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Shaping the future

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Why We Support Young Professionals

At Mediation Amsterdam, we believe that the future of dispute resolution depends on the people who will shape tomorrow. That is why investing in young professionals is not an activity on the sidelines of our practice—it is part of who we are.

Mediation is a career rooted in ongoing learning, where each new generation brings fresh ideas, cultural insight, tech-savvy skills, and creative ways to handle communication and resolve conflicts.

By supporting aspiring mediators and negotiation professionals early in their careers, we contribute to a stronger and more resilient conflict resolution community.

This summer, Tabitha van den Berg, had the privilege of serving as an expert judge and assessor at two leading international mediation competitions: the IBA-VIAC CDRC Mediation & Negotiation Competition in Vienna and the International Mediation Diplomacy Competition (IMDC) in Yerevan. These competitions bring together talented university students from across the globe to practise mediation and negotiation in realistic commercial and cross-border disputes. While doing so, they receive detailed feedback from experienced practitioners. These events have become important international platforms for developing and encouraging the next generation of dispute resolution professionals.

Mentorship

For us, participating as an assessor is about much more than evaluating performances. It is an opportunity to mentor, encourage and inspire. Every feedback session is a conversation about growth. Helping students refine not only their mediation techniques, but also their listening skills, empathy, creativity and professional confidence. Skills they may use as future mediators, as some aspire. But skills that also benefit any workplace they may enter. Being able to foster conversations about relational discomfort with the skills of a mediator, and knowing how to negotiate with an eye on your interests as well as the potential interests of the person across the table, will make you a more resilient and successful professional, regardless of the sector you chose to work in.

What’s in it for us?

These competitions have an incredible energy. Students come from all over the world, bringing a mix of legal traditions, cultures, and perspectives. They learn just as much from each other as they do from the assessors, building an international community that truly embodies what modern mediation is all about—collative, inclusive, and globally connected. And the experienced practitioners gain just as much from the experience too.

Working with ambitious young professionals pushes us to think about our own practices, share ideas with colleagues worldwide, and stay curious about new developments in mediation. Learning is never one-way, and as the more established members of our community, it’s important to approach it all with a sense of humility.

We are not the future, nor will we bring innovation; we need young minds to challenge and improve the world of dispute resolution and legal design.

Our commitment

At Mediation Amsterdam, we believe that excellence in mediation comes from sharing knowledge, not keeping it to ourselves. Through teaching, coaching, speaking, or judging international competitions, we see it as our responsibility to help grow the profession. We’re proud that Tabitha contributed to both CDRC Vienna and IMDC Yerevan this summer. By her role as a mentor/assesor but especially through keynotes and workshops raising awareness about neurodiversity, and how differences in communication styles and backgrounds can influence conflict resolution.

The next generation is incredibly talented, motivated, and committed to helping parties resolve disputes constructively, and we encourage our colleagues to open our community to young professionals. Supporting them is ultimately an investment in better conflict resolution for everyonean investment worth making.

We’re also excited to share some news: starting September 1st, we’ll welcome Ms. Alexandra Albei as our newest intern.

How to kickstart your mediation career?

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Advice for Young Professionals Taking Their First Steps into Mediation

After spending six months observing and working alongside our practice, Tonya Baranov wrote a thoughtful reflection on her journey (in Dutch) and her growing interest in mediation. She found herself asking an important question: Should I integrate mediation skills into my work as a corporate lawyer, or might I eventually aspire to become an independent mediator?

This is a familiar dilemma for many professionals who discover the world of alternative dispute resolution. At the end of her reflection, she asked our colleague Tabitha van den Berg:

What advice would you give to young professionals who are interested in mediation and want to take their first steps in the field?

Tabitha: “That’s a great question, but not an easy one to answer. At its core, I believe a successful start comes down to three things: Be yourself, Have the courage to choose, and Be willing to show who you are…” Let me elaborate….

Get Involved (Even as a Volunteer)

Tonya already mentioned one excellent tip in her own article: put your mediation skills to use in your local community.

Across the Netherlands, more than 300 municipalities have volunteer neighborhood mediators. Community mediation offers a valuable opportunity to gain practical experience, develop your skills, and make a meaningful contribution close to home.

If you are still studying, consider participating in or volunteering at one of the European mediation competitions. These include events in:

  • Paris (February)
  • Vienna (July)
  • Hamburg (October/November)
  • Amsterdam (October/November)

Competitions like these are a great way to meet fellow mediation enthusiasts and conflict resolution professionals. They often feature guest speakers and workshops that highlight the value of mediation in a wide variety of contexts.

Develop Self-Awareness

As a mediator, you will often sit across from people during some of the most difficult periods of their lives. Whatever their situation, they are rarely at their best. The frustration, anger, grief, and conflict behavior of clients inevitably affect you as well.

Mediating without judgment or bias may be an important principle, but mediators are not superheroes. That is why it is essential to know yourself well: your triggers, your strengths, your weaknesses, and your blind spots.

As a mediator, you are neither more nor less than an instrument. As both a professional and a human being, you must learn how to play that instrument well.

Only then can you remain neutral, impartial, or what some call “multi-partial,” when emotions are running high.

For that reason, I would strongly encourage starting mediators to invest in a peer consultation group, even if you are not yet a registered mediator. In addition, seek supervision or coaching from a more experienced colleague. Having a safe space to discuss cases and challenges will help you learn, grow, and continue developing professionally.

Are You an Entrepreneur?

For me personally, investing in myself and starting my own practice felt like a significant hurdle.

When I began my mediation training in 2011, I certainly did not see myself as an entrepreneur. That perception was shaped by how I viewed entrepreneurship at the time: taking deliberate risks, being highly profit-driven, and naturally extroverted. To make matters more challenging, the Netherlands was in the midst of a major economic crisis. As the primary breadwinner in my family and pregnant with my third child, starting a business seemed unrealistic.

But here’s a harsh reality:

People become mediators because they want to help others resolve conflicts.

Yet without entrepreneurship, your future clients will never find you.

For every mediator, there are dozens, if not hundreds, of others competing for visibility. You need to step outside your comfort zone, think about marketing strategies that suit your personality, build a network, and develop basic business skills such as administration, invoicing, and tax management.

Very few mediators work as employees. Most are self-employed.

The good news is that entrepreneurship can be practiced in a socially responsible, intelligent, and ethical way. In fact, I rarely meet business owners who fit the stereotypical “business cowboy” image I once had.

Would I dare to invest? Could I live up to the promise I was making to myself?

Fifteen years later, my answer is a confident yes.

I still remember how daunting that first step felt, but ultimately there is only one way to become an experienced mediator: you have to start.

And yes, that means investing in yourself. A professional website, quality portrait photography, perhaps even an introductory video. These things cost money.

But a dentist or baker also has to be visible and make a good first impression before someone decides to buy a loaf of bread or schedule an appointment.

First the investment, then the reward.

If mediation truly feels like your calling, have the courage to choose it.

Create Visibility and Build Ambassadors Around You

For me, this was perhaps the most difficult challenge of all.

Before becoming a mediator, I had already worked extensively with communication in various forms. Yet communicating about myself turned out to be something entirely different.

Even today, I sometimes worry that people might find me too visible whenever I post something on LinkedIn. Putting yourself out there feels uncomfortable when you do not know exactly how others will perceive you, whether they are potential referrers, former colleagues, or future clients.

One thing that helped me tremendously was something my colleague Eline van Tijn often says:

“Everyone attracts the clients who are right for them.”

Over time, I came to believe that as well.

You can hire a branding expert or outsource your social media, but ultimately, when people choose you based on their first online impression, that impression needs to be authentic.

I am grateful for the collaboration with fellow mediators in our office, and I’ve learned how valuable it is to help one another gain visibility. That leads me to an additional piece of advice:

Find colleagues.

And, if we’re honest, you cannot please everyone.

When I post something, I simply hope that the knowledge, gratitude, or enthusiasm I share will be valuable to the reader. If it isn’t, I trust they will simply keep scrolling.

So if you are taking a mediation course, writing a blog, organizing an event, or volunteering as a community mediator, write about it. If podcasts or videos are more your style, use those skills to share your vision of the profession.

And if you do not yet have original content to create, share articles, podcasts, videos, or insights that resonate with you on LinkedIn, X, or any platform where your audience can be found. Add a brief personal comment or recommendation to make it your own.

Why? Because the people you want to work with, and the people you want to help, need to know that they can call you. Whether they are struggling with workplace tensions, relationship conflicts, or neighborhood disputes.

In Closing

If you want to start a career in mediation, make sure people can find you. Even when you are fully committed, highly visible, and willing to invest in your professional development, the start-up phase often takes time. If you work on your practice full-time, expect the first 12 to 18 months to be a period of building momentum.

If you are developing a mediation practice alongside another job, it may take even longer.

Most importantly: don’t give up too quickly.

Be yourself. Have the courage to choose. Be willing to show the world who you are and what you stand for. Creating a personal brand, with integrity and authenticity is your first step in establishing our career in mediation. See you online!?