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Introduction
Early career academics (ECAs) go through many transitions in the early stages of their career (Mittelmeier et al., 2018; Sutherland-Smith et al., 2011). We define ECAs as individuals who have a maximum of 5 years' academic teaching and/or research experience following the completion of their PhD. There are several routes that ECAs can take to further their careers (Jindal-Snape and Ingram, 2013; Spurk et al., 2015). For those who want to stay in academia, a “teacher route”, “researcher route” or combined “teacher–researcher route” is present with substantial challenges, uncertainties and risks (Kalyani et al., 2015; Mittelmeier et al., 2018).
A variety of studies have reported substantial pressures on ECAs in academia. For example, in a recent large-scale survey of 4,267 academics, the Wellcome Trust (2020) found that 70% of respondents reported being stressed at work and having mental health issues. Furthermore, more than two-thirds of ECAs felt insecure in pursuing a research career, and a substantial number of ECAs indicated a desire to leave academia. It would seem that when ECAs are uncertain about their own roles, identities and careers, this could have substantial negative impacts on supporting their career transitions (Rienties and Hosein, 2020; Sutherland-Smith et al., 2011).
One potential solution to these complex issues is to provide mentorship to ECAs from an experienced faculty member. ECAs, in particular, can benefit from mentorship to navigate challenges in academic and non-academic life and career development. For example, Etzkorn and Braddock (2020) highlighted in the USA how there was a desire by junior faculty to receive mentoring and that they valued the approach in aiding them to support their tenure positions.
The term mentoring has been interpreted in a variety of different ways. As Mullen and Klimaitis (2021) argued, mentoring definitions seem to lack clear boundaries around functions and support roles. For the sake of this article, we use the Healy and Welchert (1990) definition of mentoring as “a dynamic and reciprocal relationship in a work environment between an advanced career incumbent (mentor) and a beginner (protégé or mentee) aimed at promoting the career development of both” (p. 19). While this is not a definitive definition, it does encapsulate the key element of career development and reciprocal learning within...