What do I do if a mentee becomes upset?
Careers are not a neutral subject. Somebody who has been rejected forty times, or made redundant last month, may not get through the half hour dry-eyed.
- Read time
- 4 minutes
- Module
- Harder conversations
- Session length
- 30 minutes
What good looks like.
Do not rush past it. A short acknowledgement, that sounds genuinely hard, costs twenty seconds and changes the rest of the session.
Stay in your role. You are a mentor, not a counsellor or a therapist, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.
If someone discloses distress that goes beyond work, stop advising and point them to proper support, then tell our team through the safeguarding route.
A sequence you can follow.
- 01
Acknowledge it
Name what you are hearing without minimising it.
- 02
Give them a moment
Silence is fine. So is offering to pause.
- 03
Ask what would help now
Let them choose whether to continue.
- 04
Escalate if needed
Serious distress goes to our safeguarding team, not into your inbox.
What to avoid.
Jumping straight back to tactics
Taking on the role of counsellor
Keeping a serious disclosure to yourself
Extra tips
Small things that make the half hour better.
Let the moment sit
Do not rush to fix it. A steady pause is the support.
Name it plainly
"That sounds genuinely hard" beats moving straight to next steps.
Know one place to point
You are not a counsellor; knowing where support exists is enough.
Return to something doable
One small, controllable action helps more than reassurance.
Take this guide with you.
Download a printable version of this guide: the short answer, the steps, the extra tips, the mistakes to avoid and the questions mentors ask, to read before your next session.
The things people ask first.
Should I end the session early?
Offer it. Let the mentee decide.
Who do I tell?
Our safeguarding team, through the route on the safeguarding page, the same day.
Next: Mentees who do not engage.
One-word answers usually mean nerves, not indifference.