Who is eligible to participate to Mentoring@CERN?

To be eligible, you need to have a contract with CERN or be an external participant to an experiment or an external contractor (everyone from staff, fellow, student, user, PART or external contractor is invited to apply).We have no upper or lower limits for age or career level so anyone can apply to be a mentor or mentee – we select mentor-mentee pairs on a case-by-case basis.

Who are the mentees?

Mentees are typically junior people, with a goal or a focus area, and a need for a mentor’s input, more experienced then them. Usually, Mentees are Early-Careers, Fellows, Students and Users who are navigating within job prospects, academic / non academic choice, etc. They often do not have to similar programmes and want to improve soft and leadership skills. They may need a Mentor’s help regarding their integration in their teams or to face discrimination and/or isolation.

Who are the mentors?

Mentors are typically women and men with an affiliation to CERN or the CERN Alumni.

When can I apply as a mentor?

You can apply all-year round for being a mentor. Just fill in the mentor form (it takes less than 5 minutes to complete) or write an email to mentoring.cern@cern.ch.

When and where can I apply as a mentee?

Applications are open once a year, usually in early spring, with the selection being done in March. When the application period is open, you can apply via Indico compiling the mentee Application Form. In this form you will provide some basics information (name, department, professional experience) but also a motivation letter. You can also specify some preferences (like mentor’s gender, same or different department, Alumni VS CERN) and, if it is possible, we will be glad to meet your needs. The more information mentees provide, the easier it is for the Mentoring Team to do the matching and find the most suitable mentor.

Can mentors have multiple mentees?

Yes, Mentors can have multiple mentees and a mentee can be both a mentor and a mentee at the same time, if they wish to.

Do you always match a mentor to each mentee?

Unfortunately, no. We are not always able to match every mentee to a mentor. Nonetheless, in the II Edition of Mentoring@CERN (2025) only 5 mentees could not be matched over ~100 applications! Mentoring will be done with the aim to create the best possible match (according to the mentees’ goals in the application form)​ and based on the availability of the mentors.

How do you match mentees with mentors?

The Organising Committee is organising the selection and matching based on the mentees’ goals and objectives and the available mentors’ profiles. We read all the application and always try our best to do the matching in a way that would benefit both mentees and mentors.

The mentoring relationship

What kind of commitment should I expect? How often should I meet with my mentee / mentor?

While we do not specify any minimal requirements for the frequency of meetings, it is advised to schedule and keep at least one or two meetings each month at the beginning of your mentoring relationship. Plan each meeting for around one hour. After first few months meetings may become less frequent /shorter and should occur as needed. We advise you to never leave a meeting without confirming your next meeting.

I am not in Geneva 100% of the time – can I still apply and meet my mentor / mentee virtually?

Yes, you can still apply if you prefer to have all (or most of your meetings) in virtual format. Please specify it in your application.

Where is the best place to meet with my mentor / mentee?

While an informal setting, like a coffee place or terrasse, might be a nice change from the daily grind, some mentoring couples prefer to meet in a more confidential space, like a conference room to avoid any distractions. If it is not possible to meet in person, you can also use Zoom or any other videoconferencing software.

Do I have to participate to the whole programme (from April until December)? / Can I terminate my relationship sooner? / Can I work with my mentor longer?

Mentoring is a volunteer activity and either party can end the relationship for any reason at any time with no fault assigned. Any decision to end the programme sooner, should be discussed between mentor and a mentee in an open way.
Beyond the April – December timeline, mentoring relationships can continue based on the mutual interest of both parties. Officially, the program comes to an end in December, but we’ve had many mentoring couples that have decided to continue well past the end of this formal timeframe.

My mentee / mentor is skipping meetings / is not committed / comes unprepared to the meetings. What can I do?

In any mentor-mentee relationships, normal priorities can often change when something arises in a person’s life, without the other person knowing, which can create issues. Mentoring Committee is here to provide support and guidance for mentors and mentees in case of problems in collaboration or communication. Should there be an issue that either of the parties is not able to successfully communicate with a mentor/mentee, please let us know asap. We will respect your concern and seek to learn as much as we can about the context and issue in question.
If, after resolving and explaining the issue, you feel that you would like to continue the mentoring relationship with another mentee/mentor, we will try do the necessary where appropriate. Alternatively, should you wish to take a break/terminate your mentoring relationship, let us know and we would do the necessary.

For Mentees

I want to have a mentor, but I do not want my supervisor / colleagues to know and find out about it– can you guarantee confidentiality?

The selection and matching results are not available publicly and only the Mentoring Committee has access to this data. After the matching, all the e-mail communication is done via closed e-groups (separate for mentors and mentees). Besides this, we aim to organise several meetings for mentors and mentees, but it is up to you if you decide not to participate. Once you start working with your mentor, it is up to you to agree on a level of confidentiality you want to maintain, and we provide you with a Confidentiality Agreement template that you can fill up for your own records.

I have very specific requirements for my mentor’s experience and background – can you make sure that you find someone available according to my needs?

Though we try our best when matching mentors and mentees, we cannot unfortunately guarantee that we will be able to find you a mentor exactly according to your needs. In such specific cases, we would contact you in person to discuss your expectations and the background and experience of a mentor we would have chosen for you. You could then decide whether you’d like to give it a try or decide to withdraw your application.

For Mentors

How can I become a mentor? What experience / qualities do you seek in mentors?

We search for people with good skills in active listening, providing friendly feedback, offering challenging ideas, sharing critical knowledge, triggering self-awareness, inspiring their mentees and explaining how the Organization works. If you are interested in becoming a mentor or have more questions, please reach out to us at mentoring.cern@cern.ch.

Is there a space to exchange ideas, best practices with other mentors?

Each year we create a mailing list with all the mentors, which you can use. As of 2020, we also collaborate with the CERN Alumni group and there is a dedicated group in the Alumni portal for mentors.

I am afraid my mentee does not find my advices / our meetings useful – what can I do?

It is very natural to struggle with finding your own mentoring style and it is very common that mentees and mentors do not immediately “click” and find a common ground, which is not necessarily a fault of either of the parties. We find an open communication to be the basis for any successful relationship, so we would advise you to communicate your concerns to your mentee to understand your mentees point and to discuss what can be changed and how can you support your mentees needs and objectives. The Organising Committee is available to assist you in case of need.

Others

Besides the mentoring program, do you organize additional trainings?

Yes, we do! For example, in 2025 we organized a Goal Setting Workshop for mentees and a Mentors Traning with an external coach for mentors. If you participate to the program, you can’t miss these opportunities!

What is the CERN Alumni Network?

The CERN Alumni Network was launched in 2017. It gathers more than 10600 members from over 100 different countries. The goals of the Alumni Network are to build a Network of Ambassadors, to support Early-Career members (through dedicated jobs board and events) and to demonstrate the impact of a CERN professional experience on society. You can find more here.