Becoming a Sussex Connect mentee

Having a mentor who shares your love of Sussex can help you become the professional you want to be.

Students signing up to Sussex Connect through the Sussex Connect QR code.

The mentor-mentee relationship

Mentoring is the act of one individual, who is usually more experienced (the mentor) offering help, support and guidance to a less experienced person (the mentee).

At Sussex, mentoring relationships are focused on professional development and take place through our online networking and mentoring platform Sussex Connect.

Find out about:

I've gained invaluable insight into the world of work and professional development. My mentor has helped me to navigate my thoughts and ideas about career development.” MaËlle mangold
International Marketing (2021) and mentee on our 2023/24 Global mentoring programme

The benefits of being mentored

Being mentored by a Sussex alum with experience in your field of interest can offer many personal and professional benefits, including:

  • a supportive relationship in which to explore professional challenges
  • confidential and objective discussions
  • new insights and the ability to view things from a different perspective
  • guidance from a more experienced colleague
  • constructive feedback and guidance
  • tailored support appropriate to your situation
  • space to think about longer term development.

Our mentees come from different stages in their career, including from current students, recent graduates and experienced alumni wanting to make a career change. Find out more about their experiences.

What mentoring can and can’t offer

It is important to have realistic expectations of what your mentor can and can’t support you with. This should form part of your initial discussion with your mentor.

Mentoring and professional challenges

If you go into a mentoring relationship expecting your mentor to solve your problems, you will be disappointed. The best solutions to your challenges will come from you. Your mentor will help you find them by listening to you, asking you questions, exploring a range of perspectives and sharing their own experiences where appropriate.

Mentoring as a guide to action

Mentoring is distinct from management in that you, as the mentee, direct the relationship. Your mentor should not point you towards any particular course of action. The only agenda the mentor has is to support you in your development – wherever that may lead.

Mentoring and specialist advice

Your mentor will not be in a position to offer specialist support such as therapy, legal advice, careers guidance or medical diagnosis. That said, your mentor may be able to help you find out where to access specialist information or support, but should not be expected to provide advice on areas beyond their expertise.

Mentoring and finding a job

Your mentor is not there to find or offer you a job. Your mentor might help guide you on where to look for jobs or provide insights into their industry, but their role is not to provide you with a job.

How to get started as a mentee:

  1. Sign up to our online platform – Sussex Connect.
  2. Once your account has been verified, make sure your preferences are up to date and your profile includes your career information.
  3. Reach members on the platform by posting in the main feed about what you are looking for in a mentor and your future career goals.
  4. Take a look at our Mentee Toolkit, available in the ‘Resources’ section on Sussex Connect. This contains lots of helpful guidance, including how to seek a mentor, what to expect and how to make your profile work for you.
  5. Search for potential mentors through our Sussex Connect Directory. Here you can send mentors a message introducing yourself and seeing if they would be willing to be your mentor (be sure to filter by those ‘Offering mentoring’). We'd recommend using the search bar to filter by key search terms (for example, ‘journalism’, ‘engineering’, ‘analyst’). Make sure you only search by one term at a time to maximise your results.
  6. Remember, some of our alumni community may be busy in their personal and professional lives when you message. Make sure to message more than one potential mentor, and don't be afraid to send a polite follow-up message in case they missed your initial one.
  7. Before starting a mentoring relationship, you should read and sign a mentoring agreement with your mentor. This contains guidance on confidentiality and what is expected of you in a mentoring relationship.
I found it to be a very valuable experience. My mentor was happy to discuss many aspects related to my future options and career choice and provided very useful advice and guidance along the way.” SAM WILLIS 
International Business (2019) and mentee on our 2022/23 Global mentoring programme

Further support

Once your mentoring relationship has been established, remember to provide honest and constructive feedback to your mentor about how the mentoring sessions are working for you. It is important that you keep to your commitments, follow through with agreed actions and be proactive in your development, both during and between mentoring meetings.

Hopefully you will find yourself in a productive mentoring relationship that is rewarding for both mentee and mentor. However, mentoring arrangements can and do breakdown for a variety of reasons. If you require any guidance or advice on your mentoring relationship please contact alumni@sussex.ac.uk.

You should report any criminal conduct, possible harassment, bullying, health and safety or wellbeing incidents/issues by contacting alumni@sussex.ac.uk.

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