Why become a mentor?

Anyone can be a mentor. We all have skills and knowledge that someone else will value. The key is in wanting to share your skills and experience with someone else, and valuing what they have to share with you in return. A mentoring partnership is a voluntary agreement that should offer both parties a real opportunity to learn, network and develop in a different way to before.

There are many reasons you may choose to become a mentor, and in reality, they will probably include a range of those listed below:

• You want to support a sharing of skills across the sport in museums sector;
• You have specific skills that you think should be grown across the sector;
• You were a mentee, valued the experience and want to support others in this way;
• For you own professional development;
• To grow your own networks.

It’s important to understand the areas you are able to provide mentoring support for another individual, and assess the level of time you have in sharing these!

Download the table below and you can quickly draw out the specific skills, knowledge, and experience you have.

Assess your own mentoring skills