Thing 11 Mentoring

Mentoring is a very rewarding and valuable part of a professional career and is definitely worth participating in whether formally or informally.  To be a mentor is a big responsibility as you want to provide the best support and encouragement that you can.  I have mentored formally and informally both while I was teaching and also in my current role.  In a teaching capacity the mentoring was on a formal basis for trainee teachers while on placement at the school and involved following specific tasks and feeding back on observations.  I enjoyed it as I knew how it felt and how important it was to 'get through' the requirements.  The advantages of a prescribed framework are that the requirements are clear to both sides but I was lucky that the people I was involved with were conscientious and hardworking.  In my teaching role I was mentored formally and informally by the Head of Department.
When I moved to my current role I looked for a mentor who was external to the organisation.  This was for a number of reasons.  The line management of my role was changing and indeed the deaprtment as a whole was new and still settling down.  I wanted to be advised by someone who was detached from the College who would deliver impartial advice and also someone who was very experienced.  I was lucky to find a person at the University who was excellent and I really appreciated the help that they gave me.  More recently my line manager was a good mentor in an informal way.
I haven't been a formal mentor recently but have done so in an informal way for members of my department.  I have also been involved in mentoring the modern apprentice that has been working in my department.
Personally I think it is good to have someone separate from your department because the parts that I have found the most useful are not the specific career advice or progression but the general advice and a different perspective on any issues that happen.  Experience of staff management is invaluable and also general encouragment and support.  Someone to reassure you that you are doing the right thing, tell you if you're doing the wrong thing and generally have your best interests in mind.