Coaching and mentoring

Coaching is about helping you find ways to develop and achieve your potential.

Think about it like a sports coach. They identify the skills each player has and how they can be used to help the team. They work with players to help them improve and become more confident. As each player gets better, the team is more likely to win.

A careers adviser will work with you to develop your career management skills, this could be in school or in a careers centre. They’ll help you think about who you are, what you’re good at and what you want to achieve. Then, you’ll decide how you’re going to do it and make a plan to keep you on track.

You can get support at different times throughout your career. You might be unsure of where to look for your first job out of school – or even know what you want to do when you leave. Or you might have been in the workplace for many years, but need a little help to make a career change. No matter what your circumstance, coaching can help you build the confidence you need to get the career you want.

A mentor is not someone who’ll tell you what to do. They’re someone who’ll help you find out where you really want to be – and explore different ways to get there. A good mentor will make sure you have the support you need to do things yourself, rather than trying to do things for you.

That might be about making sure you feel confident and comfortable in a new situation. It could also mean helping you to set yourself tasks or making contacts within their industry. What they do will depend on you, your relationship and what you want to achieve.

Many schools, colleges and universities run mentoring or buddy programmes, so it’s worth asking if it’s available at yours.

There are lots of mentoring projects which run across Scotland. Many give support to people who are looking for work or need help in education. Try the mentoring map on the Scottish Mentoring Network website to find one near you.

If you’re looking for a professional mentor, try to find someone who is in the kind of job you’d love to do. You could seek them out at:

• networking events for your industry
• events and fairs
• through the people you know personally
• through a professional body linked to the job you’re in or interested in (you can find those details on our job profiles)

When you’re getting in touch, be clear about what help you are looking for and point out why you’re a useful contact to them.