FAQS

What does a mentor do? Why do I need a mentor?

A mentor is a more experienced professional/business person who typically helps you with a transition. This could be the transition from school to work, from employee to entrepreneur or the next step in growing your business or developing your career. A mentor is your go-to person for any advice, guidance and feedback about your career and/or business development. A mentor also may be a subject matter expert in an area/field where you would like to grow and develop, and she can then share her knowledge and experiences with you to help you learn.

If possible in her context, a mentor might provide work experience or an internship for her mentee or introduce you to connections within her network. Within the context of the Circle of Pearl (CoP), the mentor and mentee commit to at least one face-to-face meeting per month and are free to communicate via email or phone in between meetings.

Here are some comments from two of the mentees in our first cycle:

“Being a part of the Circle of Pearl mentoring program has been an enriching and joyful experience. I have learned a lot more about myself and how I interact with others. I have seen firsthand the achievements of a wonderful group of ladies - the mentors - which is a definite inspiration to myself and the other mentees. But most of all, I have learned the very valuable lesson of asking for help and guidance in difficult situations - which is not a sign of weakness but a sign of confidence. After all, where would we all be if we didn't help each other out.” - Indeewaree Thotawattage

“Circle of Pearl by QPWN has been an amazing experience for me, since I am an ambitious person who wants success in her career and professional life. It provided me the opportunity to meet my very inspirational mentor: Mayes Al Thani. She is a strong, successful and generous woman. She introduced me to the reality of the professional life for a woman. She advised me on the challenges, and obstacles that I may face and how I should overcome them. She encouraged me to take chances, try new things and to aim for my goals with my full potential. Most of all I have learned how to go after my dreams and not to give up or get discouraged. This perhaps is the most precious lesson a young, aspiring and enthusiastic person can learn at the initial stages of the professional life.” - Zarqa Parvez

What are the benefits of being a mentor?

Being a mentor is a very gratifying experience. Mentors feel it is a great opportunity to give back and to support a younger woman in finding her career path. Mentors also learn a lot about themselves and about the younger generation from their mentees. When paired across cultures, both mentors and mentees also benefit from cross-cultural sharing and understanding. The drive and energy of mentees is often described as ‘infectious’ and the knowledge they have, fresh out of university, is often interesting and relevant to the mentor.

“It was six months of learning, growth, enjoyment and building a relationship” said Helen Tucker, one of the mentors about her experience in the first cycle. “I would like to encourage more women to step up and be mentors. It’s a learning experience.” added her colleague, Elaine Gold.

Who can become a mentor for CoP?

In the Circle of Pearl all our mentors are female. If you have a minimum of five years of relevant experience in your field, have lived and worked in the Gulf for more than one year and feel passionate about sharing your knowledge and experience, then you can apply to the Circle of Pearl as a mentor. Previous mentoring experience is preferred, although not mandatory. We will evaluate your application and, if we find you suitable, look for a matching mentee for the next cycle (new cycles start in the fall of each year).

Who can become a mentee for CoP?

Any female student (age 18 ) who is studying in Qatar can apply as a mentee, although students in their junior and senior years will be given priority. Female start-ups and entrepreneurs of any age who have or are starting a business in Qatar can also apply as a mentee, as well as women who are new to the workforce

Mentees are chosen at the Circle of Pearl Team’s discretion and subject to availability of well-suited mentors

How can I become a mentor/mentee?

Please go to Apply (insert hyperlink to this page)to download the application forms for mentors and mentees respectively and follow the instructions for submission.

What are the responsibilities of a mentor/mentee?

The details for each mentoring relationship are set out in a written agreement that the mentor and mentee enter into at the beginning of their mentoring relationship. A template will be provided by CoP.

Generally speaking, the responsibilities of the mentee are to ‘drive’ the mentoring relationship. It is up to the mentee to determine the subjects, set the appointments (subject to availability of the mentor, of course), reschedule cancelled appointments, make an agenda for each session, take notes at the session and take the agreed-upon actions after the mentoring session.

The mentor’s responsibility consists mainly of giving a well-balanced and well-informed insight into the realities of working as a professional/entrepreneur. She is responsible for giving correct information and advice, honoring appointments and ensuring that the mentee has the opportunity for at least one face-to-face meeting (min. 60 mins) every month.
Both parties are responsible for honoring their commitments and upholding the confidentiality of their discussions.

What is the difference between mentoring and coaching?

The main difference is that a mentor is someone who advises on the ‘technicalities’ of taking a step in a new direction, whereas a coach will work mainly on emotional and personal development issues. So a mentor would advise on things like where to find the right contacts, which book to read, whom to approach and how to improve your CV; while a coach would work on confidence issues, self-leadership, resilience and similar issues.

A mentor is an advisor and transfers her knowledge and expertise to her mentees- there’s an implied “hierarchy” in the relationship that the mentor possesses some sort of knowledge and experience that the mentee doesn’t, whereas with coaching it’s a peer-to-peer relationship without the element of advising or teaching/training.

Please see the below table for the differentiation that the The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) makes between mentoring and coaching:

Mentoring	Coaching
Ongoing relationship that can last for a long period of time	Relationship generally has a set duration
Can be more informal and meetings can take place as and when the mentee needs some advice, guidance or support	Generally more structured in nature and meetings are scheduled on a regular basis
More long-term and takes a broader view of the person	Short-term (sometimes time-bounded) and focused on specific development areas/issues
Mentor is usually more experienced and qualified than the ‘mentee’. Often a senior person in the organisation who can pass on knowledge, experience and open doors to otherwise out-of-reach opportunities	Coaching is generally not performed on the basis that the coach needs to have direct experience of their client’s formal occupational role, unless the coaching is specific and skills-focused
Focus is on career and personal development	Focus is generally on development/issues at work
Agenda is set by the mentee, with the mentor providing support and guidance to prepare them for future roles	The agenda is focused on achieving specific, immediate goals
Mentoring resolves more around developing the mentee professional	Coaching revolves more around specific development areas/issues

Source: http://www.brefigroup.co.uk/coaching/coaching_and_mentoring.html