Frequently Asked Questions

ConnectHive is a UK not-for-profit giving young people free and fair access to connections in professional networks that offer career guidance, remote mentoring, development and opportunities in a friendly and flexible format. Our Hive is a community-powered network where individuals can connect directly, without contacting a charity. This makes becoming a mentor or mentee quick, easy and efficient. Right now, our support is focused on key skill areas such as e.g. job searching, CV writing, interviewing, communicating and networking.

ConnectHive began in 2020 as Deedbees, a platform for sharing “good deeds” in the form of remote 1-1 coaching sessions. In 2023, Deedbees was rebranded by the founding team to ConnectHive to focus on the area of greatest impact while simultaneously making it easier for our existing and future community to understand what it is that we offer. ConnectHive is the trading name for Deedbees CIC.

For more information, see our Rebrand Announcement.

Deedbees was born from the idea that everyone deserves a fair chance to achieve their goals and ambitions. We noticed the imbalance in access to key networks of people and skills that can give the extra boost to furthering one’s life and career. We also noticed that the barriers to formal volunteering were excluding many people, with plenty to offer, from helping others. We built Deedbees out of a deep desire to address the inequality in our communities and to make our world better, for everyone.

Mentees: If you are driven and ambitious, but wish you had access to skilled, experienced people that could answer your questions and give guidance, we can help! Our Hive of top-quality mentors have already “been there, done that”, and want to share their knowledge and experience to take you to the next level on your career journey. Find out more below or visit our Mentees page.

Mentors: If you are a professional with experience in skill areas such as CV and cover letter writing, interviewing, self-branding, communicating, English practice and applying to university or college; we would love to welcome you as a mentor! We will guide you to work with our mentees, so no mentoring or teaching experience is required. We also make mentoring really easy and flexible, to fit even the busiest lifestyle. Find out more below or visit our Mentors page.

We only ask for the personal details that are necessary to ensure we can provide the best experience to our members. When you sign up as a mentor or mentee, you must provide us with your name and email address. You may also opt to provide us with a link to your LinkedIn profile. As part of the registration process, we may ask you additional questions to better understand your needs and/or areas of expertise. Sessions are set up using our online conference platforms. We will never share your details with other ConnectHive members without your explicit consent. We also strongly recommend that our members do not share personal details with each other, and keep their communication through the platform.

If you want to know more about how we use and store your personal data, please visit our Data Policy page.

No, it’s all for free!

We are always on the lookout for new partners who share our values. Our partnership models are flexible to suit the needs of our partner organisations.

Corporate partnerships: If your organisation is looking to provide mentoring opportunities to employees to broaden the leadership skills whilst widening the hiring pool with young people from diverse background, we would love to work with you to create tailored programmes for job shadowing, internships and mentoring for young people. Find out more below or visit our Corporate partners page.

Charity partnerships: If your organisation is looking complement your existing support model by offering mentorship to your community or alumni, we would love to explore how we can support by bringing remote one-to-on mentorship, coaching and online workshop opportunities. Find out more below or visit our Charity partners page.

Simply complete our short registration form and let us know the kind of coaching and support you need (e.g. job searching, CV writing, interviewing, communicating, networking).

All Mentors have to fill in a form to let us know the kind of mentoring and support they can provide. We match their skills to the specific support you need.

All sessions are remote phone calls set up using our online conference platforms. We will send you the necessary phone number and link ahead of your session.

Each session is an hour long.

Ahead of your session, read through our member guidelines and make sure you have a quiet and comfortable place to take the call. Remember to prepare any specific questions you have in advance.

Follow the lead of your Mentor and make sure to ask questions to get the most from their experience and knowledge.

Life happens, and we understand you sometimes need to change your schedule. If you would like to cancel or reschedule a session, please contact us at least 24 hours in advance of your session so that we can inform your Mentor.

All communication happens through ConnectHive to ensure privacy. Don’t worry, we will give you all the necessary information before your session to make sure you and your Mentor get the most from your session.

At the outset, you only commit to a single session with your Mentor, however you can request follow-up sessions if they are mutually beneficial. You can also request an additional session in a new focus area.

Simply complete our short registration form and let us know the kind of coaching and support you can provide (e.g. job searching, CV writing, interviewing, communicating, networking).

If you are a skilled professional with experience in job searching, CV writing, interviewing, communicating and/or networking, and are eager to contribute to your wider communities, you are the perfect Mentor! You do not need any mentoring, teaching or volunteering experience to become a Mentor.

No money or goods should change hands between our members. As a Mentor, you agree to not ask for or accept any payment or reward (financial or non-financial) for the support you provide. All support is provided on a voluntary basis.

A big part of our vision is growing our network of support and we want to empower you to do the same. If you have a friend or contact who is interested, you can refer them to our Mentors page for more information and member registration. Ask them to mention your name so we can keep a record of your broader impact!

All sessions are remote phone calls set up using our online conference platforms. We will send you the necessary phone number and link ahead of your session.

Each session is an hour long.

Ahead of your session, read through our helpful guidelines for the requested skill area as well as any background information we provide you. Make sure you have a quiet and comfortable place to take the call.

Lead your 1-hour session with the help of our sample exercises and drawing from your own experience and knowledge.

Life happens, and we understand you sometimes need to change your schedule. If you would like to cancel or reschedule a session, please contact us at least 24 hours in advance of your session so that we can inform your Mentee.

To ensure privacy, all communication must be through us. Don’t worry, we will give you all the necessary information before your session to make sure both you and your Mentee get the most from your session.

At the outset, you only commit to a single 1-hour session with your Mentee, however we encourage you to offer follow-up sessions if they are mutually beneficial. You can also offer your time to another Mentee and grow your impact network. Mentoring with ConnectHive is really easy and flexible to fit even the busiest lifestyle.

Once you have completed your first 20 hours of mentoring, you can contact us for a volunteering certificate.

We keep a record of all your sessions on an online drive. The storage of this data complies with GDPR regulations and will not be shared with third parties. If you want to know more about how we use and store your personal data, please visit our Data Policy page.

We are working to develop partnerships with like-minded companies that support our beliefs and want to use their collective wealth of experience and knowledge to empower people in our communities to further their lives. If you are interested in partnering with ConnectHive, visit our Corporate partners page or get in touch at info@connecthive.co.uk.

Support can be given through monetary donations or the provision of goods and services that can benefit our Mentors or Mentees. Your business can also offer mentoring to support our members. If your business would like to get involved, visit our Corporate Partners page or contact us at info@connecthive.co.uk.

With consent from ConnectHive, you can promote your support for our organisation on your platforms. We also have a section on our website with our partners’ logos and links to dedicated pages summarising our partnerships, where we can include your business information.

We are working to develop partnerships with like-minded companies that support our beliefs and want to use the ConnectHive network to support their members or alumni. If you are interested in partnering with ConnectHive, visit our Charity partners page or get in touch at info@connecthive.co.uk.

With consent from ConnectHive, you can promote the partnership on your platforms. We also have a section on our website with our partners’ logos and links to dedicated pages summarising our partnerships, where we can include your business information.