Careers
Mentor or Coach?
Most adults will be able to identify mentors in their lives – people who have been a good ‘sounding board’ for them in both personal and professional situations. It is our shared hope for our boys that they connect with people throughout their lives who will support them in their decision-making, and encourage them to be honest and realistic with themselves when they consider difficult situations.
Mentors don’t have all the answers and won’t be able to ‘fix’ things. They don’t provide step by step guidance to achieve goals. You might recall the relationship that Harry Potter had with Dumbledore. Professor Dumbledore didn’t protect Harry from his mistakes, he worked through them with him. Both Harry and Dumbledore committed time to their relationship, and managed the ups and downs when they didn’t always see eye to eye.
This is a very different role to a coach. A coach is engaged for short term problem-solving or task completion. Their experience and knowledge is specific and they have the role of planning steps, teaching skills and providing guidance to see completion of specific undertakings.
This week, Year 12 students met with some Old Boys from the Class of 2016 via a Teams mentoring event. The partnership with the Careers Programme and the OTU is well established – on Tuesday evening, the intention was to create an informal space for conversations about the decisions that these Old Boys have taken since leaving Trinity, around the themes of Courage, Commitment and Connection. In starting their final year at school, our new Year 12 students are encouraged to surround themselves with positive relationships and recognise the value of connecting with mentors in whatever space they may meet them.
A link to the recording of this event has been shared with the Year 12 boys via the Canvas Careers page.
Courses and contacts
Please refer to Courses & Contacts for details of courses and contacts that may be of interest to you and your sons.
Susan Draysey | Careers and Student Pathways Advisor
