An introduction to mentoring

Mentoring is a great way to get advice, guidance, and a fresh perspective on your work. It’s beneficial for both mentors and mentees – and it’s free.

Mentoring is a one-to-one relationship – usually with one person having more experience than the other. A mentor can help you develop skills, learn from their experience, and grow in confidence.

Whether you’re starting out in your career or are further down the line, there’s a lot to gain from having some time out from your role to talk things over. And that can be on your role and career in general, or on a specific challenge you’re facing or project you’re working on. It’s a great way to carve out some time from the day-to-day to focus on you and your career.

Mentoring can be a one-off meeting (particularly helpful if you want to talk through a specific issue) or a longer-term relationship, with mentors and mentees meeting up regularly for around six months to a year.

Why is it beneficial for charities?

The charity sector is packed with talented, motivated professionals who care about what they do. Mentoring is a great way to access this knowledge. It’s a way to gain support from another person who’s working in the same sector, and understands the challenges and opportunities that can bring. And unlike having to pay expensive consultancy fees, mentoring is free.

Working with someone outside of your organisation

While mentoring within an organisation has lots of benefits, it can be freeing to speak with someone outside of your workplace, away from complications of any office politics. It can also help to bring a new perspective, impartial advice and the opportunity to find out about the different ways other charities work.  

What’s in it for mentors?

Being a mentor is also a great way to develop professionally. As well as being massively rewarding, it can give you the opportunity to share your experience, help you to learn about other organisations, and develop coaching skills.

Two-way learning

Whether you’re a mentor or mentee, there’s always something to learn from each other.

CharityComms matched Emily Babb-Doherty, copywriter and storyteller at Teach First, with Sarah Myers, freelance writer and communications consultant.

Emily said: “I applied for a mentor to clarify my strengths and weakness, and to speak to someone objectively about their experience copywriting for charities. I got all of that, and so much more – I feel much more confident in my abilities and I’m now working towards very specific goals.”

And Sarah got a lot out of the relationship too: “It was a really enjoyable and positive experience. I’m passionate about my work and found it validating to share my experiences with Emily. I learnt a lot from her and our conversations helped me to consolidate and expand my own knowledge.”

Before you look for a mentor

Think through why you want one. Do you want perspective on your career and advice on how to take your next step? Are you struggling with a specific project and need support from someone more experienced than you? Or are you the only social media person in your charity and need someone to chew things over with? Be clear about what your goals are before approaching anyone.

How to find a mentor

Finding a mentor can be as simple as finding someone who inspires you and asking them for a virtual coffee. That could be someone you’ve heard speaking at a conference, someone you follow on LinkedIn, or someone you’ve heard about through your professional network. If they’re busy, they can say no. But the likelihood is that they’ll be flattered and happy to help if they can.

You could also go through a scheme, such as the one organised by CharityComms. It matches up mentors and mentees for one-off meetings or a series of monthly sessions, and has some useful information to frame the relationship.

You could also try the Charity Retail Association, which matches members with appropriate mentors or the Small Charities Coalition.  

There are also organisations such as Charity Mentors Sussex that link mentees up with professionals outside the sector. This approach can be particularly helpful if you’re looking for a fresh perspective on a particular project.

Or there are organisations offering charities free mentoring, like Beyond, which is helping charities develop their digital capabilities.

How to make mentoring work

The success of mentoring is very much dependent on the quality of the relationship. If after your first session you really don’t feel that you can work with your mentor, then be upfront about it. For the course of your sessions, think about a few key themes you want to cover and work together to set objectives. Going back to them will help you to see clearly how it’s helping you. But don’t stick to your agenda too rigidly, often the most beneficial conversations are those that emerge spontaneously.