All About Mentoring

Summary: Mentoring can be a valuable experience for both people involved. The mentee gains valuable insight and the mentor is able to give back and help someone else.

Mentors are beneficial for work and life. Think about all the times someone has helped you in parenting, sports, teaching, etc. Companies that implement a pro-mentor culture end up with employees that perform better and are happier. In order to make mentoring effective, both parties need to be involved and engaged.

What exactly is mentoring you ask? It is a one-on-one relationship between an experienced professional and an inexperienced professional. The goal is to help the less experience learn valuable information to progress their career.

A mentor’s responsibilities include committing to a set period of time to invest in the mentee. You must get to know their capabilities, ambitions, and interests. You must be experienced in their field so that you can pass on any wisdom you have gained through the years.

A mentee’s responsibilities include committing time to prepare, attend meetings, and then take action after the meetings. You must be able to honestly look at your weaknesses and strengths to form a clear self-assessment during discussions with your mentor.

A mentor can help a mentee with career situations, career planning, understanding of corporate world, problem solving, exploration of work methods, and overcoming hurdles. When entering into a mentoring partnership, both parties will agree on the length of period, form of contact – phone, email, or regular meetings, the frequency of the contact, length of the contact, location of meetings, content of meetings, and each other’s expectations.

A big part of mentoring is establishing a goal. The mentee should discuss their vision for their future. The mentor can then help the mentee make a career plan with targets and time frames to reach their goal. A mentor helps the mentee examine their experience, weaknesses, strengths, and possible opportunities.

At the end of the whole process, the mentee should be left feeling strengthened and able to see their future plans clearly.

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