One of the critical roles that you will play as a mentor in the initial stages of your relationship with your protégé is profiling - getting to know him or her. During this process, your job will be to skillfully ask your protégé a series of questions designed to ascertain their current level of functioning and relevant background history. It is essential that you ask these pertinent questions in a sensitive manner, so as not to offend your protégé and to ensure that you gain as much information as possible. When profiling is conducted correctly, the knowledge received from the activity can serve as the foundation for building a solid mentoring relationship. While the following list is not comprehensive, it does detail some important topics to cover during the profiling process and should, therefore, serve as an effective springboard for a profiling session:

	Academic Background
	What types of academic subject matter has the protégé been exposed to?
	Where was the protégé educated?
	What content areas does the protégé desire to learn more about?
	What are the protégé's academic strengths? Areas of weakness?
	Life Experiences
	Has the protégé had other work experiences?
	What life experience has the protégé had that makes him/her unique?
	What mechanisms does the protégé use to cope with stressful situations?
	Cultural Background
	What stance does the protégé take on issues of assimilation?
	What cultural values does the protégé hold that are different/similar to yours?
	How does the protégé interact with those of different cultural backgrounds?
	Has the protégé had to deal with discrimination? How did he/she handle the situation?
	Workplace Knowledge
	Does the protégé understand the organizational climate of the organization?
	What is the protégé's work/leadership style?
	What other types of work experiences has the protégé had?
	Value System
	What is the protégé's work ethic?
	How effective are the protégé's time management skills?
	What place does corporate integrity hold in the protégé's value system?