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As a mentor, you can shape the future of your mentee and impact their career growth in a positive way. However, with the dynamic nature of the workforce and the constantly changing career landscape, it's important for mentors to continually refine and upgrade their skills.
That's where mentoring courses come in.
Unlike the traditional notion that mentors are born and not made, mentoring courses help mentors to learn and refine the art of mentorship. These courses provide you with new insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of the mentor-mentee relationship, making you better equipped to support and guide your mentees toward success.
In this article, we'll explore why mentoring is important, if certification is necessary to be a mentor, and highlight the top online mentorship courses available for both mentors and mentees.
Why do you want to be a mentor & why is mentoring important?
Becoming a mentor is an opportunity to give back by sharing your knowledge and experience, and help shape the next generation of professionals. You support your mentees with different work priorities, goals, and career development interests that make a lasting impact within the workplace and in their lives.
You can help mentees learn faster by leveraging the knowledge of those more experienced than them. With your help, they can access resources and contacts that they would not have been able to access without your help.
This enables mentees to grow their networks and connect with more experienced individuals, which is beneficial for their career growth.
That’s the reason 97% of individuals with a mentor feel they are highly impactful and valuable.
But it's not just about imparting wisdom - effective mentoring is a two-way street. It allows you to continue learning and growing, as it provides you with the opportunity to reflect on your own experiences, learn from your mentees, and gain a new perspective on your own career.
Mentoring helps you hone your leadership skills and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by mentees.
For those on the fence about becoming a mentor, the rewards of becoming a mentor are numerous. It's an opportunity to connect with others, learn and grow, get a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, and make a meaningful impact.
Do you have to be certified to be a mentor?
While a certification is not a mandatory requirement to become a mentor, it certainly doesn't hurt to invest in some formal training.
Many successful mentors have gained their knowledge and experience through hands-on experience, but taking a mentorship course offers you additional benefits and transferrable skills such as communication skills, active listening techniques, and a deeper understanding of mentorship best practices.
Some of the best mentorship characteristics that you can develop from a good mentorship course are
- Leadership skills
- Empathy
- Active listening skills
- Technical skills
- Ability to provide corrective feedback.
- Adaptability
- Investing in others
- Patience
Free and paid online mentorship courses you can take
We've gathered several free and paid mentorship courses you can take as a handy headstart.
These courses will help you learn the basic skills you need as a mentor. As a result, you will be able to gain the confidence to become a successful mentor and guide your mentees to success.
Moreover, you will be able to build your own mentoring style and use it to create a positive and meaningful impact on the lives of your mentees.
1. Introduction to mentorship – Coursera (Free)
Introduction to mentorship is intended for early career researchers and mentors who want to be research leaders and believe that modern science requires management skills. You will learn the skills necessary to successfully implement funded projects, which will enhance your career prospects
2. Coaching and mentoring skills- Udemy (Paid)
Coaching and Mentoring Skills explains why we need to mentor others. This course outlines the responsibilities of a mentor. The course also discusses the parameters to assess mentees and explains how to enhance mentees’ performance through effective coaching techniques.
3. Learn the art of teaching skills, coaching & mentoring to educate & train others - Skillshare (Free)
This course is about learning the methodologies of explaining more complex topics to your peers. It teaches you to simplify the topics, the art of asking strategic questions, and investing in new processes as a mentor.
4. Mentoring 101™: The Basics - Opensesame (Paid)
This course is a paid course but a great introduction to the role of a mentor. It also provides the foundation from which to launch a mentoring program. The role of a mentor is defined as well as a mentor's must-dos. This course could be a great choice if you want to know about the very basics of mentoring.
5. Introduction to Career Coaching - Alison (Free)
Introduction to career coaching could be a great headstart to successful career coaching. In this course, you’ll learn how to help your clients achieve their career goals, increase their confidence, and build a fulfilling career path.
It helps you to learn the principles and benefits of coaching, the difference between coaching and mentoring, and the importance of a career coach in personal development.
You explore the key aspects of personality and the essential legislation related to employment in the UK. And the best part about this course is that it’s FREE.
It includes
- 3-4 Hours of Learning
- CPD Accreditation
- Final Assessment
5. Mentor's Toolbox: Practical guide to corporate mentoring introduction to career coaching - Udemy (Paid)
Mentor's Toolbox: Practical Guide to Corporate Mentoring could be a great choice if you want to transform into a corporate mentor. This comprehensive course is designed to equip you with the practical skills, templates, and tools needed to excel as a mentor in the corporate world.
You can gain insight into the 9 key skills required by successful corporate mentors and coaches, with practical exercises to help you develop them. You’ll also learn the differences between mentoring, tutoring, and coaching and discover how to effectively motivate and guide your mentee to success.
With 30 examples of homework, 3 structured templates for mentoring, and 5 actionable algorithms, this course has everything you need to take your mentoring to the next level.
The price tag is $16.99 that includes
- 2 hours of on-demand video
- 2 articles
- 3 downloadable resources
- Full lifetime access
- Access on mobile and TV
- Certificate of completion
You can find it at Udemy.
Together’s free mentor and mentee courses
Together’s mentor and mentee courses are comprehensive, yet free mentorship modules designed to help you become the best mentor and mentee you can be.
With the Together mentoring course, you will learn how to understand your mentee on a deeper level, ask thought-provoking questions, and unlock their growth. Likewise, mentees will learn how to take full advantage of the relationship, clearly understanding their expectations.
Our course focuses on developing your emotional intelligence and listening skills, which are two key ingredients for a successful mentor-mentee relationship.
Bottom line
Mentoring is a two-way street. If you embrace the power of mentorship, the benefits of imparting wisdom and receiving guidance go hand in hand.
By leveraging the resources above, we trust that you will be able to equip yourself with the necessary mentorship skills and perspectives to become a successful mentor and to help those that you are mentoring.Together is a mentorship platform built to help companies launch and scale employee mentoring programs. If you recognize the benefits of mentorship and think your orgranization should start a formal program, use our mentorship program proposal guide to make the pitch to your leaders.
