Could you spare a minute? Can I ask you a quick question? Could I ask your advice on this? No doubt, at some point in life we've all lent an ear to a friend in need. Being asked for advice is a sign that our experience and our judgement are trusted and respected. How would you feel about taking it further?

My first mentor
As a Forces' child, I always ended up starting new schools at odd times of the year. When I was 14, I started at my third senior school in the middle of a freezing February, not knowing a soul. I was assigned a mentor to help me settle in; a six foot prop-forward called Tom, who, when introduced to me in front of the whole class, greeted me with a look of uncertainty. It's fair to say that I endured a good few weeks of grunted instructions as to where the canteen was and how to avoid humiliation on the rugby field. However, a chance comment I made as we walked past a Mk1 Triumph Stag, revealed that we were both utter petrol heads. From that point onwards we spent hours together helping Tom's dad build his kit car. Tom became not only my school mentor, but also a great friend. From an unpromising beginning, it was the finding of common ground that really rooted our mentoring relationship.

Mentor? Friend? Expert?
Mentoring isn't about being an expert on a certain topic, it's about listening, it's about offering non-judgemental advice, it's about being there. Tom was my peer mentor - at a time when I scoffed at adult authority, it was really useful to hear the thoughts of someone who was going through the same things at the same time as me.

Mentors can help you feel settled in new surroundings. Read about how Susan helped Karl feel at home in Stockport after fleeing his home country, the Democratic Republic of Congo in It was like being offered a future

There are great mutual benefits that come from mentoring. It's true that someone's hindsight can become your foresight, but that person's hindsight doesn't always have to have come from forty years' experience. In Bridging the generation gap, Barry Golding investigates some brilliant intergenerational projects from around the globe.

Mentoring. Me?
Sometimes though, the voice of experience is exactly what's called for, particularly with business mentoring and coaching

Start me up looks at the work of PRIME (Prince's Initiative for Mature Enterprise), who mentor people over fifty who want to start their own businesses. If you're ready to strike out on your own, this is the article for you!

So, how do you feel about mentoring? Keen to know more, but not sure where your strengths lie? Try our Mentoring and me workout to help choose the best way forward.

Find out who put Clint Eastwood on his path to greatness in Get the facts - and no, it wasn't someone famous!

Have you got a story to tell? Or any comments or questions about this article? If so, contact us today!

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