ABOUT THE ASABE ONLINE MENTORING PROGRAM

ASABE is pleased to present this innovative online mentoring program, available to all student and young professional members of the Society as a benefit of membership. Young professional members are defined as non-student/preprofessional members aged 34 and under.

Why mentor?
When you were a student, you probably received first-rate technical training from academic programming, but what you also needed was the benefit of experience that could only be found on the job. As a mentor, you are in the unique position of having students benefit from your experience. You are able to help them get the right training and find their place in the engineering work world.

Young professionals may face a whole different set of issues and also need the benefit of a mentor who can give them practical career advice on the day-to-day issues facing them in the workplace.

As a mentor, you can make a difference.

What's involved in mentoring a student or young professional? We ask that you contact your mentee every other week during the year, as work or school schedules permit. Since this in an online program, you may contact your mentee at any time. It's up to you and your mentee if you want to take it to the next step and meet face-to-face.

You must be willing to initiate discussion and give advice and guidance freely, based on your experiences as an engineer and your mentee's learning needs and development areas. You are expected to be the expert in this relationship or, if need be, willing to help the mentee find access to the appropriate experts.

Your professional profile may fit the needs of more than one mentee. If you are willing to take on more than one person, we encourage you to do so.

How are mentors and mentees matched?
Each mentor will be asked to provide electronically, a brief profile detailing his or her work experience, technical interests and contact information. This profile will be assigned a random number and posted online (behind the password-protected, member-only section of the ASABE Web site) without name or contact information.

Prospective mentees will then be able to search all profiles for mentors who most closely fit their career interests via an online search tool. Using an online application, mentees select their top three choices for mentor. The application is then evaluated by ASABE staff and matched with the available mentor on a first come, first served basis. The mentor and mentee are then contacted by e-mail and provided with each other's names, company or school, relevant background information (as provided) and e-mail addresses. It is now up to the pair to start the mentoring relationship.

Ready to search for a mentor or sign up to be a mentor? Click here to log into the members-only home page.