Every segment you create in Mentorly has two independent settings. Understanding them will help you get the most out of your profile questions and matching. This article walks through each setting, how they work together, and what the matching preview looks like before you commit to any results.
For a general overview of segments, see Custom Profile Fields and Creating a Custom Segment.
The two settings on every segment
Show in public profile (default: on)
When this is on, a member's answer appears on their profile. Their matched mentor or mentee can read it, and mentees browsing the mentor directory can filter by it (for choice-type fields).
Turn this off only if the answer is purely administrative and you do not want members to see it on each other's profiles.
Use for matching (default: off)
When this is on, Mentorly compares each mentor's answer to each mentee's answer and uses the degree of overlap to build a compatibility score. Turn this on for the fields that truly matter for a good mentor-mentee fit.
These two settings are independent. A field can appear on profiles without affecting match scores, and (once you understand the requirement below) a field used for matching will always appear on profiles too.
The key rule: matching makes a segment required for everyone
When you turn "Use for matching" on for a segment, Mentorly automatically sets that segment to required for both mentors and mentees. You cannot make it optional while matching is active.
Why? The compatibility score is calculated by comparing what a mentor offers against what a mentee is looking for. If one side can skip the question, there is nothing to compare on that segment, and the score becomes unreliable. Requiring both sides to answer ensures the comparison is always complete.
What this means for you:
- If you turn on matching for a segment, every member will be required to answer it during onboarding. No one can leave it blank.
- If you later want to make that segment optional again, turn matching off first. The required setting will unlock, and you can adjust it.
You will see a note in the segment editor reminding you of this whenever matching is enabled.
Which field types can be used for matching
Matching compares structured answers, so it works with fields that have defined choices:
- Single select
- Multi-select
- Checkbox (yes/no)
- Number
Free-text fields (short answer, long answer) cannot be used for matching because open-ended responses cannot be reliably compared for compatibility.
How matching uses your segments
When you run matching, Mentorly scores every possible mentor-mentee pair. For each segment you have marked for matching, it compares the mentor's answer with the mentee's answer. More overlap on more segments means a higher compatibility score.
You can also mark some segments as more important to the match than others. A segment weighted as more important has a stronger influence on the final score than one weighted as less important. This lets you tell Mentorly, for example, that shared skills matter more than shared region when finding the best fit.
The matching page in your program dashboard shows the segments you have enabled and lets you adjust their importance before you run or preview matches.
Preview your matches before creating them
Before any real matches are created, you can run a preview to see what Mentorly would propose.
Live preview
The real Mentorly screen, shown with sample data. Nothing here affects your program.
Mentees
24
Mentors
18
| # | Mentee | Mentor | Score | Matching Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Priya S. | Daniel K. | 92% | LeadershipCommunicationStrategy |
| 2 | Marc L. | Aisha R. | 81% | LeadershipCommunication |
| 3 | Tom W. | Elena V. | 74% | Leadership |
- Go to the Matching section of your program dashboard.
- Set up your filters (which mentee pool, which mentor pool).
- Click Preview matches.
- Review the proposed pairs and their compatibility scores. You can see how many mentees and mentors are in the pool, the average compatibility score across the proposals, and sample pairs with their individual scores.
- If you want to adjust your filters or segment importance, go back and refine before committing.
- When you are satisfied, click Create matches to finalize.
Nothing is created until you confirm in step 6. The preview is a safe way to check the results and make changes without affecting your members.
A quick reference
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Show in public profile | On | Member's answer appears on their profile and in the mentor browser filters |
| Use for matching | Off | Answer is factored into the compatibility score; makes the segment required for both roles |