CFP Board mentor Program: mentee Kit Taylor Fealy tfealy@cfpboard.org 202.379.2257

Program objectives Thank you for signing up to be a mentee! The CFP Board Mentor Program provides the opportunity for you to gain one-on-one advice and support from a CFP® professional as you pursue CFP® certification. Mentorship is a volunteer service provided by current CFP® professionals to share their knowledge and experience with candidates for CFP® certification and support advancing the profession and building a more diverse community. Your role as a mentee is to: Connect with a CFP® professional who has offered to mentor candidates like you. Stay focused and motivated on getting certified. Your mentor is there for coaching and support but ultimately success is up to you.

Program Requirements and expectations A mentee’s responsibilities: Mentees and mentors are expected to have a minimum of two interactions by phone, email, or in-person, throughout the engagement. CFP Board mentoring engagements vary in length. Typically, we see engagements lasting anywhere from several weeks up to, and exceeding, 6 months. If you hit it off, we encourage you to continue your relationship with your mentor informally beyond the mentorship program. If your mentor is in your geographic area, we strongly encourage you to set up an in-person meeting, but be respectful of their time and availability. Be clear about what you are hoping to achieve through mentorship. Develop a plan for certification success. Share with your mentor issues you are encountering and how they might help you overcome any challenges. Be open to constructive feedback and ask for help where you need it. Upon completion of the engagement, mentors and mentees will be asked to complete a survey to help CFP Board measure success and continue to improve the Mentor Program.

Getting started Checklist Getting Started on the Right Foot: Getting off to a good start is a really important part of the mentoring relationship. While you and your mentor will choose how and when to communicate, here is a checklist of things to consider when getting started: Introduce yourself to your mentor as soon as possible once the engagement is established Provide a link to your LinkedIn profile to your mentor. Review your mentor’s LinkedIn profile. If he/she does not have a LinkedIn profile or a bio on their website, request a brief bio from them. After reading your mentor’s initial communications, jot down a few questions you can use as conversation starters in the first session. Identify options in your calendar for regular meetings or conversations so you can offer dates and times for future sessions during your initial call. Suggest a date and time for your first conversation, with a specific start and end time for the meeting. If you are planning to meet in person, chose a safe, public location. Start and end your first session on time to show a respect for your mentor’s time. Follow-up immediately after your initial session with any actions you have agreed to. Always confirm the date, time and location of the next conversation.

Tips for 1st Meeting Agenda Your first session: Your initial mentoring session sets the tone for how the relationship can develop. To help you get started, here is a suggested agenda for the 1st meeting with a mentor: Introductions – while you likely have shared some information via email already, take some time to better understand the person you are talking to Cover your respective understanding of the mentoring process Discuss any boundaries of the relationship (confidentiality, etc.) Help the mentor by bringing 2-3 goals/takeaways you hope to gain at the end of your engagement Be prepared to discuss with your mentor where you would like help with the four ‘E’s’ of CFP® certification – education, exam, experience and/or ethics. Discuss and agree to your approach for how often you will maintain contact with each other Set up the time and date for your next call, establish times for regularly scheduled communications

Connecting While the way you approach the conversation with your mentor is up to you, we wanted to provide some sample questions for starting discussions with your mentor:   Why did you pursue CFP® certification? What do you believe are the main benefits of becoming certified? How do you feel getting certified will impact me both personally and professionally? What are the biggest challenges you had to overcome during the certification process? What interests do you pursue outside of work?

Ending the relationship Formal mentoring is not intended to go on indefinitely. Once the agreed relationship timeline is complete or you feel you’ve received what you need from your mentor, it is okay to wind down your communications. Remember that ending the formal mentor relationship may not mean ending the relationship. Many mentors and mentees continue to stay in touch informally and support each other in a variety of ways over time. Here is an approach that may help you wind down a formal mentorship: Begin with a simple, clear statement about how you see your path to certification and the mentor relationship at this time. Express gratitude to the mentor for his or her time and contribution to your progress. For example, “I’ve come a long way during the past several months. I am grateful for your guidance and support.” Let your mentor know how the mentorship has benefited you. “Thanks to you, I have a much better understanding of how to prepare for the exam. You’ve helped me to feel more confident as a tackle the final requirements. I really appreciate your insights and support.” Ask for the relationship to continue informally if you would like to maintain the relationship. “Would you be willing to hear from me now and then in the future?” Offer your support to the mentor. “I would love to support you in some way in the future. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if I can ever be of assistance.” Write a personal thank you note and mail it to your mentor within two days after your last session.

resources Additional resources relating to mentoring and CFP® certification can be found in the Resource Library of the CFP Board Mentor Program. You may have questions about the certification process that your mentor is not fully sure how to answer. In situations like this we encourage you to post the question to CFP Board’s Candidate Forum. This is a tool where candidates can connect with each other, asking questions and getting helpful responses from the community. The need for qualified financial advisors is great…and growing. For some telling statistics on why CFP® certification matters, visit: getcfpcertified.org. Do you have a complex questions where you might benefit from a one-on-one conversation about a certain element of certification? If so, you can contact the CFP Board Stakeholder Services team at 1-800-487-1497. If you have any questions or concerns related to the mentorship program, please call Taylor Fealy, 202-379-2257 or email her at tfealy@cfpboard.org.

Thank you Taylor Fealy tfealy@cfpboard.org 202.379.2257