Tailoring your matching process
A mentee is interested in working together and has reached out to you. What next steps do you want to take to see if you're the right fit? In this article, we’ll walk through how matching works on MentorCruise, so you can tailor the process to fit your mentoring style.
Which option is right for you?
You’ll find two options under Settings > Plans > Matching process:
- 7-day trial (Selected by default)
- Intro call
If you’re just looking for a quick answer, try this one-question quiz! If you want to learn more, here’s a summary of the key differences:
| 7-day trial | Intro call | |
|---|---|---|
| How does this affect your overall experience as a mentor? | Fewer people apply, but the ones you end up talking to are usually more serious. | More people apply, but you’ll spend more time chatting to win them over. If you’re comfortable with sales conversations, you’ll typically end up with more mentees overall. |
| What activities are recommended before the mentorship officially starts? | We recommend a ~30 min call to get acquainted and align on goals and expectations—but you’re welcome to design your own trial experience. | A standard ~30 min call to get acquainted and align on goals and expectations. |
| What needs to happen before a mentee can meet you? | - They - You - They add a credit card to |
- They - You |
| How can the mentee book a call? | If you’ve included your calendar link in the welcome message, the mentee will see it as soon as they Otherwise, you’ll need to message them to arrange a call. |
The mentee can access your calendar link as soon as you Accept them. |
| How does payment work? | The mentee is charged at the end of the 7-day trial unless they cancel. | The mentee can add a credit card to Start mentorship whenever they’re ready, and they’re charged immediately. |
A closer look at each option
Watch this quick video for a walkthrough of what the experience looks like for both you and your mentees:
FAQ: General
Q: Do I get paid for intro calls?
A: Intro calls are free of charge at the moment!
Q: What does “Mark as complete” do?
A: Video conferencing takes place off-platform (through tools like Google Meet or Zoom), so MentorCruise isn’t notified when the intro call happens. Marking the call as complete lets us know when to send email reminders to encourage mentees to start their mentorship.
Q: If I accept a mentee, they’ll be able to access my calendar link and book an intro call. Which calendar link is used here?
A: It depends on the scheduling software you're using.
- If you’re using MentorCal, we’ll automatically create a 15-minute event called “Intro Call”. You can modify the duration of this event under Settings > Integrations > Set up scheduling software > Open MentorCal.
- If you’re using an external tool (such as Calendly), the URL that you’ve provided in Settings > Integrations > Set up scheduling software will be used.
FAQ: Switching between options
Q: I’m switching from trial to intro call. What happens to the welcome messages that I’ve set up for my plans?
A: Welcome messages are only sent when mentees start the trial. If you’re using Intro call (i.e. there is no trial), we won’t send any automated messages for you.
Q: When is a good time to switch?
To keep things smooth for you and your mentees, we recommend changing this setting when you’ve already Accepted or Declined all open applications. If you do find yourself changing the setting while some mentees are in the middle of the application process, here’s what happens in each scenario:
Switching from 7-day trial to Intro call
| Application status before changing setting | Impact on the application |
|---|---|
| You’ve received the application, but haven’t taken any action yet. | Your new setting will be applied to the rest of the application process. The mentee will be able to book an intro call even though they initially applied for a 7-day trial. |
You’ve Messaged the mentee, but haven’t Accepted or Declined their application yet. |
You can click on Once you |
You’ve already Accepted the application, but the mentee hasn’t started the trial yet. |
Your new setting doesn’t affect this application. The mentee will be able to start the trial when they’re ready. |
You’ve already Accepted the application, and the mentee has started the trial. |
Your new setting doesn’t affect this application. The mentee will be charged at the end of the trial period unless they cancel beforehand. |
You’ve Declined the application. |
Your new setting doesn’t affect this application. |
| The mentee has already started paying. | Your new setting doesn’t affect this application. |
Switching from Intro call to 7-day trial
| Application status before changing setting | Impact on the application |
|---|---|
| You’ve received the application, but haven’t taken any action yet. | Your new setting will be applied to the rest of the application process. The mentee will be able to start a 7-day trial even though they initially applied for an intro call. |
You’ve already Accepted or Declined the application. |
Your new setting doesn’t affect this application. |
| The mentee has already started paying. | Your new setting doesn’t affect this application. |