The Alphabettes Mentorship Program is an international, volunteer based program that connects Mentors in the fields of type, typography or the lettering arts with Mentees of all experience levels. Mentoring is a fantastic tool to empower others, grow confidence and new skills, and both our Mentors and Mentees have found the relationship both transformative and fulfilling.
We run an annual Spring and Autumn term for Mentees. Throughout the year, we are actively seeking available Mentors to support this wonderful, enriching community and improve opportunities for Mentees to immerse themselves in the industry.
Since Alphabettes supports and promotes the work of all women in our fields, every pairing centres a woman as either Mentee or Mentor (or both). Although the program is open to everyone in our field, we may fast-track pairings for women and underrepresented groups.
- Mentor applications All year applications for Spring and Autumn terms
- Mentee applications
2021 Autumn term, applications accepted 15-30 October
Please read the Mentee Guide and apply as a mentee
2022 Spring term, applications open in MarchWe’re excited to offer you the chance to sign up to be a Mentee for our annual Spring or Autumn term. Our mentorships give you the chance to focus on development areas in the fields of type, typography or the lettering arts that are important to you and your future career.
We are thrilled to invite you to sign up as a Mentor anytime, and share your valuable insight with Mentees as part of our bi-annual program. Our mentorships connect you with students, newcomers and experienced professionals seeking guidance in the fields of type, typography or the lettering arts.
Once we receive your application form, we will start the Matchmaking Process to pair a Mentee with a Mentor who is best suited to their goals. As we have a limited volunteer team, it takes time to process your application and find the great match for your mentorship. We appreciate your patience.
For more details, read our FAQ and recent blog posts. If you have any additional questions, drop us an email at mentorship@alphabettes.org and we promise we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Read our latest blog posts and activity!
Tell me more…?
The Alphabettes Mentorship Program was announced in 2016 as one of Alphabettes’ community outreach activities. It is a fully volunteer-based program with a fixed organisational team and an amazing network of Mentors around the world. We are so thankful and humbled by our Mentors’ generosity in helping to guide the inspirational journeys of Mentees in the fields of type, typography, or the lettering arts.
Our goal is to improve opportunities for people at every level, by connecting Mentees with Mentors who can share their knowledge and experience to give guidance. We emphasise that mentorships are not to be confused with free of charge consultation or private tuition. The bulk of Mentees ask for portfolio, career or educational guidance. Some Mentees simply look for a sounding board or an opportunity to discuss type related topics, and understand how they can get more involved in the wider community.
Our intention is to make the best possible match between Mentee and Mentor. This process may take a while, as we have limited volunteer team analysing Mentee applications to understand their specific needs. Periodically, we check in to ensure everyone is still happy with the arrangement and encourage both the Mentor and the Mentee to contact us if the relationship is not working for some reason.
We cultivate openness by pairing mentorships around the world and give consideration to conversational language skills, preferred duration and time zones. Specific needs for Mentors or Mentees may be accommodated upon request, such as woman-to-woman pairings.
If you have any questions, drop us an email at mentorship@alphabettes.org and we promise we will get back to you as soon as we can.
FAQ
How can I contact you?
What will you do with my application information?
How are Mentees and Mentors matched?
Will I be matched with a woman?
How often will we meet?
Where do we meet?
Who is eligible to apply as a Mentee or Mentor?
Tell me more about being a Mentor?
- Not sure you could be a mentor? If you are unsure you are a good fit to join as a Mentor send us message and we will chat with you about it. Most likely you ARE a great fit, and can really help making a change in people’s lives ❤️️
- Worried about the commitment? If this is a busy time for you, you can sign up for as little as a 1 month program (about 4 sessions).Moreover, you get to decide with the Mentee your preferred method of communication: Zoom, email, Slack or a combination.
- How is the schedule? The sessions are flexible in time and dates, and you set them with your Mentee in a way which will make it work for both of you.
- Will I need to be a mentor forever? We have two annual terms: spring and autumn. After every term, we check in and confirm with you that you are happy to continue. However, if you feel like you need a break, you can always pause.
- What if I’m not a type designer? We have so many topics that Mentees are seeking guidance on: research, education, lettering, font production, business, writing, typography. If you are in type, you can be a huge help.
- Can only women be a mentor? Not at all! Everyone is welcome. Since Alphabettes is a network supporting woman, we centre a woman in every pair.
- Want to hear more? We can send you a recording of a previous Q&A session we did for Mentors. Just email us!