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Mentoring Program

The Association for Northwestern University Women (ANUW) Mentoring Program is an annual, formal, professional development program for women staff at Northwestern University. It provides ANUW members an opportunity to interact and learn from one another in a one-on-one mentoring partnership. Mentors and mentees submit online applications and are matched based a variety of characteristics including areas of expertise, experience, and personal and career interests. Participants benefit from advice and insight and have the opportunity to create unique and enduring professional relationships with Northwestern colleagues.

Once admitted to the program, participants are encouraged to meet once a month during the course of the program. However, participants are encouraged to meet and communicate above and beyond these minimums as personal schedules allow. The mentoring relationship is a mutual relationship; success comes from the effort both parties put into it. To provide a quality experience for mentees and mentors, the ANUW Mentoring Program offers a series of activities and events, informational resources, and additional guidance throughout the course of the program.

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Apply to the Mentoring program

Apply to the Mentoring program

Thank you to all the mentors & mentees who have applied to the 2019 Mentoring cohort.  Applications are now closed.  If you are interested in participating in our 2020 mentoring program, please send us your contact information here.  You can also learn more about the program by reviewing the 2019 online webinar, click here.

If you know of anyone who would benefit from this program as a mentor or mentee, please fill out this form.

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Overview

Mentors and mentees are accepted into the ANUW Mentoring Program on an annual basis and are expected to participate in their “matched pair” for a period of one year, typically running April – December. Each mentor-mentee pair will develop their own regular meeting schedule and are encouraged to meet at least once a month. They are also strongly encouraged to attend the program events throughout the course of the program.

Benefits of Mentoring

Mentoring is something that can benefit everyone. It helps both the mentee and the mentor recognize their true abilities and, in the process, discover exciting areas for future development.

  • Stimulates new thoughts about career development and career potential.
  • Help to increase motivation – the mentee gains a new direction or perspective while the mentor feels a sense of achievement when their mentee succeeds.
  • Develop communication skills including, listening/questioning skills and conversing with colleagues in other areas and levels of the University.
  • The experiences and skills of helping another, coaching, and mentoring may continue in other areas of life, personal and professional.
Program History

In November 2011 the first mentoring committee gathered to explore the question: What does mentoring mean to ANUW? This first mentoring committee operated as a think-tank. Five months later, the group proposed a mentoring model to the ANUW Executive Board. In May 2011, the ANUW Executive Board approved the proposal to create a mentoring program. The current mentoring committee works to implement and further develop this original proposal.

The ANUW Mentoring Program would not be here today if it were not for the ANUW 2011-2012 president, Beth Clifford Smith. Beth brought together the original mentoring committee, which started this amazing mentoring journey. From November 2011 to March 2012 the original committee poured over programs, qualities, and facts of existing mentoring programs. The original mentoring committee members were: Ila Allen, Karen Allen, Sheri Carsello, Holly Erickson, Ellen Feldman, Daina Fernandez, Gail Higgins, Carol Michelini, and Sherry Minton.

With the mentoring proposal approved by the 2011-2012 ANUW Board, the mentoring committee officially became part of the ANUW Executive Board structure. This allowed the mentoring committee to focus on the more detailed tasks of implementation. For this phase of the program, Sherry Minton and Holly Erickson (both a part of the original think-tank committee) teamed up to be co-chairs of the implementation mentoring committee. Today, the mentoring implementation committee manages and updates the ANUW mentoring program based on the ANUW mentoring model. Thank you to all the members of this committee for tirelessly working through processes and procedures that help the program run successfully. The implementation mentoring committee members were: Karen Allen, Holly Erickson, Daina Fernandez, Gail Higgins, Sherry Minton, Amanda Stasinski, and Toni Montgomery.

Program Guidelines
  • By completing and submitting the application, an applicant is committing to participate in the ANUW Mentoring Program.
  • An applicant may apply as either a mentee or a mentor per mentoring cycle.
  • Any information you include in your application may be viewed by the committee and mentors of the ANUW Mentoring Program.
  • The ANUW Mentoring Committee will review all submitted applications for completeness and verification of current ANUW membership. If an applicant is not a current ANUW member, she will be notified and given the chance to become a member so that she may participate in the ANUW Mentoring Program.
  • All applicants cannot be guaranteed a place in the Mentoring Program. The amount of selected mentor/mentee pairings for each application cycle will be determined by the number of accepted applicants.
  • Mentees will be given the opportunity to review profiles of the mentor applicants and name their top five choices. They may also indicate if a mentor would not be a good fit, e.g., former hiring manager, colleague, family member.
  • Mentees are not guaranteed one of their top five choices. Final selections will be determined by the ANUW Mentoring Program Committee and will be based upon a combination of the mentee’s desired choice, areas of interest as well as the mentors’ corresponding expertise.
  • Mentors and mentees of the ANUW Mentoring Program are not required to, nor should be expected to, find new career positions for one another. Using your mentor or mentee as a “recruiter” is not a fair expectation of the partnership.
  • Contact between program participants before official final match notification is discouraged.
  • During the course of the mentoring program, if one party needs to terminate the relationship, you agree to abide by the decision of the other party. By entering the program you agree to a no-fault conclusion in the mentoring relationship.
  • By participating in the ANUW Mentoring Program, you allow ANUW Mentoring to use photos, survey data, or application responses to promote ANUW and/or ANUW Mentoring.
  • Questions regarding the application can be directed to anuw-mentoring@northwestern.edu.