When you are starting a new career there will be a lot of skills and information that you do not know. It is very easy to make mistakes when you are new to an industry and there’s a chance you will miss out on new opportunities, however having a mentor will help you to limit how often these things happen. Your mentor can help guide you through challenges that you will face and enable you to develop your career. You are never too old or young to have a mentor especially if you’ve just started a job in a new industry, or even if you are having trouble developing new skills to enhance your career.
Mentorships have been found to help women in tech who are at their mid-career point as this is where most technologists seem to disappear. An extra push in your mid-career can be supported by mentorships to help you develop skills, create opportunities for promotion and have a chance to be heard. They can also help with providing the industry with greater gender equality.
Benefits of a mentorship
A mentorship can be rewarding for both mentors and mentees, professionally and personally. Companies can also benefit from mentorships as it provides them with future professionals and leaders who can bring success.
Benefits for the mentee
Being mentored is an effective way of developing opportunities. Having guidance and support when joining a company or learning something new can provide a mentee with a range of personal and professional benefits. These benefits will eventually lead to improved performance in the workplace and in their careers. The key benefits a mentee can form from mentorships are:
- Developing strengths and overcoming weaknesses
- Exposure to new ways of thinking
- Visibility and recognition within a company
- An opportunity to develop new skills and knowledge
- Improves confidence and helps them build a professional relationship
- Provides new contacts to network with
Benefits for the mentor
A mentor is more than just the transfer of knowledge and experience, the relationship between the mentor and the mentee can offer benefits to the mentor who is willing to invest their time into developing another professional. Along with personal satisfaction of sharing their skills, the mentor can receive different benefits that reward them professionally. These key benefits are:
- Recognition as an expert and leader
- Exposure to new ideas and approaches
- Development of their teaching styles
- Strengthen soft skills such as communication and listening
- Provides added sense of purpose for the mentor’s career
Benefits for a company
Investing in a mentoring programme is a useful and cost-effective way of developing employees and keeping your experienced and knowledgeable employees engaged. Mentoring helps to build a pipeline for future leaders who will understand the skills needed to succeed within the company and retain talent. The key benefits a company can receive from mentoring are:
- Developing a culture of personal and professional growth
- Enhance leadership skills
- Improve staff performance and morale
- Retain and develop performers
- Shows future employees that it values its employees and there is an opportunity for progression.
