FAQs

The program is designed to be flexible. Your mentorship pair will be matched on the platform for 12 weeks. During that time, you have complete control over your mentorship relationship and can decide how often you want to meet at the onset of your relationship. Once matched, we ask the alumni mentor and student or recent graduate to discuss how much time they can commit to the relationship. Our suggestion is 2 to 3 meetings (either in person or via phone or video chat) with a duration of approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour. The most important objective is to achieve the goals set for the student or recent graduate; for some matches this will not take several meetings, for others it could.

For alumni mentors, if you chose to continue your mentorship relationship beyond the initial 12 weeks, you may suspend your account on the KAMP platform until you are ready to take on another student or recent graduate.

Students and recent graduates can search for and request the alumni mentor they'd like to work with. After the student or recent graduate enters their alumni mentor preferences into the platform (industry, career interests, location, etc.), the software generates a list of alumni sorted by how closely the alumni mentor matches the student or recent graduate’s criteria. Students and recent graduates can then request a potential alumni mentor from this list. The requested alumni mentor has the opportunity to either accept or decline the request from the student or recent graduate.

The program administrator may have to verify your account. This could be because you used a different address than we have on file (for students and recent graduates, please use your Kellogg email address). This process can take 1-2 business days. When you have been approved, you will receive an email. Thank you for your patience!

If you experience any issues with your alumni mentor / student / recent graduate or have questions, please contact the program manager at kamp@kellogg.northwestern.edu. The program manager can offer solutions to improve the relationship or, if necessary, formally terminate the relationship.

Discuss setting another goal with your alumni mentor. If you and your alumni mentor agree that you want to continue the relationship, you can. Be sure to also check with your alumni mentor to confirm that they want to continue the relationship and have the time to continue investing in the relationship before setting a new goal.

Don't arrive late to meetings or conference calls.

Don't violate confidence. Discussions should stay between you and your alumni mentor. Preserving an environment of confidentiality and trust should be your top priority.

Don't ask your alumni mentor to be a reference for you before you have gotten to know them. Asking your alumni mentor (or anyone for that matter) for a reference is a request that should be reserved for people who know you well as a professional (former boss, former or current coworker). To ask your alumni mentor before developing a rapport or relationship could make them uncomfortable or put them in a difficult position. It is best to wait until a relationship has developed and they have gotten to know you as a professional before making such a request.

Don't ask your alumni mentor for a job within their organization. If your alumni mentor knows of an opportunity for which they think you may be a good fit, they will mention it to you. Asking them for a job could make your alumni mentor uncomfortable or put them in a difficult position.

If you would like to delete your account permanently, please email kamp@kelogg.northwestern.edu for assistance.

You can have up to two alumni mentors at a time. Pending requests count as well, so if you have one pending request still out (and the prospective alumni mentor hasn't responded yet) they are taking up an open spot. If you'd like to request someone else, you can cancel your pending request to that alumni mentor to open up a spot for a new alumni mentor request. Once you've been matched, that spot is filled.

You can close your relationship by visiting the your account homepage or the “Connections” tab in your account. Navigate to your alumni mentor’s icon and click on the button below that says “Interact”. You will see a button that says “Move to Past Connections.” Clicking that button will move that relationship from an active connection to an inactive one.

Note, all pending requests will be released after four weeks, and all matched relationships will be released after 12 weeks.

Students and recent graduates can request up to two alumni mentors at one time. This is only encouraged if you truly have the time to commit to multiple mentorship relationships. Once matched, your relationship will last on the platform for 12 weeks. Once the relationship is released on the platform, you will be able to search and select a new mentor.

We are grateful for your willingness to help students. Please note, the process of matching and selecting students, recent graduates and alumni mentors may take time.

Alumni mentors can select up to three students or recent graduates at one time.

Yes. Visit the “My Account” section when you are logged into the platform. Click on the tab that says “Participation.” Uncheck the box that says, “I want to be searchable in Kellogg Alumni Mentorship Program.” Below that, list the start date in which you want to become invisible and the date in which you want to become visible again. If you need to suspend your account indefinitely, uncheck the box and you will no longer be searchable in the database. When you’re ready to be searchable again, log back in and check the box to opt back into the program.

If you are requested by a student or recent graduate and decide to decline the request, log into your account, navigate to and press the button just below the student or recent graduate's headshot on your home page that says "Interact." Click the red button that says "decline." You can send the student or recent graduate a message if you'd like. The student or recent graduate will be alerted via email that their request has been declined, and they are encouraged to select a different alumni mentor.

Over the years, Kellogg has heard consistently from EMBA students and alumni that they would like more opportunities to network and learn from each other. This new platform specifically designed for EMBA students and alumni will allow you to connect across the EMBA Global Network. It is designed for flexibility, allowing you to make quick connections or build longer relationships.

Students and alumni can complete a profile, which includes degree, industry, and demographic information. Your profile will be visible to the EMBA Global Network. You will have suggested contacts based on your profile, but also have the opportunity to search for alumni and students based on your own criteria. Once you find someone you would like to connect with, you can send a message directly to start the connection.

Kellogg has purposefully designed this program to be flexible for busy alumni and students. You will have complete control over the connections you make and can decide how the relationship will work.