Being Mentored at The Multiverse School

Want to seek mentorship from another Multiverse School traveler? Let's set everyone up for success.

Read the rules, or face the consequences without realizing they're coming. You'll be held responsible for knowing them.

The Rules

Don't sleep with your mentor. It's not an appropriate power dynamic. This is for everyone's protection. You can seek a relationship with someone you like but don't approach them under the guise of being mentored. Just try to date them and don't give them power over your career. Advances can come from both directions, so don't do this, or you'll be the offending party. No, you can't conscientious-intentional-mindset-communication-and-discussion-around-boundaries around this. If it happens we're kicking you out, the end. Just don't get mentorship from someone you might want to date. a. If you both don't agree on where the advance came from you both just don't get to participate in the mentorship program anymore. Let this create an incentive for you that you don't place yourself in a situation that your intuition is telling you not to. b. "Were people really doing this so much that you had to put it as bullet point number one?" yes, have you met people
Don't miss mentorship meetings you book. It's incredibly inconsiderate to waste someone's time especially without compensation. If you miss a meeting once you don't get to book people's time anymore until we have a discussion about it.
Have a discussion with someone first to see if they're comfortable with a more formal, ongoing relationship that is subject to a bunch of rules. A single meeting (if their calendar is open and on offer) is probably fine, but make sure to bring it up in that meeting if you want to continue.
1 meeting per mentor per week, no more than 2 mentors at a time. Don't go overboard with the mentorship meetings. Pick no more than one or two people to meet with per week- there are a lot of interesting people here!
No Brain Picking: Stick to people offering mentorship in what is related to what you are trying to accomplish, not pick the brain of fascinating people because they are fascinating. It's easy to want to get the attention of someone who is accomplished but please respect people's finite time and energy. Want to just socialize and be around fascinating people? Hang out on the couches!
They aren't a therapist or licensed medical provider. Your mentor isn't a licensed counselor- don't expect that they'll be competent to listen and respond like a mental healthcare provider. They're a skilled, experienced person who wants to volunteer to help and give back, but they are nothing like a therapist. It takes years of intensive training to become a licensed counselor, a kind person who cares a lot is not prepared to give therapeutic services, because they're complicated to do correctly. What seems like an obvious and simple expectation to you is only obvious to you, not to everyone, and your mentor has not consented to this work, so it is not fair to obligate them. Be prepared that your mentor may not always know how to handle what's going on for you. They might even be younger than you, "peer mentorship" happens all the time.

Guidelines

What's the difference between this and just friendship?

The difference is that one person is in a significantly power-imbalanced dynamic with regard to their professional career that is related to what they are specifically learning at The Multiverse School, and the two have discussed that this is a mentor-mentee relationship.

Who can mentor?

People who have an existing professional career in a field that is taught, or is related to, what is explicitly covered at The Multiverse School.

This explicitly excludes the fields of sociology, psychology, medicine, or law, or any form of engineering for which licensure is required prior to the practice of such professional work, from which we do not allow any official formal mentorship because of legal and liability reasons. We can't teach medicine, we aren't medical providers, we aren't qualified as a group to give legal advice, etc.

These Are Really Just People Who Said They Would Be Happy To Mentor

That's all. Generally we get rid of people who are creepy, but that is no excuse to assume that we've assumed the role of your parents when you were a child or have done full psychographic profiles of everyone or given them weeks of intense mentorship training during which they were hawkishly observed from every angle for the slightest hint of weirdness or deviation from Our Core Values. This is, unfortunately, just a stranger-than-average slice of the real world.

It's up to you to report problems and take responsibility for your own well-being by setting effective boundaries.

Successful Mentorship Involves

Consistent Communication: Discuss your goals first, then agree on a cadence of check-ins to discuss progress on what you are doing. Be prepared to receive honest feedback, and integrate what makes sense, and ask questions about what doesn't. The most realistic test of your work is the opinion of the public, but mentors are on your team and can help you before it comes to that point.
Goal-Oriented Meetings: Make sure your meetings are goal oriented, and motivating for you and your mentor. Work on something cool you want to show them, toss ideas around, talk to them when you are stuck, and ask for feedback. Have a plan before the next meeting, treat it like an opportunity
A Clear Vision For The Future: What does your career look like in a few years? Knowing this is one of the biggest predictors of whether or not your mentorship will be helpful and considered to be an impactful moment for both of you.
Relevant Subject-Matter Experts: I will come out and say it- some people here are more famous than other people. If you want their subject matter expertise on something, target their actual subject matter expertise. Going back to the no-brain-picking rule, this program is not for vending attention, but attention that specifically helps you advance in your work. Asking for therapy from a person because they are famous is coercive emotional co-regulation, which is a violation of the code of conduct.