The matching form

We use your answers here – alongside your application – to put you in a group that feels like a real fit. There are no right or wrong answers; just be honest.

Confidential

Your responses are used only by the PeerLadder coordination team for matching, and are anonymised afterwards.

What you want from PeerLadder

B1. What do you most want from this? (pick up to 2) – think through challenges with peers who get it · honest feedback on my work or decisions · accountability around my goals or habits · grow my confidence or professional identity · learn from others’ experience · feel less alone in my role · support others as well as receive support.

B2. What would make this group feel valuable for you in 6 months? (a sentence or two)

B3. What can you bring to your group? (all that apply) – domain experience · a fresh outside perspective · accountability and follow-through · sounding-board energy · connections and intros · honest, direct feedback.

B4. Where are you on the give/receive balance? – mostly receiving · pretty balanced · mostly listening / supporting · not sure yet.

What you value

C1. Pick your top 3 – what genuinely matters to you: achievement & mastery · independence & autonomy · security & stability · adventure & novelty · helping others · recognition & status · harmony & care · creativity & self-expression · fairness & equality · learning & curiosity.

C2. How comfortable are you with honest or challenging feedback? – very comfortable · comfortable if it’s thoughtful · I prefer a more supportive style · not sure yet.

How you work

D1. When you’ve got a problem, you usually: think alone first, then talk · talk first, then process alone · depends on the problem.

D2. Your communication style: direct and to the point · warm and exploratory · structured and analytical · story-led, examples-first.

D3. In groups, you tend to: speak early and often · listen first, then contribute · open up once comfortable · it varies.

D4. How much structure do you like in meetings? – clear agenda and focus · some structure, some flexibility · mostly open.

The practical stuff

E1. When could you meet? (all that work) – weekday mornings (before 10am) · weekday daytime (10am–4pm) · weekday evenings (4–6pm) · weekend mornings · weekend afternoons.

E2. Realistically, how much time per month? – 1 hour · 2–3 hours · 3+ hours.

E3. Meeting format: video · async messaging · a mix.

E4. Anything else that would help us match you well? (optional)

Where the questions come from

• B1, B3 – Kram’s mentoring functions (1985): career functions (feedback, learning, accountability) and psychosocial functions (confidence, identity, reducing isolation).
• B4 – the mutuality dimension in the peer-mentoring literature.
• C1 – Schwartz’s theory of basic values (2012), simplified into plain language.
• C2 – feedback orientation (London & Smither, 2002), adapted.
• D1, D3 – introversion/extraversion, popularised by Cain (2012).
• D2 – Social Styles (TRACOM) and DiSC: practitioner frameworks, widely used but with a weaker evidence base than the others.
• D4 – practice from peer-mentoring programmes such as ELEAD.
• E1–E4, B2 – operational.