By Kate Danielsen — Feb 9, 2024

Mentoring Versus Coaching: Knowing which to seek according to your career phase

With so many avenues for growth in tech careers, it can be challenging to identify the right path. Two key components of professional advancement are mentorship and coaching. While both are critical in enabling exposure to new skill sets and perspectives, it’s also important to understand their differences — and when to seek which. Below, we’ll outline their overlaps and distinctions, with tips for cultivating and maximizing each type of relationship.

Understanding Mentorship and Coaching

Mentorship is like having a career guide. It’s a casual, yet professional relationship with someone who has walked the path before you. Mentors share their personal and professional experiences, offering insights and advice that span a broad spectrum of your career. Think of a mentor as an advisor who can help you navigate complex career questions such as: which career path is right for me? or, how should I build my career toward a specific goal?

On the other hand, coaching is more structured and specific. It’s like having a personal trainer for your career. Coaches work with you to identify and achieve specific goals like promotion, raises, or skill development. They provide targeted strategies and feedback to help you overcome particular challenges, improve specific skills, or identify areas for growth in your current role.

Outlining the Specifics

Topic	Coaching	Mentoring
Timeframe	More likely to be short-term with a specific outcome in mind. However, some coaching relationships can last longer, depending on the goals achieved.	The relationship tends to be more long-term, with ebbs and flows throughout a career.
Focus	Coaching is more performance-driven, for instance, to develop a more in-demand skill or to set one’s self up for a promotion.	Mentoring is more development-driven, taking a holistic approach to career development — beyond function, towards purpose.
Frequency	Traditionally more structured, with regularly scheduled meetings, like weekly or monthly.	Generally, meetings tend to be more informal, on an as-needed basis required by the mentee.
Agenda	Each meeting is co-created to meet the specific needs of the person inquiring.	The mentoring agenda is generally set by the mentee.
Questioning	Asking thought-provoking questions is a top tool of the coach, which helps the coachee make important decisions, recognize behavioral changes, and take action.	In the mentoring relationship, the mentee is more likely to ask more questions, tapping into the mentor’s expertise.
Outcome	There is generally a specific, measurable outcome that also marks the conclusion of the relationship — or at least, the frequency of the touch.	Outcomes are fluid and are based more on the overall interests, long-term goals, and personal and professional development of the mentee.

When to Seek a Mentor Versus a Coach

Early Career

Mentorship: Invaluable for understanding industry norms, building your professional network, and gaining general career guidance. For instance, should you target a product or project management path? How can you tell which would be a better fit?
Coaching: Ideal for honing specific skills, such as technical proficiencies or soft skills that are critical in your role. Perhaps you could consult a coach to identify gaps in your resume for your intended career goals or to help you build your confidence and skill in interviewing.

Mid-Career

Mentorship: Crucial for those looking to move into management or navigate significant career shifts. You might seek mentorship for insight on what it means to be a good people manager, and how you can work towards building a trusting and functional team. Or, perhaps you don’t see or are uninspired by your current path forward — a mentor can help you rediscover a passion or establish new goals.
Coaching: Beneficial for developing leadership abilities; conflict and relationship management when building a team; or managing complex, high-stakes projects. In this case, a coach would be more suited to help you establish effective communication skills, or to recognize and manage organizational change. While your passions, interests, and empathy are still important, coaches would help you develop the hard and soft skills to bring these factors to action.

Senior Professionals

Mentorship: Potentially for seasoned professionals looking to give back, broaden their influence, or explore new career avenues. Mentorship at this level might be more of a conversation or exchange between equals looking to learn from each others’ experiences.
Mentoring: At this stage in one’s career, you’ve likely become a valuable mentor — you have the wisdom and wealth of experience to help guide early- and mid-career workers in their goal setting.
Coaching: Helps in refining top-level skills like executive decision-making, strategic planning, and corporate leadership. While senior professionals can certainly be coaches as well, coaches are more likely to have a specific area of focus or certain accreditations, making it less of a natural progression.

Finding Mentorship and Coaching Relationships

Finding a Mentor can be as simple as reaching out to a respected colleague or attending networking events and joining professional associations. Online platforms like Merit, which aims to democratize access to tech careers, also offer diverse opportunities to connect with mentors in the tech world.

Finding a Coach often involves engaging with professional coaching services. For tech careers, potential coaching services could include AlvCareers or individuals specializing in coaching services. Recommendations from colleagues, HR departments, or industry contacts can also lead you to a suitable coach.

Building and Maintaining These Relationships

Mentorship

Initiate regular catch-ups and provide updates on your progress.
Remember, a mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way street; respect and gratitude go a long way.
Consider this list of questions to guide your conversations with a well-matched mentor.

Coaching

Set clear, achievable goals for your coaching sessions.
Implement the feedback and strategies provided by your coach diligently.
This blog outlines questions to help guide your selection of a career coach.

When engaging with mentors or coaches, asking the right questions is key. For mentors, inquire about their career-defining moments or how they strike a balance between work and life. With coaches, focus on specific skill development or strategies to tackle current job challenges.

Your career path in tech will be unique and ever-changing. Whether you find yourself in need of a mentor’s wisdom or a coach’s strategic guidance, both play pivotal roles in different stages of your professional journey. By understanding and utilizing these relationships effectively, you can navigate the complexities of the tech industry with greater confidence and clarity.

This blog provides a general guide, but remember, the journey is personal and dynamic. Tailor your approach to mentorship and coaching based on your unique career aspirations and challenges.

Explore Mentor on Merit

Happy growing!