Why Mentor of the Year?

ITI's Mentor of the Year award category has struck a chord with members since it was launched in 2019.

We are looking forward to hearing about more great mentors this year. But why is this such an important part of ITI's awards programme?

Well, it’s because the right person giving the right advice and assistance at the right time can have a huge impact on the mentee’s skills, knowledge, and ability to cope with and thrive in their chosen job.

The typical image of the mentor/mentee relationship is someone with considerable experience helping an individual who is relatively new to the profession and ‘learning the ropes’.

But mentoring can be useful in all kinds of situations. It can help someone get back on track when they’re feeling a bit stuck or after a career break. It can give confidence when trying to move to the next level in your career or business. It can help you gain knowledge in an area in which you feel you are weak, for example translation technology or any technology tools that will help you in your work.

Mentoring can take all kinds of forms. It can be quite structured, like the schemes run by some of ITI’s geographical, language and subject Networks (find out more here).

For example, in the Spanish Network scheme for mentoring new translators, mentors provide six one-hour feedback sessions on translations over a six-month period. The mentor receives a fee, with both the mentee and the Network making a financial contribution. This mitigates against potential mentor fatigue and means the work is dealt with in a business-like way.

Read about previous winners of the ITI Mentor of the Year award

Winner 2022: Christèle Blin

Christèle is a mentor in the ITI French Network mentoring scheme. Christèle was praised highly for her approach, her generosity with her time, the way in which she shared training recommendations, research techniques and essential reading, and her readiness to share her experience and her contacts.

Winner 2021: Lynn Urch

Lynn developed and launched the Western Network's New Entrants Group in 2020. She recognised that there were members in the Network who felt a little 'lost' and she generously donates her time and expertise to help them find their paths. Lynn and has received glowing testimonials for the programme, which she is now running on year-long rotation, for the way in which it encourages quality and hard work, alongside mutual support and knowledge sharing.

Winner 2020: Francesca Matteoda

Francesca is a mentor for the MedNet and ITI Spanish Network mentoring schemes. Mentees were full of praise for her approach and cited many factors that helped them to grow as translators, including well-chosen texts for translation practice; the quality of feedback; practical advice on coping as a freelance translator; her recommendations for useful additional resources; and giving them confidence.

Some training courses have a major mentoring element. For example, in ITI’s Setting up as a Freelance Translator programme, participants have direct access to ten practising translators who have successfully launched their own freelance careers.

Alternatively, you may meet someone in a networking group or via social media who is willing to provide advice on an ‘as and when basis’. Or you may have several different people you would go to, dependent on what the issue is. Being part of a co-working group could be a useful route to finding one or more mentors.

It’s important to remember that mentoring isn’t just about taking, it’s a two-way transaction. You may need to commit something back. This could be financial or giving some advice or help in return. And, of course, the mentor is learning from the experience too.

We should celebrate opportunities to recognise those who are helping others in the profession to develop their career, make their mark and deal with the challenges of an evolving sector. Just because mentors are not seeking recognition does not mean they will not be pleased to receive it.