Mentoring is valuable to both mentees and mentors.
Mentors find the experience of helping another member rewarding as they help them to grow and 'address their own challenges, considering their relationships at work and thinking of the future'.
Winner ‘New product development – Member Benefit’ at the 2016 MemCom awards
Finalist 'National Mentoring Programme of Year' National Mentoring Awards 2019
What are the benefits of mentoring?
Being mentored has helped our mentees to:
- achieve greater clarity around their career goals and how to achieve them
- learn more about themselves
- gain greater self-confidence and self-belief
- pursue personal and professional development and practical learning
- improve relationships with their colleagues and their performance in their current role.
"Mentoring is a great idea, and I have surprised myself about how challenging it can be and also rewarding when a suggestion I have made has had a positive impact."
The mentoring process
Each mentee and mentor fill out an initial questionnaire. This allows the mentee to reflect on what they would like to achieve through mentoring and helps us evaluate the mentor’s experience and values
- We provide face-to-face training for mentors and webinars and telephone briefing sessions for mentees. This is to ensure you are fully prepared for the mentoring relationship and that you are comfortable with what our mentoring service involves. The training has been very well received and all mentors felt it provided them with enough tools and skills to mentor effectively, with one commenting it was very useful, particularly to ensure that the mentors are all 'normed' on expectations
- We match you with an appropriate mentor/mentee as soon as we are able, which will be based upon the responses in the initial questionnaire. Please be aware that while we will do our best to find a match for you, we cannot guarantee one.
- You meet your mentor/mentee and get started.
How to get involved
Member (MRSC) and Fellows (FRSC) are eligible to become a mentor. You do not need to have had years of experience in order to become a mentor. We are always looking for mentors from both academic and industrial backgrounds, and a variety of experience is welcome.
“It’s a great idea, and I have surprised myself about how challenging it can be and also rewarding when a suggestion I have made has had a positive impact.” – Current mentor
Become a mentor
To become a mentor we require you to attend a day of training where we give you the opportunity to practice the skills needed to be a confident mentor. Details of our next mentor training courses can be found online, or email the Careers team with 'Mentoring' in the subject and we will follow up with you.
If you are in one of our professional categories of membership Associate (AMRSC), Member (MRSC) or Fellow (FRSC) or you hold a professional registration (RSci or RSciTech) then you are eligible to become a Mentee.
“It’s a great service and the mentor match you have made for me is perfect for my professional needs at this point in time.” – Current mentee
How can a mentor help you?
There are many reasons to work with a mentor such as working towards specific aim like progressing your career in academia, or setting up your own business. For general guidance and support about making your next career move and navigating your thoughts about your career. They can also help with building your confidence, establishing yourself as a manager or providing encouragement and support no matter your career stage.
Request a mentor
If you are interested in having a mentor then please read the mentee guidelines below and then email the careers team with 'Mentoring' as the subject. We will then follow up with you to share more details so you understand what will be expected of you and how the mentor matching process works.
A Chartered Chemist (CChem) mentor supports another member who would like to become a Chartered Chemist and whose day-to-day work they are closely familiar with.
What does a CChem mentor do?
They guide applicants through the process of becoming Chartered and will help their mentee select the relevant evidence for each attribute. This differs from our member mentoring scheme because you are supporting a member with a very specific professional development aim within a set qualification structure. You should ideally also hold CChem status yourself.
Find out more about becoming a CChem mentor
Or watch our webinar about how to become a CChem mentor
If you are interested in becoming a CChem mentor contact the Chartered Chemist team.
If you are a member of the RSC Chemical Education Research Group (CERG), you may wish to consider joining their pilot mentoring scheme.
You will be assigned a CERG mentor/mentee based on common areas of Chemistry Education Research interest and will receive training and ongoing support from the RSC Career Management team.
For more details and to express an interest in becoming a mentor or a mentee please see the CERG page.
Careers support
- Tel:
- +44 (0) 1223 432231
- Email:
- Send us an email
Chartered Chemist
- Tel:
- +44 (0) 1223 432141
- Email:
- Send us an email