How to Conduct a Matching Meeting
🇳🇴 Read this article in Norwegian.
How exciting that you’ve been invited to a matching meeting! The purpose of the meeting is to find out whether you would like to be matched. In this article, we help you conduct a fantastic matching meeting.
Before the Matching Meeting
A first impression lasts a long time, so coming prepared to your first meeting with your potential mentor/mentee gives the collaboration a good start. We have three tools that are especially useful for the matching meeting:
Sample agenda for the matching meeting: Use it as it is, adjust it, or create your own structure.
Mapping wheel for the job search process: This gives a good overview of what you need to focus on to help the mentee move closer to employment.
Draft collaboration agreement: This is not signed at this stage, but it can inspire discussions about roles and setting expectations.
During the Matching Meeting
The meeting typically lasts about an hour and can be either in person or digital. For tips on where you can meet, see this article.
A large part of the meeting is about getting to know each other and checking whether the chemistry is right. At the same time, it’s important to go beyond small talk and find out whether you actually share the same expectations for the mentoring program and for each other. To achieve this, it’s important that:
You as the mentee talk about your job goals in Norway, what you need to reach them, and how you think a mentor can help.
You as the mentor are clear about what you think you can help with, and what you believe will be important for the collaboration to work.
If you would like someone from Sammen om en jobb to be present for the first five minutes to open the meeting and introduce you, let your contact person know.
After the Matching Meeting
You don’t decide anything during the meeting itself, but afterwards you can send us an email to tell us whether you wish to be matched. If we don’t hear from you within a day or two, we’ll contact you by phone. It’s important that you think carefully before responding. Two tips we can give are:
Be honest and clear: If you feel you are not a good match, it’s much better to tell us now than for us to end the match later.
Be open: It’s difficult to find a “perfect match,” and some of our best pairings are between mentees and mentors with quite different backgrounds. Be open to the idea that not everything needs to be a 100% fit—as long as the chemistry is right.
If you’re still unsure whether the match is right, talk to us before you decide.
Enjoy the meeting!
It’s normal to feel a bit nervous before a matching meeting, so remember that this is not a job interview, but a pleasant conversation with someone who wants to help 😊
Have a great matching meeting!