Mentoring

The AAAR Mentoring Program is designed to foster one-on-one connections between junior and senior members of the AAAR community and promote direct networking opportunities.

• Mentor and mentee applications are accepted in May through Google Forms sent by AAAR
• Mentors and mentees are paired and notified in June by the AAAR Early Career Committee
• Mentors and mentees are expected to meet virtually before the AAAR Annual Conference
• Mentor/mentee in-person meet-up is organized during the AAAR Annual Conference

Guidelines for mentors and mentees

• Clarify mutual expectations for the relationship and create a plan for re-evaluating those expectations at a regular interval
• Establish a schedule for regular meetings
• Create a shared list of ground rules for the relationship, including confidentiality and the extent to which confidentiality can and will be maintained
• Document short-term and long-term goals with specific goals and benchmarks
• Be aware of your own biases that could influence your interactions with, and responses to, your mentor/mentee

Guidelines for mentors

• Practice active listening
• Be complete, but succinct, in comments and explanations. Don’t dominate the conversation
• Give constructive feedback and make sure you include acknowledgment of their strengths in addition to advice about areas for improvement
• Refer mentees to colleagues for expertise outside your area. Your role is to facilitate your mentee’s success and growth, which will require knowing about resources available and maintaining awareness of opportunities that could benefit the mentee
• Advocate for your mentee in professional spaces where and when appropriate
• Set up a meeting with your mentee at the annual AAAR conference if you are both attending. Leveraging the AAAR reception is a great place to start. Make an effort to introduce your mentee to some of your colleagues at the conference
• Pursue mentoring training opportunities. For example, there are some great educational materials available at the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research

Guidelines for mentees

• Schedule the meetings and confirm final meeting time with your mentor
• Set an agenda for all meetings with your mentor, and if possible, share the agenda in advance
• Be proactive in developing your own professional development plan
• Build a mentoring network, recognizing that one mentor will not be able to meet all needs
• Be open to feedback from your mentor
• Provide honest, constructive feedback to your mentor about how things are going with the relationship

Questions? Please contact the AAAR Early Career Committee

• Anita Avery (Chair), aavery@aerodyne.com
• Maria Zawadowicz (Vice-Chair), mzawadowi@bnl.gov
• Kaisen Lin (Member), kaisen@msu.edu