There are a variety of ways by which coaching and mentoring may be applied. Below is information about how Out in Tech approaches these subjects.

Other Out in Tech Programs

• Out in Tech U has offered a program of youth mentorship for LGBTQ+ individuals since 2015. Registration is closed for the current cohort. Further information about this program can be found here.
• What’s Next Adult Coaching was a program that provided support for OIT members who did not have a specific area in which they wish to develop or expand skills; e.g., someone who has a sense that they want to make a change in their life, but lack support to make that change. Coaches did not necessarily have the same technical background or interests as the coachee, but had the human skills to assist the coachee in their journey. THIS PROGRAM NO LONGER ACCEPTS APPLICATIONS.
• The UIUX committee conducts a UX Research project, RUXSTARS, which is a team-based, scheduled project, while other OIT coaching and mentoring programs work with 1:1 pairs of mentees or coachees working with mentors or coaches to reach individual goals set by the mentee/ coachee to further advance in their careers.

Coaching/ Mentoring

While many disciplines share attributes in common coaching and mentoring is not:

• Teaching
• Consulting
• Therapy
• Sports Coaching, which may be seen as an amalgam of management and skills development

In some organizational settings coaching may be provided by the organization to improve the coachee’s ability to perform more effectively within that organizational setting.

In all of OIT’s coaching and mentorship programs, the individual (coachee or mentee) is at the center of the process. Coaches may be assigned by the organization to the coachee. In all of OIT’s program the coach or mentor is matched with a coachee or mentee based on the coachee’s or mentee’s goals and stated objective.

Within OIT the biggest differences between coaching and mentoring are that mentors share knowledge and experience with the mentee while coaches facilitate learning to help the coachee achieve developmental goals. More specifically, What’s Next Coaches don’t necessarily share a comparable background in a specific technology discipline or have a specific skill set, while Mentorship 25+ Mentors are chosen because they have that background.

In both cases coaches and mentors may share information sources and enable self-discovery, tho mentors may do more of the former and coaches more of the latter.

In all cases OIT programs strive to acknowledge and embrace the LGBTQ+ and other identities of our members. Our programs provide a safe space for members to grow personally and professionally while being authentically themselves. We show our members that they belong by seeing themselves in our diverse network of tech professionals.