Straight to the important stuff. Nice. Here’s a rough breakdown (we’ll update it once we know exact dates):

• March – Info Night. A online event for everyone where all your application and program questions will be answered by the squad and a mentor/mentee pairing from a previous year. 
• March – Mentors are announced. 
• April – Applications open! You’ll have about two weeks to submit yours.
• April – Applications due! Mentors then spend a few weeks shortlisting and selecting their mentees. 
• May – Successful applicants are announced! Everyone will get an email with their results.
• June – The 2026 program kicks off. 

Applications usually open in April! Keep an eye out on our LinkedIn or socials @assisterhood for more details, or subscribe to get our updates delivered straight to your inbox. 

Applications generally close about two weeks after they open, so mid-late April. But don’t fret, we’ll give you plenty of notice on socials and over email. We recommend getting your application in ASAP – don’t overthink it! And if you JUST miss out… email it to us at hello@assisterhood.com.au 🤫

You’ll be notified of your application result via email a few weeks after applications close (once mentors have had time to decide!). Check your inbox in May. Best of luck!

Assisterhood officially runs between May and November. Once paired up, you and your mentor should aim to catch up once a month. Of course, this is just a guideline as every mentorship is different. You do you!  

Pretty much anyone who’s underrepresented! We’re committed to ensuring Assisterhood is inclusive and accessible to people of all backgrounds, diverse perspectives, identities, and abilities.

Our goal is to create a supportive, respectful and welcoming environment for people who share these values.

When the program was first created, it was for women early on in their careers, and aimed to close the gender gap in the industry. But we knew more people could benefit from a mentor. So Assisterhood is proudly now open to anyone who’s underrepresented (and yes, that can be men too – we actually have a few male mentors). This could be due to factors like your gender, age, upbringing, ethnicity, ability, location, sexuality, language, parental status, career path, and more. 

We encourage people of all unique perspectives and underrepresented groups to apply. We acknowledge there is not an exhaustive list, but we can strive to continually expand our definition of it. Intersectionality is an extremely complex topic and we are always open to improving our understanding and the inclusivity of Assisterhood. Please reach out if you have any thoughts, feedback, or questions on this.

We recognise the unique strengths and skills that people with diverse backgrounds and experiences offer – we also recognise how limited real representation is in many roles and fields. 

A great quote that sparked the idea of Assisterhood is “You can’t be what you can’t see.” and it still rings true today. If in doubt – please apply anyway!

Nope! We welcome all ages and stages. It doesn’t matter where you are in your career – whether you’re coming back from mat leave, fresh out of uni, or you’re looking to step into that leadership role you know you deserve. No age limit, no restrictions. 

Each year we release a application form that takes about fifteen minutes to fill out. You’ll be asked a few questions about yourself, your personality, how you work, what you value, what you’re after, and of course your professional journey.

This is so we have the best chance at matching you with the right mentor. Be yourself, show us what makes you YOU – and remember, this isn’t a job application! Vulnerability is encouraged. 

P.S. Mentors also fill out a similar form. That way, we can match you in more ways than just the job title. (Some of our most successful pairings were actually in different disciplines!)

Not at all! Work experience is not a requirement to apply. All ages, abilities, and experiences are welcome.

Nope! That’s not what we’re about. As our founder Linh often says, Assisterhood is a passion project – one fuelled by hard work and a dedication to enriching our community. The more accessible, the better. 

We feel the same, all our mentors are AMAZING! We’ve introduced an option to select your #1 mentor preference, or leave it up to the Assisterhood match-makers to set you up with someone who aligns with your values and working style!

Great question. If you’re in a ‘regional’ area and wouldn’t be able to easily attend events or catch ups in person, we recommend our Online program. Think Perth, NZ, Cairns, or even New York!

Abso-bloody-lutely! We welcome anyone who has applied in the past to try again, you never know your luck.

Send us a message here, or contact us on our socials @assisterhood. One of our friendly squad members will get back to you ASAP.

We’re always open to people and we’d love to consider you! Drop us a line here and tell us more about why you’d like to become part of Assisterhood. 

To make this easier for us, please give us enough info about who you are, your story or upbringing, what you do now, why you want to mentor, anything you love, random hobbies, pets, kids, obsessions, what makes you unique, what you want to change in the industry, any experiences you feel are relevant, and so on. 

This helps us figure out where our gaps are and what you can bring to the program. Plus mentees will have much more to go off! 

You can chat in person, via phone, e-mail, Zoom, smoke signal or any other form of communication you both agree on. In saying that, it’s best to meet in person (unless you’re in the Online program), especially when you’re meeting for the first time.

• Backgrounds and interests
• Your expectations of the program and what you’d like out of it
• Challenges you’re facing
• Set goals and/or timelines for the year
• Identify upcoming dates that might impact the program e.g. holidays or work commitments
• Setting calendar dates for meetups

As much as we try to perfectly pair mentees with mentors, sometimes it takes a bit of work to build a strong connection. After all, relationships take time to grow and trust takes time to build. We’ve put together a few handy tips to help build your relationship and make each meeting meaningful:

• Get to know each other! Build rapport by chatting about personal interests. How do they spend their free time? What books are they reading or what are they working on at the moment? You’ll probably have more in common than you think – which will make it easier to relate when talking about career goals.
• Talk about mentoring. Every mentee / mentor relationship is different. Sometimes it helps to understand what each of you want to get out of your meetings. Have either one of you participated in a mentorship program before, or had a mentor relationship? What did you learn from it? What part of the approach did you like and what would you do differently?
• Meet consistently and be reliable. It’s important to honor your commitment to your mentor / mentee. Make sure to show respect for each others’ time and be fully present in your discussions. You’ll get way more out of it if you do!
• Communicate often and take action with clear expectations. As a mentee, it’s great if you can act on any suggestions made by your mentee and communicate your progress in between meetings. Having great communication and following through on discussions means you’ll both feel that you’re investing time wisely. 
• Be open and honest. Be straightforward with each other and welcome transparency. Be open to all types of feedback and communicate your assumptions, needs, limitations and expectations. Just be yourself and the rest will follow! 

If you’d like to get in touch with us about your experience in the program, please reach out to us here.

We host a number of events throughout the year. Mentees and mentors can expect an initial kick-off and a fun-filled end-of-year event. We also offer several informational events and workshops available to the wider Assisterhood community, to which mentees and mentors have first access. Keep an eye on your inbox for our upcoming events!

You betcha! Mentorships are encouraged to continue after the official program has concluded. Some Assisterhood mentorships last the duration of the program and some continue well beyond it. Both are great outcomes. No matter if your mentorship lasts one year, or twenty – all of our mentees and mentors are encouraged to make the most of this incredibly rare opportunity.