Mentoring Program

About the Program

Find a mentor

Interested in Games User Research and User Experience? Just getting started and want a guiding hand? Or are you an industry pro who wants to help others? The GRUX-SIG Mentoring Program may be for you!

About the mentor program

A Mentor is someone who is already experienced in the Games industry, who can help with advice, learning opportunities and help you develop.

We’ve formed a panel of experienced professionals who are happy to be contacted for 1:1 mentoring relationships, or just for individual questions.

This is a great opportunity to get support, advice, feedback or answer any specific questions you have about Games User Research and Experience.

Although the mentoring program can involve career advice, it is not a shortcut to a job. Please also keep in mind that mentors have volunteered to help but will not be available 24/7 and sometimes have other demands on their time.

We’ve reorganized the mentoring scheme in the following ways to improve the program:

  • We’re imposing a quarterly system for mentors and mentees of 3 months. This is meant to provide more structure for both mentees and mentors and minimizes any confusion around ending the mentee / mentor relationship.
  • User Research mentees are strongly encouraged to alternate between mentor seniority. Mentors are split into 2 different seniority groups – “Mid-Career” and “Advanced-Career”. This gives mentees exposure to different experiences and perspectives which enriches the mentorship relationship. UX Designers will have their own group that is not yet broken out into Mid and Advanced Career categories.

When can I apply to become a mentor?: 

**MENTOR APPLICATIONS FOR Q2 2023 ARE CURRENTLY CLOSED**

Please follow the ‘Request a Mentor’ link at the top of this page for more information.

If we put out a call for prospective mentors to become part of the program, we will put out the call around the beginning of the following months:

March

June

September

December

When can I apply to become a mentee?:

If we put out a community-wide call for mentees, we will put out the call around the middle of the following months:

March

June

September

December

Expectations:

It is the mentee’s responsibility to set goals to bring to their mentor and decide what they would like to get out of the relationship and to provide meeting content.

Find a mentor

Interested in being mentored? Learn how to request a mentor

Be a mentor

Mentoring is very rewarding, allows you to reflect upon and develop your own skills, helps the Games User Research and Experience community, and is great for personal development.
Interested in learning about being a mentor? We will be seeking mentors each quarter, please check back in during the 3rd month of each quarter for more information.

Quarter dates:

Quarter 1: January 1st – March 31st

Quarter 2: April 1st – June 30th

Quarter 3: July 1st – September 30th

Quarter 4: October 1st – December 31st

Mentor Resources

Here are some articles and links that will help with the mentor/mentee relationship.

Other Links

We’ve curated a list of articles that people have written aimed at helping students and newcomers to the industry develop their skills.
Found a great site to share, or have an idea for a new topic that should be covered? Please let us know.