Self Match: How Participant-Driven Matching Works in Mentorloop
Self Match is a participant-driven feature that lets mentors and mentees find and request their own mentoring connections, without waiting for a Program Coordinator or Smart Match to assign them.
Self-match is one of the three available matching types on Mentorloop:
Smart Match — Algorithm, Automated Matching (available only on Enterprise)
Manual Matches — Driven by the Program Coordinator (available on all plans)
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Self Match — Participant Driven Matching (available on all plans, optional)
What is Self Match?
Self Match allows participants to browse other program members, review their sign-up responses, and send a connection request directly. If the other person accepts, a Loop is created. If they decline, no Loop is created and neither participant is penalised.
Program Coordinators control whether Self Match is active and can set guardrails — like limiting how many pending requests a participant can have at once.
How does a participant access Self Match?
Participants access Self Match via Find New Matches in the left sidebar of their Mentorloop dashboard. From there, they can browse other participants and view the answers each person provided in their sign-up form (public responses only).
What is the full Self Match workflow — from request to Loop creation?
Here is the end-to-end flow from the moment a participant sends a match request:
Step 1 — Participant A browses and sends a request The requester (Participant A) finds someone they want to connect with through Find New Matches, reviews their profile, and sends a connection invitation.
Step 2 — Participant B receives the invitation The responder (Participant B) is notified of the incoming request and can review Participant A's profile before deciding.
Step 3 — Participant B accepts or declines
- If accepted: A Loop is automatically created between Participant A and Participant B. Both participants receive a confirmation email and can begin their mentoring relationship.
- If declined: No Loop is created. Participant A is notified that the request was not accepted.
Step 4 — Automated follow-up if no response If Participant B does not respond within 7 days, Mentorloop automatically sends them a reminder encouraging them to accept or decline, and notifies them that the request will close in another 7 days if left unanswered.
If the request reaches 14 days with no response, it is automatically closed. Participant A is notified that the request has expired.
What automated emails does Mentorloop send during the Self Match process?
| Trigger | Who receives the email |
|---|---|
| Match request sent | Participant B (invitation to connect) |
| Request accepted | Participant A and Participant B (Loop created confirmation) |
| Request declined | Participant A (request not accepted) |
| 7 days, no response | Participant B (reminder to respond) |
| 14 days, no response | Participant A (request automatically closed) |
| Coordinator cancels a pending request | Participant A (request closed notification) |
How do I enable Self Match as a Program Coordinator?
Activate Self Match from your Program Settings. Once enabled, the Find New Matches option becomes visible to participants in their sidebar.
To preview the participant experience yourself, navigate to Program Settings and use the Self Match preview. This lets you demo what mentors and mentees see when browsing and requesting connections.
Can I limit the number of match requests a participant can send?
Yes. In your Program Settings, you can set a maximum number of pending match requests a participant can hold at one time. This limit applies only to requests with a Pending status — it does not count Accepted, Declined, or Cancelled requests.
Changing this limit does not affect any requests already in progress.
How do I cancel a pending Self Match request on behalf of a participant?
- Go to the Self-Match Activity page in your Program Settings.
- Hover over the pending request you want to cancel, tick the checkbox, and click the × to cancel it.
- Optionally, send the requester a message via your Program Coordinator Loop explaining the change.
Note: Regardless of whether you send an optional message, Mentorloop automatically emails the requester to notify them their request has been closed.
FAQ
Can a participant send multiple match requests at once? Yes, up to the limit set by the Program Coordinator. The limit only applies to requests currently in a Pending state.
What happens if neither person responds within 14 days? The request is automatically closed after 14 days of inactivity, and the requester is notified by email.
Can a Program Coordinator see all Self Match activity? Yes. The Self-Match Activity page gives coordinators a full view of pending, accepted, declined, and cancelled requests across the program.
Does Self Match work differently for mentors vs. mentees? The interface is the same for both roles. Either a mentor or a mentee can initiate a match request, depending on how the program is configured.
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VIDEO: Types of Matching Explained