About Mentoring
What is a mentoring?
Mentoring is a one-to-one, non-judgemental professional relationship in which an individual (mentor) voluntarily gives time to support and encourage another (mentee), usually to achieve certain goals or support an individual through significant transitions over a medium to longer term
What is a mentor?
Mentors are knowledgeable, experienced individuals who choose to facilitate the professional growth of another by sharing their experience, contacts, knowledge and insights that have been gathered by them over the years. They act as a sounding board for issues that the mentee wishes to discuss, and offer advice and assistance as requested.
What is a mentee?
Mentees are individuals who seek to grow and develop through a relationship with someone whom they respect and whose skills, abilities and viewpoints they wish to access and benefit from.
Mentees are responsible for driving the relationship, determining the agenda and what help is asked of the mentor to facilitate their own personal and professional development. What a mentee gets out of the relationship will be dependent on what they put in to it. It is important that the mentee takes the initiative and seeks advice from their mentor, and that they are open-minded and prepared to listen and act on new options which are proposed throughout the relationship.
What are the benefits of becoming a mentor?
Mentors generally gain a sense of reward and pride from being able to assist and contribute to a mentee’s development. Other benefits include enhanced leadership and interpersonal skills, the opportunity to gain recognition and respect, and an expanding network of contacts.
Have I got what it takes to become a mentor?
A mentor’s role is to listen and to provide encouragement, support, and well thought-through advice. A mentor provides constructive feedback and helps the mentee to set goals, identify opportunities and expand on the individual’s network.
It is important that mentors take their responsibility seriously and confidentiality is of utmost importance, as is openness and honesty. Effective mentors are people-oriented, supportive and patient, as well as confident, respected and motivational.
The mentoring committee typically looks for mentors who have at least five years’ professional experience; however it does recognise that different people have different skills and experiences to draw upon, so if you do not have this level of professional experience, but feel you have something to offer please do not hesitate to contact us.
What are the benefits of becoming a mentee?
There are many benefits to being mentored and to having access to support and one-on-one advice from within the city’s business community. As well as having a sounding board for ideas and issues, mentees stand to benefit from increased confidence, enhanced interpersonal skills, and a new perspective on career planning and development.
Will I be matched to someone in the same profession as me?
Not necessarily – wherever possible, the committee aims to match mentees with a mentor from another professional discipline. This helps mentees to get an objective perspective on issues, which can help them to consider things differently. Of course if you specifically want to be matched with someone from the same profession or sector the committee will do their best to accommodate this.
How much time will I have to commit to mentoring/being a mentee?
There are no set requirements, so this can vary greatly. Most mentees meet with their mentors for an hour or so every four weeks. Whether it’s for coffee, lunch or after work, regular meetings are recommended to ensure the relationship progresses smoothly. Most successful pairings also ‘check in’ with each other via informal phone calls or email, in-between the scheduled face-to-face meetings.
