Mentoring is used in a wide variety of settings and contexts to meet personal and professional development needs. The mentor offers support, advice and guidance to a less experienced person called a mentee.

Meeting objectives are set jointly by the mentee and mentor, according to the mentee’s needs. The idea is for the mentor to share his or her know-how, expertise and skills with the mentee, helping him or her to acquire new skills and develop in his or her field of interest. The notion of constructive feedback enables the mentor to pass on an objective assessment to help the mentee improve in his or her field.

The mentee actively engages in his or her own personal and professional development by demonstrating openness to learning, and seeks to acquire new skills through the mentor’s guidance.

Testimonial

The academic world and the world of work: complementarity and synergy required! The mission I’ve been entrusted with as a mentor for the past three years, working with a dozen students, is in line with this objective: to support students on their way to finding employment, in a dynamic of exchange, on an equal footing. Sharing my professional experiences, my tricks of the trade, my secrets of success: these are just some of the opportunities I’ve been given to offer young people what I wouldn’t have been able to keep for myself! By giving generously of your own knowledge, you’ll enrich both sides. Don’t hesitate to invest in such a relationship, which brings nothing but gratification to both parties.

Gilles Pageau, Deputy Director of Interparliamentary and International Relations, National Assembly of Quebec (retired).
Ref.: https://www.fss.ulaval.ca/actualites/devenir-mentor-pourquoi-pas