With 5 years in the recruitment space I have seen hundreds of up and coming candidates develop and grow their careers – some with great pace, much quicker than some others who perhaps had more ability on paper. Why?
There are a number of factors around the level and speed of progress during your career such as attitude, work rate or even just dumb luck at times; that “right place at the right time” moment. One common denominator I have seen with the vast majority of the high performers I have worked with, whether they’re 5 or 25 years in to their careers, is that they have always had at least one, if not several, great mentors.
Why is a mentor so valuable?
Exposure– Your first manager is likely to be the first potential mentor so it makes sense to choose wisely. With the right mentor you will quickly be brought up to speed on the “business as usual” skills before adding to your skillset with new tasks over time hence adding value to your resume over time.
Problem Solving – Throughout your career you are likely to face new challenges that can be daunting. The right mentor will provide you with a soundboard for your concerns but also help with pointing you in the right direction when you could otherwise make simple errors.
Guidance– A good mentor with whom you share common ground is likely to have gone through the same stages in their career that you are now embarking upon. Like any journey there are key moments, or forks in the road if you will, in which an impartial mentor can help you make the right decision for you.
Networking– Your mentor is likely to have their own networks, perhaps even their own mentors that they can introduce you to. This can then open your career up to many different opportunities, given the right introduction you can find some great exposure in unique roles you may have never even known about.
Remuneration – In our blog, The truth about mentoring: it will help you earn more, we conducted a survey over 18 months of over 1000 accounting and finance professionals. A key area we targeted in the survey was mentorship. The results were intriguing. There was an obvious trend in the utilisation of a mentor and an increased remuneration of the respondents.
Given the time restraints of the modern professional, developing a mentor relationship is not often a priority but if you identify the correct mentor they will contribute to your personal development and your career will be rewarded – professionally and financially.
Have you thought about getting yourself a mentor?
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