Be flexible in scheduling and sensitive to your Mentee’s time (working, family life and preparing for immigration to Canada can be very stressful).  If you have to change the schedule, ALWAYS suggest a new time rather than deferring re-scheduling to later.
• Always write in the Learning Journal (what you discussed, future topics, time spent and observations).  As mentioned above, the payoff is the wonderful encouragement and support received from the Co-ordinator who reviews your Learning Journal entry.
• Communicate between meetings as appropriate (to follow-up on items and/or to confirm the next appointment)
• Experiment with different technology. Mila and I used Skype to the fullest with video, text notes and 3 way calling between Toronto, St. Petersburg and Tel Aviv.  We also tried vyew.com to practice a mock interview with the participant in Israel.  We had difficulty but we did it! We learned something new and it was frustrating yet fun!
• Take a leadership role in suggesting topics but absolutely allow your mentee to set the agenda.  Your mentee’s needs are most important!
• Be patient and flexible. You may have topics planned and then your mentee wishes to discuss a priority issue that came up at work or needs simply to talk about life.  Go with the flow.  The most important aspect of mentoring is providing empathy and support to your mentee.
• Be prepared to learn from your mentee. She has a lot to share, about her industry, her workplace and rich cultural experiences!

If you are considering taking the opportunity to be an eMentor or eMentee, we strongly recommend you “go for it”!   We recognize that not everyone will make the strong connection that we have. If you are open to sharing, giving and receiving advice and forging new professional relationships we are optimistic that this will be as positive an experience for you as it has been for us.

Happy Mentoring!  M and M