Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mentor Match?
Mentor Match is the latest addition to our suite of services to support members’ professional development needs. It is an online tool — including a searchable database — that facilitates the establishment of mentoring relationships. It is user-driven, allowing registered Mentees to search among registered Mentors using specified criteria to find individuals whose experience and expertise match areas in which they wish to be mentored. Likewise, registered Mentors can search for and identify potential Mentees.
Mentor Match is a benefit of membership and is available only to NAHB members. There is no extra charge to use this resource.
Members must first enroll as a Mentor, Mentee or both. During the enrollment process, members will select preferences for various demographics (including Mentoring Communication Preference and Mentoring Industry Sector Topics) to establish their personal criteria.
A registered Mentee will visit the “Find a Mentor” page and fill in their search criteria to search for possible Mentors. The Mentee will click the names of the potential Mentors to view their profiles. Once the Mentee has decided on a Mentor, they will click on the Mentor badge (seen below the registered Mentor’s profile picture) to request that person as their Mentor. An e-mail will be sent to the Mentor alerting them that they have been requested to be a Mentor. The Mentor will be able to accept or decline the request.
A registered Mentor will visit the “Find a Mentee” page and fill in their search criteria to search for possible Mentees. The Mentor will click the names of the potential Mentees to view their profiles. Once the Mentor has decided on a Mentee, they will click on the Mentee badge (seen below the registered Mentee’s profile picture) to request that person as their Mentee. An e-mail will be sent to the Mentee alerting them that they have been requested to be a Mentee. The Mentee will be able to accept or decline the request.
For Mentors
You must be an NAHB member to participate in the program. If you are a member, click here to enroll as a Mentor. You will be instructed to choose your preferences for various demographics and to complete your NAHB Connect member profile.
Mentees are other NAHB members who need you to provide professional development resources, tools, and encouragement to help them succeed.
We recommend that you be judicious in selecting only Mentees who are most suited to learn from your expertise and experience. We recommend no more than five. You can limit the number of Mentee requests you are willing to accept on the Mentoring enrollment page.
Once you have enrolled as a Mentor, go the “Find a Mentee” page and select the criteria you want to use for your Mentee search. Click on the Mentees’ names to view their NAHB Connect profiles. Once you have found a good match, click on the Mentee badge (seen below the Mentee’s NAHB Connect profile image) to send the Mentee an email request. An e-mail will be sent to the Mentee alerting them that they have received a message.
You will receive an e-mail from the Mentee requesting you to be their Mentor. You will be prompted to accept or reject the request.
Yes, but there should be a good reason to do so. We encourage you to at least have an initial conversation to explore whether the relationship would be mutually fulfilling. If a potential Mentee has misinterpreted information in your profile, you may find him/her to be an inappropriate match. If you want to decline a request, go to the “My Mentoring Relationships” page and check the “decline” button next to the specific request.
Go to the “Mentor Enrollment” page, click the “Mentor Status” link then click on the check-box next to “Temporarily Not Participating.” Doing this will indicate that you are not accepting any Mentee requests at this time, and your mentoring profile will not be included in a Mentee’s search for a Mentor. It is your responsibility to communicate your availability to your existing Mentees.
If the mentoring relationship is complete, go to the “My Mentoring Relationships” page and mark the relationship as “completed.”
If the mentoring relationship isn’t working out, please kindly discuss your decision to end the relationship with your Mentee. Go to the “My Mentoring Relationships” page and mark the relationship as “completed.”
We expect that you will fulfill your commitment to develop at least one mentoring relationship. We expect you to respond to initial requests from Mentees in a timely manner, and that you communicate with your Mentees as agreed upon by both you and your Mentees.
We recommend that you and your Mentees agree on a schedule that works best for both of you. The most important thing is to discuss your mutual expectations about time and communication at the start of your relationship. Keep in mind that mentoring doesn’t necessarily require large amounts of your time. Even brief phone calls or e-mail exchanges with you can make a big difference to your Mentees. If you are both attending the International Builders Show, this annual meeting offers a convenient venue for getting together with your Mentees over coffee or lunch.
All Mentors are volunteers. As an active program participant, you will receive an NAHB Connect profile ribbon identifying you as a Mentor.
For Mentees
If you are a member, click here to enroll as a Mentee. You will be instructed to choose your preferences for various demographics and to complete your NAHB Connect member profile.
Mentors are other NAHB members who have volunteered their time to provide professional development resources, tools, and encouragement to help Mentees succeed.
We recommend that you be judicious in selecting only Mentors who are most suited to your mentoring needs. Please keep in mind that Mentors have limited time to offer and may have other Mentoring relationships. We recommend you invest your time in one mentoring relationship at a time.
Once you have enrolled as a Mentee, go to the “Find a Mentor” page and select the criteria you want to use for your Mentor search. Click on the Mentors’ names to view their profiles. Once you have found a good match, click on the Mentor badge (seen below the Mentor’s profile image) to send the Mentor an e-mail request.
If you don’t hear from the Mentor within one or two weeks, feel free to contact them using the contact information found on their profile page.
Regardless of the information provided, Mentors and Mentees don’t always “fit.” If this happens, we suggest that you discuss your decision honestly and kindly with your Mentor; thank them for their time then start a new Mentor search.
It is up to you and your Mentor to decide how, when and where you want to pursue your mentoring relationship. It is likely that most of your communication will occur by phone or electronically. The annual meeting offers a great opportunity to meet in person.
We recommend that you and your Mentor agree on a schedule that works best for both of you. The most important thing is to discuss your mutual expectations about time and communication at the start of your relationship.
