Careers

The ATA Mentoring Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Who may participate in the ATA Mentoring Program?

The ATA Mentoring Program is available to any ATA member who takes one of the three-hour mentoring orientation workshops offered at the ATA Annual Conference and other venues throughout the country. This workshop is required for mentors as well as for mentees. The focus of these training sessions is on how to make the most of a mentoring relationship.

How is the mentor/mentee relationship structured?

ATA mentor/mentee relationships last for one year and are "mentee-driven." The mentor and mentee negotiate how the relationship will play out, but the mentee sets the goals and the pace. Most of the relationships are long-distance.

How do you find a mentor or mentee if you have already taken the ATA mentoring orientation workshop but are not currently matched?

Available mentors who have completed ATA’s mentoring orientation workshop are listed in an online Directory of ATA Mentors on the association’s website. Once a mentee has completed the orientation workshop, he or she is given access to the directory. The directory is searchable by location, language combination, profession, and skill set. Only ATA members who have taken a mentoring orientation workshop are able to search this directory for a match.

The ATA mentoring orientation workshop also teaches mentees how to look in their local community for suitable mentors. The fact is any professional with the experience the mentee is looking for can be a mentor.

What if you would like to be a mentor or mentee and have not yet been able to attend an ATA mentoring orientation workshop?

Although you will not be part of the "official" ATA Mentoring Program until you have taken one of the mentoring workshops, you can order a mentee or mentor workbook from the company that supplies ATA’s mentoring workshop materials. This consulting firm is called The Mentoring Group, and you can order directly from their website at http://www.mentoringgroup.com.

Many ATA members have worked through these materials on their own and have subsequently matched themselves with mentors or mentees at local chapter meetings or various ATA division listserves.

What if I can never attend an ATA Annual Conference?

Attending an ATA Annual Conference is one of the easiest ways to jump-start your career in translation and interpreting, so we encourage you to attend a conference at some point. The next ATA Annual Conference is in San Francisco, California (October 31-November 3, 2007). Conference details will be available in the July 2007 issue of The ATA Chronicle.

Contacts:

Courtney Searls-Ridge, Mentoring Program Co-Chair
John Shaklee, Mentoring Program Co-Chair
Mary David, ATA Headquarters Staff Member