For many mentors in the ALPSP International Mentorship Scheme this year,
it was their first time taking part. However, our mentor cohort is varied in
levels of professional experience. Taking part in the mentorship scheme is not
just about what you can do for your mentee, but also what you can gain from
them. Whether you’re still early in your career or are well-established, the
mentorship scheme can help you meet new people, expand your networks, and gain
fresh insight into a familiar industry with the support of the ALPSP behind
you.
Expanding horizons by Louise Marie Hutton
Since I began my publishing career in 2019, I feel very lucky to have
worked with some incredibly thoughtful and kind colleagues who mentored me
across various aspects of my career. Due to their impact, I decided to join the
ALPSP Mentorship Scheme as a mentor, rather than a mentee. Despite my worries
that my lack of managerial or professional mentoring experience would be a
hindrance, I wanted to offer constructive advice or even just a sympathetic ear
to a fellow publishing professional. The benefits to joining the award-winning
ALPSP mentorship scheme are plentiful, but for me personally, I relished the
opportunity to work with someone outside my usual networks.
Other than ALPSP, I don’t belong to any other professional organisations
or networks where my connections stretch beyond my immediate colleagues. The
benefit of networking through the ALPSP Mentorship Scheme is that not only was
I paired with someone in a different area of publishing – journals vs books –
my mentee worked for a society in a different subject area. Throughout the
course of our mentorship, it was fascinating to hear about how different our
roles could be despite working in the same industry. I established a very easy
rapport with my mentee; it felt like a really mutually beneficial relationship
where it seemed we both wanted to connect with someone outside of our daily
‘work bubble’.
Beyond the relationship with my mentee, I really enjoyed the connections
made with other mentors. I’ve been fortunate to be part of a super inspiring
group of mentors and feel my horizons have been expanded even further by my
inclusion in the mentorship programme.
Beating imposter syndrome by Lorna Berrett
I signed up for the ALPSP mentoring program because I wanted to get more
involved in the publishing community beyond my own company and get some new
perspectives. However, even with many years in the industry, I still wondered
if I had what it took to be a mentor. Classic imposter syndrome!
My assigned mentee was from a different function within publishing and
was growing in their career. What did I have that could support this bright and
dedicated individual, I thought? But I recalled when I moved from managing
people doing a job I had done, to managing people who did something else, it
meant I learned new things and so did they. This was mirrored in my mentoring
experience.
Although my mentee and I have different jobs, I realised that the
experience I had in managing teams, managing upwards and exposure to business
strategy was useful and transferrable. Discussing specific scenarios also
helped me reflect on what I’d done in the past, what I’d learned, and how I
might deal with those issues again in the future. Sharing experiences of both
what can work and what can go wrong is always useful and even just talking them
through can be helpful.
The opportunity to see another point of view, in depth, from a different
department was incredibly valuable to me. Hearing their perspective on
publishing issues and learning about the demands and priorities of another role
gave me some new insights. I probably appreciate some of my colleagues and
their challenges a little better as a result!
The Mentorloop platform and the practical focus on goals and real-world
issues provided a great structure. This framework was especially helpful at the
start to set goals and expectations, to reflect, and to build in transparency
and trust. This helped us create a safe space for both mentor and mentee to ask
questions and test out solutions to the various issues that we discussed. It
was a positive experience for us both that we plan to continue.
New perspectives from an old hat! by Fiona Carr
I first joined the world of scholarly publishing quite unwittingly at
the age of 21 when I just needed a job right out of university to pay the
bills. That first job was a Permissions Assistant at Elsevier, back when rights
departments churned through piles and piles of written requests that arrive by
post (or fax!) to reproduce content from books and journals. Fast forward to
now some 29 years later and I’m very fortunate to have worked for some
incredible companies, have met and built up relationships with lots of great
colleagues and peers across the industry.
So, how could I possibly benefit from joining the ALPSP Mentoring Scheme
now? Well, I actually benefited from this experience immensely and it only
served to remind me how invaluable such an opportunity to take part as a mentee
right back when I started would have been very helpful! As a mentor in this
year’s program, I really enjoyed working with and getting to know both of my
mentees. It was clear that both were at very different stages in their careers
and had diverse perspectives and goals, but I enjoyed sharing my experiences
and (I hope) giving some guidance and useful tips and tricks that will help
them as they progress. While not continuing with the program in any formal
capacity, I plan to keep in touch with both mentees informally from time to time.
It also illustrated what an immense challenge it is to come into this
industry now. Not only is the pace of change within the industry moving at an
exponential rate – AI, research integrity, open access to name but a few
challenges. But anyone coming into this industry now is tasked with the added
challenge of what is predominantly a home-working culture. Gone (on the most
part) are the impromptu chats around the photocopier, in the kitchen while
making a brew and just bumping into each other in the corridor! We now have the
daily challenges of working remotely, endless Zoom and Teams calls.
Establishing yourself and getting to know colleagues and peers in this industry
is even more difficult now than it ever was. That the ALPSP Mentoring Scheme
can play a part in helping to overcome these additional challenges will prove
to be one of its biggest strengths.
Testimonial quotes:
Louise Marie:
Lorna Berrett:
“It was a great experience to get outside the “four walls” of one
company and get the opportunity to talk about the challenges and opportunities
we face across publishing. I’ve learned from my mentee’s experience, reflected
on my own, and built my knowledge and understanding of our business. I’ve
already recommended to colleagues to sign up for 2025.”
Fiona Carr’s mentee:
“The ALPSP mentorship program was incredibly valuable for my career
progression. It provided an opportunity to set goals collaboratively, and I
often left sessions with a new lease of motivation to focus on my career
development and clarify what I seek in a role. My mentor offered invaluable
advice during challenging conversations in my own organisation and shared
practical tips specific to my current role that I still use today.”
About the ALPSP International Mentorship Scheme
The scheme aims to connect colleagues across the publishing industry and
provide a wider network of expertise and skills to help foster development and
progression. Open to ALPSP members (as mentees and mentors) as well as
non-members (mentors only), the scheme was the winner of a ‘Most Impactful
Mentoring Award’ in 2024. For more information and to register visit our website.
The ALPSP International Mentorship scheme is sponsored by Publishers'
Licensing Services.
About the Authors:
Lorna leads the Partnerships Marketing team at Taylor & Francis
working to attract and engage publishing
partners and editors. Lorna has 30+ years of experience in academic publishing
at T&F, Wiley and Blackwell working across digital product management,
marketing and communications.
Fiona is responsible for global sales and account management
of Ringgold Solutions. With 29 years’
experience in scholarly publishing, Fiona’s background is in rights, licensing,
sales and business development having worked at Elsevier, Oxford University Press
and OCLC among others.
Louise Marie is responsible for commissioning book content
in Dermatology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Paediatrics, Medical Biosciences
and other areas within Clinical Medicine. Louise Marie is also a member of
Wiley’s Women of Wiley group, designed to elevate and amplify the voices of our
colleague community, deliver impactful events and programs, and engender a more
connected workforce.
