Industry Connections Program Timeline

Registration

Registration for students and mentors opens in September. 

Matching and Orientation

Matching will take place in October and pairs will be announced on or around November 1st. Students are required to attend an orientation session (signup is part of the registration process) to learn more about the program and how to make it a valuable experience.

First Meeting

Once you’ve received your match, mentor pairs should connect and schedule their first meeting. Take the opportunity of this first meeting—either at the Kickoff Event or on your own—to get to know more about your partner, share what you’re looking for out of the partnership, and come to an agreement on how your partnership will function. Establish some goals for the year and create initial action steps to meet those goals. Once your SMART Goal Agreement is complete upload it to the Industry Connections website.

December and January

You should connect with your partner at least 4 times to work on your SMART goals and accomplish your action steps. Connecting can mean meeting in person, meeting virtually, emailing, or having phone calls with your partner.

It can be hard to get back into the swing of things after winter break, so be sure to put a reminder on your calendar to reach out to your partner.

February and March

Remember, you should be connecting with your partner at least twice a month. Spring semester is also a time to review your goals, begin to reflect on your partnership, and acknowledge the successes and accomplishments achieved.

April

As we come to the end of the program make plans to attend our Industry Connections Celebration, the official end of the program. This is also the time to thank your partner for their time over the year and to redefine your partnership and set new ground rules and boundaries for future interactions. Some mentoring relationships continue long after the formal program ends, but others do not. Do what makes sense for you and your partner.