30-Minute Mentorship Agenda (Focused & Tactical)

Objective: Provide clients with clarity, actionable feedback, and leadership mindset framing.

• Check-in & Career Pulse (5 min)

  • Quick update from student on current work, challenges, or goals.

  • Mentor asks: “What’s top of mind for you right now in your design journey?”

• Topic Deep Dive (10 min)

  • Rotate themes each session, e.g.:

    • Design leadership skills (stakeholder management, storytelling, influence without authority).

    • Career development (portfolio positioning, role progression, interview prep).

    • Design practice (systems thinking, research synthesis, prototyping approaches).

• Practical Guidance & Feedback (10 min)

  • Give concrete, actionable advice.

  • Could include portfolio review snippet, role-play of a design critique, or stakeholder conversation.

• Wrap-up & Next Step (5 min)

  • Summarize key insights.

  • Assign 1 actionable takeaway (e.g., refine one portfolio case study, run a critique differently, prep a leadership story).

60-Minute Mentorship Agenda (Deep & Exploratory)

Objective: Build confidence, foster leadership mindset, and work on long-term career goals.

• Personal Check-in & Career Pulse (10 min)

  • Student shares updates and challenges.

  • Discuss their current confidence level as a designer/leader.

Leadership & Career Development Discussion (15 min)

• Choose 1–2 themes per session, e.g.:

  • Leadership in practice: facilitating critiques, cross-functional alignment, mentoring juniors.

  • Career trajectory: IC vs leadership track, building a growth roadmap, positioning themselves in interviews.

  • Strategic design: moving from execution to influence, connecting design decisions to business impact.

Interactive Exercise / Case Practice (20 min)

• Mock exercise: “How would you handle a PM pushing back on your design?”

• Portfolio/storytelling practice: walk through one project with focus on leadership impact.

• Critique & role-play.

• Feedback & Reflection (10 min)

  • Mentor shares observations: strengths, growth areas, leadership mindset shifts.

  • Student reflects: “What’s one thing I’ll apply differently next week?”

• Wrap-up & Next Steps (5 min)

  • Define 1–2 concrete action items.

  • Optional: set a medium-term goal.

The 30-min agenda works best for ongoing touchpoints (quick recalibrations, specific issues). The 60-min agenda is ideal for deeper coaching (developing leadership skills, rehearsing for interviews, building confidence in influencing).