Career mentorship: a practical guide for young people

A career mentor is someone who shares experience, asks useful questions and helps you think through decisions about work. Mentoring can help you explore your options, build confidence and decide what to do next. You do not need to have your whole career mapped out before you start.

This guide explains what to expect from mentoring, how it differs from other support and how to find someone who is right for you.

What is the difference between a mentor, a careers adviser and a coach?

• A mentor draws on their experience to help you think about your career and development. The relationship may continue over time as your questions change.
• A careers adviser helps you understand education, training and work options so you can make informed choices. Your school, college or university is a useful place to ask about careers support.
• A coach helps you work towards a particular goal, often through questions, reflection and agreed actions.

These roles can overlap. Ask what support someone offers, how meetings work and whether there is a cost before you agree to begin.

How can career mentoring help?

A mentoring conversation gives you time to look at your interests and strengths, ask about a role or industry and work through a decision. Useful starting questions include:

• Which parts of study, work or volunteering do I enjoy most?
• What would I like to understand about this job or industry?
• What skills could I practise over the next few months?
• What is one small step I can take before our next conversation?

A mentor can offer a perspective and share what they have learnt. You remain responsible for your choices; mentoring does not guarantee a job or a particular career outcome.

How to find a career mentor

Start with people and organisations you already know. Ask your school, college, university, employer or a professional association whether they run a mentoring scheme. You could also approach someone whose work interests you and ask for an initial conversation.

Keep your request specific: explain what you want to learn and why their experience would help. For example, you might ask for a short conversation about their route into a role, rather than asking them to plan your career.

The National Careers Service guide to finding a mentor offers further practical ideas. Its UK careers services directory also points to the relevant service for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Make the most of the first meeting

Bring two or three questions and be ready to explain what you hope to gain. Agree how often you will meet, what you will discuss and how you will handle confidentiality. Afterwards, note one action you can take and review it at the next meeting.

As you explore your options, try to hear from more than one person. Work experience, volunteering and conversations with people in different roles can help you test your assumptions.

Build confidence, goals and personal leadership

LMI UK’s Making of a Champion programme focuses on personal development, goals and the habits that support high performance living. Explore our Young Leaders work for more on developing young people’s potential.

You can also listen to The Careers Podcast for conversations about work and career choices.

If you would like to discuss whether an LMI programme fits your needs, talk to the LMI UK team. We can help you explore a suitable next step.