What is International Mentoring Day?
January 17th is celebrated as International Mentoring Day since it was launched in 2017. The day provides an opportunity for individuals and organisations to recognize the power of mentoring in career development, personal growth, and professional success. The day highlights the importance of mentoring, promotes mentorship programs, and encourages people to participate in mentoring relationships.
Did you know that there are different types of mentoring?
- Traditional one-to-one mentoring involves a more experienced professional (mentor) guiding a less experienced individual (mentee) on various aspects of their career. A mentor shares their knowledge, skills, and expertise to help a mentee achieve their goals and overcome challenges. They provide feedback, guidance, support, and encouragement throughout the journey.
- Reverse mentoring is an increasingly popular form of mentorship that has emerged over the past few years. It flips the traditional model on its head by pairing younger employees with more senior executives to share their insights and perspectives on topics such as technology trends or social media strategies. By engaging in reverse mentoring relationships, senior professionals benefit from learning about new technologies or trends that they may not have been exposed to otherwise. At the same time, younger employees gain valuable experience through sharing their knowledge with upper management and develop leadership skills by interacting with higher-ups in their organisations.
- Career mentoring focuses specifically on providing guidance on career development. This could include identifying potential career paths, setting goals, and developing strategies to achieve those goals. Career mentors may also provide feedback on resumes, cover letters, and job applications.
Having a career mentor can be incredibly beneficial for individuals who are looking to advance their careers. Not only does it provide an opportunity to receive guidance and feedback from someone with experience in their field, but it can also help mentees develop a clearer understanding of what they want out of their careers.
Here at KCA People we are big fans of mentoring and, having seen for ourselves just how powerful it has been for our clients and their employees, we can answer any questions you might have in relation to what mentoring can do for you, whether within your business or on a personal level.
Kirsty and Rachel are both ILM L7 qualified coaches and mentors so very happy to share their thoughts on how mentoring could benefit you.