Although career mentors are often viewed as most useful at the beginning of your career or when deciding what you want to do, they can be beneficial throughout your career. You can work with a career mentor to achieve your career goals, regardless of where you are in your career journey.
To navigate through these formative years of your career, it’s certainly a good idea to find a mentor. Moreover, the stress of changing careers later on, or the complacency that some people feel after being in the same role for several years, can also be a great time to engage a career mentor.
Getting advice from someone who has been successful in your field can improve your confidence and provide you with some great strategies for dealing with challenges you might face. What are the primary benefits?
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Getting Real Life Experience:
A career mentor will provide you with valuable advice and insight into their own journey in the field you have chosen. They can help you identify skills and expertise you need to develop – and either teach you or advise you on how to attain them. Mentors can also provide valuable insight into what they might have done differently if they had the chance. They will give tips on how they overcame obstacles or challenges on their way to success.
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Connections:
In addition to gaining insight into your mentor’s personal experiences, you can also benefit from their extensive network. If your mentor does not have experience with a particular problem you are facing, they will most likely be able to speak with someone who does. In addition, the contacts your mentor provides you with can give you the opportunity to build your own network. These contacts could also help you in the future by giving you the opportunity to find a business partner or even fill a job.
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Exploratory Committee:
A mentor is a great ‘safe’ place to share ideas and help you decide which path to take in certain situations. He or she can also make suggestions that might help you refine your ideas and find more efficient or effective ways to achieve desired business outcomes – mentors can often save you from needlessly ‘reinventing the wheel.
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Increase energy and interest:
A surprising benefit of having a mentor is that it increases your drive to achieve in your current company and encourages you to pursue your chosen career. Mentors can help you overcome boredom or complacency and find new and exciting ways to contribute to the success of your current company, increasing your interest in your daily work. They can also suggest ways you can become more involved in activities outside your company that will contribute to your future career success.
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Developing Your Career:
Mentors help you stay focused on your career and improve your skills, networks, self-confidence, and overall success along the way. By learning about yourself, you will be able to determine how and where you should be heading to achieve the best results.
Education, books, and websites cannot teach you what mentoring can. You will be able to identify areas for improvement, establish connections, and create opportunities with the assistance of a mentor. A passionate and experienced mentor can provide you with insights about yourself and your chosen field that can give you an edge over your peers when it comes to developing your career.
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