Having a mentor or guide in your career brings you benefits that you can’t get elsewhere. A mentor offers you guidance and support as you build your career, whether you’re just starting out or you want some help reaching the next step on the ladder. If you have never had a mentor before, the idea might seem a little strange. It can feel a bit like having a work parent who helps you to do your best and achieve your goals. But having a mentor can push you to do more with your career and give you advantages that help you to discover new opportunities. Here are some of the ways having a mentor helps you in your career.

Guidance for Your Goals

Career goals are always healthy to have if you want to be someone who’s going places. Setting those goals and actually achieving them can be difficult, though. When you have a mentor, they can help you to set achievable goals and take the right steps to fulfil them. Mentors can assist with setting SMART goals so that you can measure your progress and have a clear idea of where you’re going. A mentor can often see what you’re doing right and where you might need to improve with more objectivity to help you plan your next move.

Motivation

Staying motivated when you’re trying to grow your career can be tough. There are lots of things that might discourage you or make you want to give up. But a mentor is there to give you support and encouragement, whether you need someone who can be gentle and kind or someone who can give you some tough love. They can help to keep you motivated and be your cheerleader, and perhaps even make sure that there are rewards for you when you’re doing well.

Experience and Knowledge

If you choose a mentor who is right for you, they should have plenty of experience and knowledge that they can share with you. They should be able to give you advice on how to make it in your chosen field, and what you should be doing to get recognised. They might even allow you to shadow them while they’re working so that you can learn from what they do. Your mentor should be someone who has a strong background in the field in which you want to build your career.

The Right Connections

Another benefit of having a mentor is that they can also connect you to the right people. Having useful connections is always important in your career, whether you’re looking for a new job or you just want to expand your network. When you have a mentor, they should have  their own network of contacts who might be useful for you in various ways. Your mentor might even take you to industry events and introduce you to people so that you can network in person.

Find yourself a mentor who can offer you advice and be there for you as you develop your career. If you want someone to mentor you, be ready to make a polite request and discuss how you think they could help you.