Mentoring at a Glance

There are a variety of mentoring programs that individuals may engage in over the course of their careers. Please see the information below for a brief overview of each type of mentoring that is thoroughly discussed in Manager's Guide to Mentoring.

Professional Mentoring - Professional mentors partner with individuals, private and public corporations, as well as not-for-profit organizations. Professional mentors help organizations develop their high-aspiration and high-potential employees, and help high-aspiration individuals develop the path and experiences necessary to accomplish career goals. Professional mentoring services are typically fee-based.

Formal Corporate Mentoring - This type of mentoring program is supported and developed by the organization. Formal corporate mentoring programs are implemented within the organization to transfer knowledge from more experienced corporate leaders to the organization's selected high-potential employees. This type of program is typically offered to prepare mentees for more responsibility within the organization.

Informal Corporate Mentoring - Informal corporate mentoring relationships develop within an organization, however, this type of mentoring is not sponsored or structured by the organization itself. This a more "free-form" type of mentoring with a lax structure and commitment from both parties. It may not even be identified as a mentoring relationship.

Peer-to-Peer Mentoring - This type of mentoring usually occurs informally within an organization, however, some organizations implement peer-to-peer mentoring as a way to integrate new employees into the organization. Peer-to-peer mentoring is a mentoring relationship which involves individuals who have similar responsibilities and positions within the organization.

Friend or Family Mentoring - This type of mentoring is more traditional and social in nature and not directly linked to the organization in any way. A friend or family mentor can be very valuable to an individual's career development, when the mentor is both knowledgeable and experienced and can offer some assistance in helping the individual reach career goals.