Acquaint yourself with the role of mentoring in career development

The role of mentoring in career development was once very important, but over the years we have grown uniquely, fully committed to the „every man for himself” ideology. People who have worked with meteors to develop their careers can tell you that the insights they gained have been invaluable throughout their lives. A mentor is a highly experienced resource, especially in a company with extensive experience in the company or in the field in general. They bring knowledge of both the highs and lows of their lives and become part of your learning experience. The benefits of mentoring for career development cannot be understated, and if you don't already have someone to learn from, we recommend you start looking soon.

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Mentoring in Career Development: Why Do You Need a Mentor for Your Career Development?

When you join a new company early in your career, your onboarding team or immediate managers often show you the ropes and point out what your job role is in the company. By working with them and mirroring your colleagues, you will quickly find your groove in the company and settle into your role. At some point in the next few months, you may start to feel like you know your job well enough to stop asking questions and turning to others and handle tasks independently. While this is a great start to taking responsibility for your work, consider this – do you really know everything there is to know about your work? Have you encountered roadblocks that you're sure your seniors must have already met and struggled to overcome?

Mentoring's role in career development isn't essential—you can get by just fine without it—but it makes the learning curve go faster and reduces the number of roadblocks you encounter. Learning by doing is useful, but learning by listening can save you a lot of grief over problems that aren't as inconvenient as at work. Mentoring has many benefits in career development, and if you have someone to confide in and confide in at your workplace, you will enjoy your work more. Other benefits include:

• Reach out to someone who can help you brainstorm during unprecedented work challenges
• You have someone who can correct your work before it becomes a bad habit
• You can change your career path according to their opinion or get a clear sense of where you are going – career planning is important for career development.
• Someone to hold you to your personal work goals
• Career development guidance will allow you to quickly gain new skills and insights into tasks.
• Mentors can help you better navigate workplace conflicts and support you in toxic work environments
• Mentors in talent acquisition are well versed in best skills, appropriate interview questions and subject matter, industry standards etc. and can provide you with the same insight.
• Mentors can help you expand your contact network and build your circle
• Peer mentors can provide you with some comfort at work, allowing you to realize that others see the same things as you.
• The benefits of mentoring for career development can go two ways, the mentor gains a new perspective or an understanding of the latest technology that you are unfamiliar with.

What to look for in a guide?

Many companies make mentoring part of their business plan and offer new employees the opportunity to work with a specific mentor for their time at the company. This makes it easy to get started without the hassle of asking for your own help. If this is not a standard process at your company, you should take the initiative to see who would be willing to work with you to provide guidance in your career development.

Be careful when looking for a mentor and be specific about who you ask to take on the role. Forcing a senior person into the role will not benefit you or the mentor, so try to find someone who is genuinely interested in playing the role of mentor. Ask yourself to clarify”Why do you need a mentor to grow your career?” The answers you come up with will help shape your search. If you need someone to help you plan your career or change roles, a mentor in talent acquisition might be best for you, but if you want to build a career in a specific role within your organization, look for mentors with knowledge in that field. Other points to consider include:

• Set your own criteria and understand what you are looking for first
• Create a list of people who are willing to serve as mentors at your company—those who are already helping others, those who have more time, and those who you have worked with personally before.
• Familiarize yourself with the people you want to consider and do some research on their experiences. To understand who reflects your own career aspirations, often look to LinkedIn for their work experience, skills, and accomplishments.
• Be mentally prepared for „no”. The first person you approach directly to take on the role may not be in the right place to take on the responsibility, and that should be an acceptable answer to you. Kindly accept this answer
• Be clear about what kind of support you're looking for and be reasonable about expectations. Mentors may not be available to you all the time
• Consider whether you want to settle for less involvement of the guide. Some people may be willing to be mentors but they may not be able to perform in the capacity you expect.
• If they agree to take on the role, start slowly and gradually familiarize yourself with your mentor instead of overwhelming them with questions and expectations on day one.

We hope that by now you are still wondering why you need a mentor for your career development. If you're good at learning from one another and working together to find direction, sit back and think about what you can do in your organization. Your employer may already have a mentoring program that you can sign up for, which will make things a lot easier for you but otherwise, assess who you can approach for this purpose.