Mentoring - is this for me?

By Craig Willcock-Orme, Professional Development Manager at CIEEM

In this article we explore what mentoring is and how a mentor can help you reach your career goals.

‘Mentoring’ is a relationship in which a person with more experience (mentor) supports another person (mentee) to help them develop skills, knowledge, and experience they need to progress/to reach their goal.

The mentor will encourage and support a person to make the most of their career and develop their personal skills. They do this by providing impartial, non-judgmental guidance and support.

How can mentoring help someone?

Mentoring is an invaluable resource for individuals at all stages of their careers, particularly those who are just starting out, changing direction, or seeking reassurance and clarity. For some, mentoring has been key in overcoming uncertainty and anxiety about their career path, offering not only practical advice on applications and projects but also emotional support and encouragement.

The experience has enabled mentees to take on more complex work, progress with confidence and achieve significant milestones, including securing their dream jobs. Mentoring has also been valuable for career changers, helping them gain industry insight, direction and a stronger sense of purpose. In addition to career development, mentoring is appreciated for promoting mental wellbeing and reducing the isolation that can come with early career uncertainty.

Mentoring can help someone to understand career pathways better by exploring options with a more experienced person who is already working in that role. It can also help develop new skills for the mentee and mentor and helps develop your wider professional network by connecting with others who you may not have normally come into contact with, offering differing perspectives for both.

Mentoring can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, make you more self-aware and benefit from gaining valuable insights from another professional.

Case study: Mentoring in Practice

To help bring mentoring to life, this case study looks at the mentoring programme in place at the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM), the leading professional membership body representing and supporting ecologists and environmental managers in the UK, Ireland and abroad.

The mentoring programme offers all CIEEM members the opportunity to receive and provide mentoring through the online mentoring platform as a benefit of their membership. The platform connects mentees with suitable mentors and is designed to help them make the most of the mentoring relationship. From profile setup and registration to being matched with a mentor/mentee and holding the first meeting, they will receive continuous support through a range of tools and resources available within the platform.

The mentoring provided is only possible due to the support and dedication of a pool of 140 CIEEM member mentors volunteering their time to help others. We have mentors at every grade of membership providing mentoring to peers.

Mentoring activities have included supporting career transitions, offering tailored advice on skills development and guiding individuals into roles within ecology and conservation. This has involved helping mentees move between sectors, prepare for higher membership grades and navigate career changes. Mentors have provided honest insights into key skills for early career ecologists, reviewed CEnv applications and supported job applications. Some have helped students gain practical experience in areas like urban greening, while others have guided entry into consultancy. Support has been delivered through the CIEEM platform, workplace mentoring and informal career discussions, all aimed at helping individuals progress and find their direction.

Mentees have benefited from the support provided by their mentor:

I'm glad I took part as it's been really helpful for my career progression’

‘Great experience and great advice from my mentor’

‘Definitely a massive help having someone to talk to about starting out in the sector’.

‘Really useful and particularly helpful to contact another ecologist and get advice after I lost my job’

And mentors too, have greatly benefitted from the experience:

‘This is a very satisfying thing to do, it’s great to work across the sector and be part of something beyond the day job’

‘I have found the mentoring process very rewarding and it's a lovely opportunity to support the wider ecology network. The system created by CIEEM is great for guidance through the mentoring process, with regular prompts and handy documents’

‘I was very happy to provide advice as a mentor. It feels hugely rewarding to be able to support someone's professional development and help guide them into their first role as an ecologist’.

‘I really enjoyed acting as a mentor for an early career ecologist. I would really have enjoyed the opportunity to speak to a more experienced member of the profession when I was just starting out and I'm very happy that I can provide a bit of help to someone else’.

Any successful mentoring programme is reliant on a team of mentors, so we now look at the importance of a mentor in mentoring.

Why become a mentor

There are many reasons why someone might want to become a mentor. Some like to support those who may have just started out in the profession as they can help guide them to help reach their career goals. While others like to share their knowledge and insights to help others reach their potential. Many find the experience very rewarding in that they are helping to shape the next generation for the profession and are passionate about giving something back to the sector.

Key skills of being a mentor

Effective mentoring relies heavily on strong listening skills, patience and clear communication. A good mentor is approachable, empathetic and generous with their knowledge, focusing on understanding and supporting mentees in the way they need. Mentoring is more about guiding than teaching, requiring the ability to build rapport, gently steer development and explain processes clearly. Recognising a mentor’s own limitations and knowing when to direct mentees to others with relevant expertise is also crucial. Ultimately, a successful mentor is someone who listens, supports and empowers others with empathy and clarity.

Benefits of being a mentor

Mentoring is seen as both personally and professionally rewarding, offering the opportunity to give back while learning from others. Mentors value supporting early career professionals in overcoming challenges, gaining roles and progressing in their careers. Engaging with a diverse range of mentees provides insight into different learning styles and tools, often leading to mutual learning and reflection. The experience fosters networking, skill development and a deeper understanding of career pathways. Many mentors also reflect on how mentoring has helped them revisit forgotten knowledge, stay current and enjoy meaningful connections.

Mentoring can also help a mentor develop professionally, by redefining your own career goals and seeing things from a new perspective. It is a fantastic opportunity to give something back to your profession and it also counts towards your own CPD requirement.

Mentoring is deeply rewarding, especially in seeing mentees grow in confidence, knowledge and progress toward their goals. Watching their careers develop and knowing your support helped them take important steps is highly satisfying. It's fulfilling to hear that your guidance made a real difference, whether through securing desired roles or helping them find their own solutions through reflective conversations. Simply listening without judgment and being part of someone’s professional journey brings a strong sense of purpose and pride.

Mentoring is a key tool for entering a sector and progressing your career and helps build your professional network. It can help shape your understanding of your own career pathway and develop key skills and knowledge to reach this. At the same time, mentoring enriches the profession by strengthening connections, sharing knowledge and nurturing the next generation of ecological leaders. In a field where the challenges are significant but the rewards are great, mentoring ensures that passion for the natural world can be translated into lasting, impactful careers.

Feeling inspired?

Where will your mentoring journey take you? And maybe you too can inspire and help someone else reach their potential.

You can find more about how the CIEEM mentoring platform works on the CIEEM website: https://cieem.net/mentoring

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