Mentoring

Mentoring is a developmental relationship focused on professional growth. Typically, the mentor has experience and achievements in an area the mentee is interested in and acts as a role model and advisor.

Key characteristics of mentoring:

• Supports long-term personal and professional growth, helping individuals build skills, confidence, and career direction
• Mentors share insights from their own career journeys, offering advice, perspective, and encouragement
• Relies on confidentiality, openness, and a foundation of respect between mentor and mentee
• Includes setting clear goals and expectations, helping mentees stay focused and measure progress

Queen Mary does not run a central mentoring scheme to partner mentors with mentees. Instead, research and experience show that the most successful mentoring relationships tend to be the ones initiated by mentees, as they know best what qualities and experience they’re looking for in a mentor. 

Here are some tips to help you find a mentor:

• Consider your personal goals.  What do you want to get out of your mentoring relationship?  This will help you to identify a mentor who will be able to help you, perhaps because they have achieved similar goals themselves.
   
• Explore your network. You might already have a 'role model' figure in mind to approach. If not, a good place to start is by looking at your own network, area of expertise or wider department for people whose careers are in a position that you would like to reach yourself. You might also want to specifically ask around to find out if anyone in your professional or academic circle is looking for a mentee.

Tip: Look out for the "Open to Mentoring" badge in email signatures. It’s a clear sign that someone is happy to be approached by potential mentees. But don’t let the absence of a badge stop you - many colleagues are open to mentoring even if they haven’t added it.

• Explore the Mentoring Profiles page. Some of our mentors kindly agreed to be profiled for this page (see below). If you see a mentor who you believe might be a good match, feel free to contact them about a potential mentorship and set up a first chemistry meeting.
   
• When meeting a potential mentor, treat that first meeting as an opportunity to get to know them better.  Don't ask them to mentor you until you're confident that a mentoring relationship with this person will be a productive one.

Queen Mary does not run a central mentoring scheme to partner mentors with mentees. Instead, research and experience show that the most successful mentoring relationships tend to be the ones initiated by mentees, as they know best what qualities and experience they’re looking for in a mentor. 

For you as a potential mentor, it's hard to know who might consider you a role model. The best thing for you is to make sure that you're prepared to make the commitments required of the mentoring relationship and that people know you're looking for a mentee:

• Add the “Open to Mentoring” badge to your email signature (download below).
• Mention your interest in mentoring during team meetings or informal chats.
• Feature on the Mentoring Profiles page (see below) to share your experience and attract mentees.

Being visible and approachable can help potential mentees feel more confident in reaching out.

The "Open to Mentoring" badge is a simple way to make mentoring more visible across Queen Mary. You might spot it in someone’s email signature or choose to add it to your own.

• For mentees: If you see the badge, it’s a clear sign that the person is open to being approached for mentoring. It can help you feel more confident reaching out, but don’t let the absence of a badge stop you - many colleagues are open to mentoring even if they haven’t added it.
   
• For mentors: Adding the badge to your email signature signals your availability and encourages potential mentees to connect with you - even if they don’t know you well yet. Download the badge below.
    

Some of our mentors have kindly agreed to be profiled for this page - find out more about their roles, their career journeys, and what advice they have to share. If you see a mentor who you believe might be a good match, feel free to contact them about a potential mentorship and set up a first chemistry meeting.

If you are, or would like to become, a mentor for Queen Mary colleagues you can also share your own profile!

If you are currently mentoring a colleague at Queen Mary or another institution, or aspire to do so in the future, the Staff Mentor Network on Teams is available for you to join. Resources are available to help you develop your practice, and members are encouraged to start open discussions about the practice of mentoring.

A workplace mentor is highly recommended for all apprentices, as it increases the likelihood of successful completion. Usually, the mentor is someone other than the apprentice's line manager who has experience and knowledge in the area that the apprentice is training in. 

Mentors can provide advice and support:

• To a new starter (who was recruited as an apprentice) to settle into their role
• To an upskilling apprentice (who has started their apprenticeship while already in post) to develop in their career
• In relation to the learning and evidencing the Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours required by their programme 

As with all mentoring at Queen Mary, it is not necessary to have formal training to be an apprenticeship mentor.  However, if you are a mentor to an apprentice, you may be interested in gaining a qualification in mentoring via the Learning and Skills Mentor apprenticeship.

If you would like to find out more about qualifications delivered through apprenticeships, please see the Qualification programme webpages for more information.