Mentoring Application Form Questions: Free Template
A mentoring application form is the set of questions mentors and mentees answer to join a program: who they are, what they want or can offer, when they are available and what they agree to. Below is a free, ready-to-use template with two forms (mentee and mentor), the answer type for every question, which ones to require, and short variants for employee, university and startup programs.
A good form does two jobs at once. It tells you who should join, and it collects the answers you will match on later. Every question below serves at least one of those jobs.
How do you use this application form template?
- Decide what the form is for. Open enrollment, a selective cohort or a mentor pool? Selective programs need the motivation section; open ones can shorten it.
- Copy the two forms below into your form tool or platform. Keep the section order: contact first, consent last.
- Delete before you add. Aim for 12 to 20 questions per form. Any question you cannot connect to a decision or a matching rule goes.
- Mirror the options. Availability, format, language and topic lists must be identical on both forms, or you cannot compare answers.
- Pick your matching criteria first, then check that the form asks for them. The mentor–mentee matching guide covers which criteria matter. For a deeper set of matching questions, use the matching questionnaire template.
- Test it on two real people, one per side, and time them. Over ten minutes means cut.
If you are still designing the program itself, start with how to start a mentoring program and come back once goals and format are set.
The template
Answer types: Short text, Long text (set a word limit), Number, Single choice, Multiple choice (set a maximum), Checkbox. “Req.” means required.
Form 1: Mentee application
Section 1. Contact details
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full name | Short text | Yes |
| 2 | Email address | Short text (email) | Yes |
| 3 | Organization, department or school | Short text or single choice | Yes |
| 4 | Current role or title | Short text | Yes |
| 5 | Time zone or city | Single choice | Yes |
| 6 | Languages you can be mentored in | Multiple choice | Yes |
Section 2. Background
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Career stage: student / early career (0–3 years) / mid-career / senior / career changer | Single choice | Yes |
| 8 | Years of professional experience | Number | No |
| 9 | Field or function: ________ (your list) | Single choice | Yes |
| 10 | Short bio, max. 80 words | Long text | No |
Section 3. Goals
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Main goal area: career growth / leadership / technical skill / career change / starting a business / other: ________ | Single choice | Yes |
| 12 | In 2–3 sentences, what do you want to be different by the end of the program? | Long text | Yes |
| 13 | Topics you would like help with (max. 3): ________ (same list as mentor question 12) | Multiple choice | Yes |
Section 4. Availability and format
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | How often can you meet? Every week / every two weeks / once a month | Single choice | Yes |
| 15 | Preferred format: video / in person / either | Single choice | Yes |
| 16 | Usual times you are free: weekday mornings / weekday afternoons / weekday evenings / weekends | Multiple choice | Yes |
| 17 | Can you commit to the full program period (________ to ________)? | Checkbox | Yes |
Section 5. Motivation
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Why do you want a mentor now? Max. 100 words. | Long text | Yes |
| 19 | What will you do between meetings to make this work? Max. 60 words. | Long text | No |
Section 6. Matching preferences
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Mentor from: my own department / a different department / no preference | Single choice | No |
| 21 | Anyone you should not be matched with, such as your direct manager? Visible to program admins only. | Short text | No |
| 22 | Anything else that would make a match work for you? | Long text | No |
Section 7. Consent and data notice
| # | Statement | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | I have read the program agreement and will follow it. | Checkbox | Yes |
| 24 | I agree that my answers are used to review my application and to match me. | Checkbox | Yes |
| 25 | I agree that my name, role, bio and goals are shared with my matched mentor. | Checkbox | Yes |
| 26 | I would like to receive program feedback surveys and news. | Checkbox | No |
Form 2: Mentor application
Section 1. Contact details: same as mentee questions 1–6.
Section 2. Background and expertise
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Years of professional experience | Number | Yes |
| 8 | Field or function: ________ (same list as mentee question 9) | Single choice | Yes |
| 9 | Seniority: individual contributor / manager / senior leader / founder or owner | Single choice | Yes |
| 10 | Have you mentored before? Never / informally / in a structured program | Single choice | Yes |
| 11 | Short bio that mentees will see, max. 80 words | Long text | Yes |
Section 3. What you can offer
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Topics you can help with (max. 3): ________ (same list as mentee question 13) | Multiple choice | Yes |
| 13 | Describe one experience you could share with a mentee. Max. 80 words. | Long text | No |
| 14 | Topics you prefer not to mentor on | Short text | No |
Section 4. Capacity and format
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | How many mentees can you take? 1 / 2 / 3 | Single choice | Yes |
| 16 | How often can you meet? (same options as mentee question 14) | Single choice | Yes |
| 17 | Preferred format (same options as mentee question 15) | Single choice | Yes |
| 18 | Usual times you are free (same options as mentee question 16) | Multiple choice | Yes |
| 19 | Can you commit to the full program period? | Checkbox | Yes |
Section 5. Motivation
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Why do you want to mentor in this program? Max. 80 words. | Long text | Yes |
Section 6. Matching preferences
| # | Question | Answer type | Req. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Mentee career stages you would like to work with | Multiple choice | No |
| 22 | Anyone you should not be matched with, such as someone in your reporting line? Visible to program admins only. | Short text | No |
Section 7. Consent and data notice: same as mentee 23–26, with “matched mentee” in statement 25.
Variants by program type
Employee program
- Add: “Business unit” and “Location or office” (single choice, required), and “Do you manage people?” (single choice).
- Make the “not matched with” question required, and add a rule that excludes direct reporting lines.
- Add to consent: “Nothing from this mentorship is used in performance reviews.”
- Drop: organization name, external links.
University or student program
- Mentee: “Degree program” and “Year of study” (single choice, required), “Career fields you are considering” (multiple choice).
- Mentor (alumni or staff): “Graduation year” (number), “Faculty or degree” (single choice), “Current industry” (single choice).
- Skip grades and transcripts unless selection truly depends on them.
- Youth programs: follow your institution’s safeguarding policy for under-18s, including parent or guardian consent.
Startup or accelerator program
- Founder: “Startup name and website” (short text), “Stage: idea / pre-seed / seed / Series A or later” (single choice), “Sector” (single choice), “Team size” (number), “Biggest challenge in the next three months” (long text, required).
- Mentor: “Sectors you know well” (multiple choice), “Functional expertise: fundraising / product / sales / hiring / operations / legal” (multiple choice).
- Add a conflict-of-interest question for mentors: “Do you invest in, advise or work for companies in these sectors? Please list them.” (long text, required).
Questions to avoid
Ask only what you need to run and match the program. Data protection laws such as GDPR in the EU and KVKK in Türkiye are built on that principle (data minimisation), and some data counts as a special category with stricter rules. This is general guidance, not legal advice: check your form with your privacy or legal team.
- Date of birth or exact age: ask career stage instead (youth programs are the exception)
- Gender, ethnicity, religion, health, disability or sexual orientation as required questions; if a program needs one, make it optional and say why
- Marital status, children or family plans
- Home address, ID or passport numbers
- Salary or financial details
- Photos as a condition of applying
- Performance ratings or manager assessments
- Political views or union membership
- Open questions you will not read or use
Consent statement sample
By submitting this form, I confirm that the information I have given is accurate. I agree that [Organization] uses my answers to review my application, to match me with a [mentor/mentee] and to run the [Program name] program from ________ to ________. I understand that my name, role, short bio and stated goals will be shared with my matched [mentor/mentee], and that answers marked “visible to program admins only” will not be shared with them. My data will be kept until ________ and handled as described in [link to privacy notice]. I can withdraw from the program, and ask for my data to be corrected or deleted, at any time by writing to ________.
How should you adapt the template?
Write the matching rules before the form. If you will match on “topic expertise vs. topic goal”, both forms need the same topic list. Free-text answers are useful context but hard to compare at scale.
Keep open questions few and short. One goal question for mentees and one bio for mentors carry most of the value. Word limits keep answers readable for the admin and the matched partner.
Say who sees what. Mark questions that are for admins only, such as the “not matched with” field, and keep them out of the profile the other side sees.
Reuse answers. Ask a question once and use the answer for review, matching and the profile. Asking participants to repeat themselves later lowers trust in the program.
Version it per cohort. After each round, look at which answers you actually used for decisions and matching, and cut the rest.
The mentor matching software page shows how application answers can feed scored matches, and the guides library has the rest of the program, from launch to closing.