What is Mentoring?
Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which one person shares knowledge, skills, information and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else.
Mentoring is a concept that has taken off in recent years. As one-to-one developmental assistance has become more popular, the term mentoring and coaching have come to be used as catch-all descriptors for which there are no universally agreed definitions.
Goals of the IACC Mentoring Program
- To create inter-generational links and bonds between established experienced Irish and Australian business professionals (Mentors) and the emerging Irish Diaspora (Mentees).
- To provide an opportunity for Mentors to transfer their wisdom and experience to Mentees, empowering them to become future business leaders.
- To give Mentees the opportunity to be supported in transition to a new location, sector or career level.
- To give Mentees access to knowledge from other professions and disciplines.
- To support the continuous growth and development of Mentees in their professional careers.
How does the Program work?
The IACC Mentoring Program, supported by the Irish Government's ESP Grants, runs over an 8 month period. Applicants complete an online application form, which will be given to state based selection committees who then match Mentors and Mentees.
Mentee Participation Fees for the 2023 intake have been set at a modest $800 + GST and this includes all elements of the program, including access to a Mentor and access to program resources.
Mentees are responsible for maintaining ongoing contact with their Mentor, with organisation of these meetings being the responsibility of the Mentee - this is really important and will be pivotal to your success. The format of the relationship will be determined by the pair and may include e-mail, Skype, phone or face-to-face meetings.
Mentee Application Checklist
- Be a current financial (not Associate) Member of the Chamber (if you're not a current Member, click here to join, then log in as a member and you can see the Application Form)
- Complete the Application Form to the best of your ability (remember that a prospective Mentor will see your full application and the better it is, the more likely they will accept you as a Mentee)
- Think about your goals for being involved in the Program and be ready to articulate your "grand plan" to your prospective Mentor if an introduction is made. The more clearly you can present where you want to get to and why, the better placed they will be to help you go in that direction.
- Don't book a six month trek in the Himalayas - you will need to ensure you make the time to actively participate in all aspects of the program, including dedicated Leadership Events and other Chamber events, which facilitate your greater engagement with the network.
- Get ready for 2023 being a year when something great happens for your personal and professional development - and most of all, enjoy the experience!
How does the Pairing process work?
First of all, you need to make a formal application to participate in the program. This is an important step which requires you to think about your goals as a participant and clearly articulate them in your application. Participating in the program requires significant commitment from Mentees, who must be financial members, in terms of time management, professionalism and reliability. If your current circumstances make this commitment difficult to give for whatever reason, it is best not to apply until such times as you can actively participate, as you are unlikely to be able to benefit fully from the opportunity, and may prevent someone else who can commit from taking a place in what is a highly competitive program.
After the closing date, all Mentee applications are assessed by an independent committee which includes Chamber team members, board members and previous program participants. Those applications which meet the assessment criteria are referred to prospective mentors. The Mentor will make a decision on whether or not they take on a particular Mentee and this is not within the control of the IACC. As your application will be given (in its entirety) to the prospective Mentor, it is in your interests to take care to make your application as strong as possible in order to increase the likelihood of being accepted by a quality Mentor.
Our aim is to make initial pairings and facilitate introductions before the end of May. We tell unsuccessful applicants as soon as possible that they have not made the shortlist but on occasion you may experience a delay in moving from provisional shortlist to being scheduled into a mobilisation workshop and request your patience and understanding during this period. Our volunteers have many applicants to support at this time and cannot always respond immediately to requests for updates, indeed time taken responding to multiple messages can prevent cases being progressed as intended.
