University of Helsinki
Group mentoring helps in many ways
Studies show that mentoring provides major benefits to students (actors). The mentor can use his/her experience to guide actors as they consider their career alternatives. The mentor is more aware of potential job opportunities, employers and tasks and he/she is familiar with the issues and people in his/her own field. Mentoring enhances the professional identity of actors and boosts their belief that they can cope and thrive in work life. Mentoring also strengthens the actor’s belief in his/her own future and clarifies plans.
Mentoring can also help the actor identify and develop his/her own competence, goals, and opportunities. Actors can expand their personal networks and receive feedback and support with their choices. During group mentoring, actors receive also peer support from each other in addition to support from the mentor.
Examples of themes discussed in mentoring groups
The themes and questions discussed in mentoring groups always depend on the group´s interests, but in the past the groups have discussed the following topics:
- Professional growth and career development
- Self-assessment, identifying strengths and competences
- Future plans and career options
- Own motivation and goals
- Field-specific knowledge and practices
- Job-hunting and networking
- International careers
- Personal well-being, time-management and prioritising.
The mentor is not an employment agent, a sponsor, a manager, a work or student counsellor, a tutor or a therapist. The mentor’s task is to simply share his/her personal experiences and knowledge, not make decisions on the actor’s behalf or strongly guide the actor toward a particular direction. In addition, the mentor should not criticize the actor’s choices, although the mentor can encourage the actor to think about things in new ways. The actor is personally responsible for his/her learning process and how he/she makes use of what he/she has learned during mentoring later in life. It is important for students to be very active in the mentoring process.
Applying to the programme
A new season for the group mentoring programme begins every November and continues until May. The application time for students starts at the end of September or in the beginning of October. See the updated information about the application period on the page Apply to the programme.
