Mentorship Program FAQ
Q. What kind of time committment is required to participate in the Mentorship Program?
A. The chapter offers a Spring and a Fall intake each year, with each intake lasting approximately 4.5 months. During this time, participants are required to attend 1 mandatory 3-hour matching workshop in the first month plus the time committment required by the individual mentorship pairing (which is determined by each pair as they are formed).
Previous mentorship pairs reported a typical meeting schedule of 2 hours every 2 weeks, with email or phone correspondence in between. Some met for a few hours on a monthly basis. Mentor alumni have recommended meeting as often as is useful for the protégé and as is feasible for both parties.
Q. How many PDUs could I earn through the Mentorship Program?
A. You could earn up to 6 PDUs for attending Mentorship meetings and up to 15 Category 3 PDUs for spending at least 16 hours in dedicated mentor-protégé sessions. For a full account of PDUs available, read the Mentorship Program Overview.
Q. I submitted my application for the next intake of the Mentorship Program. When will I get a notification that I have been accepted?
A. Accepted participants will typically be notified 1 week prior to the Matching Workshop. It is important to keep the date and time for the Matching Workshop pencilled in case you are accepted into the program.
The number of mentor volunteers (and the number of protégés each agrees to take on in a single intake) greatly influences the number of protégés that can be accepted into that intake. The caps for each intake are 15 mentors and 15 protégés.
Q. I applied to be a protégé for the next intake but was not accepted. I'm still interested in the Mentorship Program. What do I do now?
A. Your name will automatically be prioritized on the wait list for the following intake.
If you know a PMP-certified chapter member that you feel would make a great mentor, you could recommend the program to these colleagues. It will improve your chances (and others') of getting paired in subsequent intakes.
Q. If I am accepted into the Mentorship Program, am I guaranteed a pairing?
A. While chances are very high that you will find a partner you can work with, pairing is hard to guarantee. Factors such as geography, scarcity of available mentors, scoring results during the ranking process, and schedule conflicts may mean that you may not find a partner suitable for you during the Matching Workshop.
Should this turn out to be the case for you, rest assured that you will be placed high on the wait list for the following intake of the Mentorship Program.
Q. Will I get paired with someone I don't want to work with?
A. No.
After the Matching Workship, each participant submits a partner shortlist. You are asked to rank your top 5. These are the people that we will try our best to match you to (assuming they want to partner with you as well).
You are also asked to list any and all persons that you do *not* want to be paired with. Under no circumstances would we match you with any people you list here.
Anyone else not mentioned in these two categories will be assumed to be "okay" matches (in other words, you wouldn't mind partnering with them if your top 5 were not available).
Q. Do you take geography into account during the matching process?
A. The Mentorship team does not take geography into account when we produce the final pairings. Here's why.
During the Matching Workshop, the conversations you have with each potential partner should give you a good idea of whether you can see yourself paired with that person. We assume that the partner shortlists you submit to us after meeting everyone is therefore created with your clear favourites.
If geography is a very important criterion to you, it is therefore very important to ask about geography with every single potential partner you speak with. You have 10 minutes with each partner, so we hope that will help.
Q. Do I have to continue the mentorship relationship after the program ends?
A. That decision is entirely between you and your mentorship partner.
Many pairs have reported that their mentorship experience continues past the official program end date. Pairs can choose to officially extend their pairing into the next intake, to earn extra PDUs.
Others don't necessarily have mentorship meetings after the program but remain in regular contact in case issues crop up. Do what feels right for you and your partner.
Q. What have past participants thought of this program?
A. We survey mentors and proteges throughout every stage of the mentorship intake. In each intake, an average of over 90% of respondents report that they are very satisfied with the results and benefits received from this program.
We have seen former proteges who participate again as mentors as well as mentors who return for repeat intakes.
For more information and testimonials from our alumni, visit the Alumni page.