While one-on-one mentoring is likely the first kind of mentoring structure you might think of, there are many types of mentoring. None of these types are inherently better than others and all can be useful for your mentorship experience.
One-on-one Mentoring
One-to-one mentoring pairs one experienced mentor with one mentee who is seeking advice. This allows focused attention on the mentee’s current needs and challenges. These relationships can become a foundation for a network for all participants.
Group Mentoring
Group mentoring brings together a group of mentees who are seeking help in a similar area such as the job search. They can be lead by a single mentor with expertise or by a series of mentors who each provide different areas of expertise. This structure provides an opportunity to learn not only from the mentor, but also from other mentees.
Peer Mentoring
Peer mentoring is a form of group mentoring but there is no lead mentor. The mentors in the group come together because they fill a similar role or are looking to learn a similar skill and problem solve, learn, and mentor each other.
Hybrid structures
Some programs may choose to combine more than one structure in your mentoring program. Such as combining one-to-one mentoring with a group or peer mentoring to round out the experience of the participants.
Informal Mentoring
Informal mentoring is similar to one-to-one mentoring but without the organizational structure. Mentors and mentees would be encouraged to find their own matches on their own or through forums where potential matches could meet.
E-mentoring
E-mentoring can be used to do one to one mentoring or group and peer mentoring. It simply means using online or mobile technology as a mentoring tool. This can be a complement to other types of in-person mentoring and used to communicate between mentoring meetings.