Mentoring is an old, tested method that is used to pass on the experiential knowledge
and wisdom of an experienced, older mentor to a younger, more inexperienced actor
who is eager to develop. The aim is to facilitate the career management and the
professional and intellectual growth of the person being mentored.
Mentoring is led by an actor, who poses questions to a mentor. The actor’s questions, topics of interest, and goals determine the contents of mentoring. Learning is done through the dialogue between the actor and the mentor, i.e. discussion that aims for mutual understanding and learning. This involves an open, confidential interactive relationship where both the mentor and the actor learn from each other.
Not recruitment
The mentor is not an employment agent, a sponsor, a manager, a work or student
counselor, an orientor, 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.vii
Mentoring has long been used in work life to transfer tacit knowledge and particularly
to expedite learning and support the career development of managers and experts,
among other purposes. Mentoring programs for students, on the other hand, have
provided new perspectives toward career planning and the future. The University of
Helsinki organizes group mentoring to support students as they move on to work life
or further studies.
Mentoring is beneficial to both parties
Mentors may receive new ideas and thoughts from actors during the
mentoring process. Mentors can often analyze their own careers better after
mentoring and consider their own plans for the future from a new perspective.
Working as a mentor is a valuable experience that can provide mentors with genuine
pleasure from being able to help someone. Simultaneously, they receive a direct
connection to students and current university studies.
Mentoring can also develop the interaction and leadership skills of a mentor and
teach him/her a new working method. The mentoring experience also provides
provisions for knowledge management, which may be useful in work life when, for
example, developing the competence of subordinates and organizing performance
appraisals.
Read more about goup mentoring.
Group Mentoring Guide (pdf)
