Dear AFETT,

I am mentoring and supporting a young individual who wants to get into my field of work, but I am going through personal challenges (some of which I have shared with my mentee and others that I have kept private).

These challenges have me questioning whether I even made the right choice for myself in picking this career path.

How can I provide effective assistance to my mentee while also considering options for myself for a career shift/ change?

Dear mentor,

First of all, congratulations on being a mentor.

In today’s world, where we are so focused on gaining for ourselves, the sacrifice of giving back through mentorship is positively noted.

According to Ghosh and Reio Jr in the Journal of Vocational Behaviour, "Mentors are typically defined as individuals with advanced experience and knowledge who are committed to providing support for the purpose of increasing career advancement of junior organisational members or their proteges."

Proteges, otherwise known as "mentees," receive both psychosocial support and career support from their mentors.

Ghosh and Reio Jr go further and define psychosocial support as enhancing the mentee's sense of competence, identity and effectiveness in their professional role, whereas career support requires mentor provision in the areas of career options and dilemmas.

Mentors often provide a safe space where mentees can discuss how they can successfully manage challenging work assignments and provide coaching, exposure and visibility, where possible, through the mentor’s own connections in the profession.

Choosing a career path for you

People choose career paths based on their own skills, passion, interests, goals, values, salary prospects, education and training costs for the careers being considered and actual job options available.

Additionally, career choices are often influenced by exposure to key professions (through vacation internships, friends and family members in the professions of interest) as well as career advice from teachers, professors, family and friends.

Many people choose a career at a particular point in time for many of the reasons previously stated. The average person will spend time building that chosen career through hard work and commitment. Anyone who has chosen a particular career path would do well to invest in their chosen career through time on the job, continuous certification and specialised training, engagement in meaningful interactions with professional associates in their chosen field and volunteerism through professional associations.

By being a mentor we can assume that you chose a career path for some of the reasons stated above and that you have had some measure of success in the chosen career.

Be confident in the learnings and professional expertise that you have already acquired in your current field. In treating with your young mentee, good advice would be to continue to expose your mentee to all aspects of your chosen career, both positive and negative, and allow the mentee the benefit of his or her