Mentoring - Career Development

Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)


 

General

Q1. How much time is required for the Mentor?
 
A1. The Mentor will spend a minimum of 2 hours with the Mentee per month. This can be face to face or over the phone. Additional Mentor time may be required to follow up on suggestions or information provided by the Mentee.
 
Q2. How much time is required for the Mentee?
 
A2. The Mentee will spend a minimum of 2 hours with the Mentor per month. This can be face to face or over the phone. Additional Mentee time may be required to follow up on suggestions or information provided by the Mentor.
 
Q3. How long is the program?
 
A3. The Mentor/Mentee relationship will last approximately 6 months, starting from the date of the coaching session. If you wish to continue in the formal Mentoring program at the end of this period you must reapply.
 
Q4. How do I apply to the program?
 
A4. Anyone interested in being considered for inclusion in mentoring program needs to complete the following steps:

►Read FAQs and Program Guidelines
►Complete the appropriate Mentor/Mentee application and contract and email to MentorCommittee@stlouis.iiba.org
►Attend the coaching session
►Attend the "meet and greet" session 

Q5. Who is eligible to be a Mentee?

A5. IIBA® St. Louis Chapter members in good standing.   Good standing means being a member of the St. Louis Chapter.  Typically a Mentee is somebody employed as or seeking the role of a business analyst and is looking to advance their own career.
 
Q6. Who is eligible to be a Mentor?
 
A6. IIBA® St. Louis Chapter members in good standing, i.e., by being a member of the St. Louis chapter.
 
Typically a Mentor will be: 
►Be considered a senior business analyst by his/her peers
►Have 5 + years of experience as a business analyst or related roles
►Knows/understands the business analysis job market and career development process
 
Q7. What is Mentoring?
 
A7. Mentoring is the act of helping someone to improve their business analysis skills. Mentors are facilitators and catalysts in a process of discovery and insight. In a learning partnership, the Mentor’s role is to “guide on the side” rather than “the expert with the answers”. Instead of being Mentor driven, with the Mentor taking full responsibility for the Mentee’s learning, the Mentee learns to share responsibility for the learning, setting priorities, learning, and resources and becomes increasingly self-directed.
 
Q8. Are only professionals from specific industries allowed to participate?
 
A8. All industries are welcome.
 
Q9. Why is there a coaching session?
 
A9. Best practices indicate a successful Mentoring program is based on:
►A good Mentor/Mentee match
►A coaching session to provide guidelines and set-up expectations for Mentors and Mentees
 
CDU’s

Q 10. How many CDU’s (Continuing Development Units) will I earn?
 
A10. Both the Mentor and/or the Mentee, if they are CBAP/CCBA certified, can each earn CDU’s. Please reference the IIBA Recertification Handbook for detail.
 
Q11. I am working on obtaining my CBAP/CCBA designation, can I claim Mentoring as part of the required contact hours of Business Analysis Education towards my qualifications?
 
A11. No, Mentoring programs do not qualify for the contact hour requirement. This portion of the IIBA®Certification examination application is specifically focused on structured learning programs addressing specific Business analysis knowledge areas exemplified by a classroom setting. A classroom setting specifically focuses this portion of the Certification examination application on structured learning programs addressing specific business analysis knowledge areas exemplified.
 
Q12. If I obtain an IIBA status during the Mentoring program, will I be eligible for CDU’s?
 
A12. Due to the short duration of the program CDU’s will be available to participants who have an IIBA® designation at the start of the program.
 
Q13. How do I claim my CDU?
 
A13. Note that Mentor or Mentee must still submit their CDU’s to IIBA® as per normal procedures to claim your CDU’s.
 
Q14. How do I get my CDU’s?
 
A14. Upon completion of the Mentoring program and receipt of your certificate from St. Louis Chapter and you submit your CDU’s through the normal IIBA procedures.
 
Q15. Can I earn more or less than 15 CDU’s for the Mentoring program?
 
A15. The maximum you can earn is 15 CDU’s for the actual Mentoring program. If you put in more than 45 hours you still will be able to claim 15 CDU’s only.
 
Q16. What time is and is not considered eligible for CDU credits?
 
A16. The following activities are considered eligible for CDU’s:
►Time spent together by both Mentor and Mentee
►Face to face
►Telephone conversations
 
The following activities are considered not eligible for CDU’s:
►Preparation work
►E-mails
►Reading
►Attending other training course
►Travel
 
Q17. If I complete my 15 hours of contact time before the program ends, can I claim them earlier?
 
A17. CDU’s will only be awarded at the end your 6 month cycle. See the next question.
 
Q18. For which year will I be able to claim CDU’s?
 
A18. The approach used by any REP (Registered Education Provider) is that course participants earn CDU’s upon the completion of the whole course.  IIBA® St. Louis Chapter has created this program as a course and in order to obtain your CDU’s the course must be completed. Therefore you will be eligible for 15 CDU’s only after you have participated for 6 months.

Q19. Can I join the program after it has been launched?
A19. Yes, however, it will depend upon the availability of mentor/mentees at that time.  We have decided to open the program to receive applications throughout the year.  This may mean that you are on a wait list until a match is found.
 
Mentor/Mentee Matches

Q25. Can I continue my current Mentor/Mentee relationship for a second term?
 
A25. Due to the limited number of spots available, all interested parties must reapply to participate in the program.
 
Q26. How many Mentor/Mentee pairs are allowed in the program?
 
A26. At this time there is not a specific number of pairings targeted, but the group will work to accommodate as many pairings as possible.
 
Q27. How will the Mentor/Mentee pairs be chosen?
 
A27. Generally they will be chosen on a best match basis. However, the logistics of matching may mean that even if your application was #1 and no appropriate match was found then you would not be paired. The general concept for matching is experience, industry, professional specialization, Mentoring preferences, location proximity and variety of less important considerations.
 
Q28. What if I don’t get a match?
 
A28. You will be put on a waiting list.  As we receive applications throughout the year, we will evaluate with everyone on the waiting list.
 
Q29. How many Mentees will be assigned to a Mentor?
 
A29. Our plan is that one Mentee will be assigned per one Mentor.
 
Q30. What if my Mentor/Mentee and I don’t get along?
 
A30. It is expected that both Mentors & Mentees will put forth their best efforts to create a positive relationship. If these efforts are unsuccessful, complete the complete the Intent to Dissolve Mentoring Partnership form and return to the Mentor Committee.
 
Q31. What are the “two most important criteria” referred to on the application list?

A31. These criteria/preferences are used to assist in the matching of Mentor to Mentee.
►Specific industry or type of organization
►Preferences noted on application
►The optimal mentor/mentee as noted on #6 of the application.
►Along with other smaller criteria such as location and availability.
 
Thanks
For more information or assistance, please contact MentorCommittee@stlouis.iiba.org.