In celebration of National Mentorship Month, we have compiled and answered some of your most burning questions about mentorships. In this blog we’ll explore:
- What a mentorship is and what its purpose is
- What the benefits associated with mentorships are
- How to find your perfect mentor
What is a mentorship?
“A mentorship is a relationship between two people where the individual with more experience, knowledge, and connections is able to pass along what they have learned to a more junior individual within a certain field. The more senior individual is the mentor, and the more junior individual is the mentee.”
The mentor offers support, advice, and direction that encourage the mentee to guide their own learning to develop their skills, improve their confidence, and often be introduced to opportunities that they may not have otherwise.
Mentoring has the power to accelerate your self-development, career progression, confidence, and vision for your future. It will introduce new ways of thinking into your life and challenge your limited assumptions of the world around you; this is the ultimate purpose of a successful mentorship.
What are the benefits of a mentorship?
- Two-way learning
- Scrubbing up on your skills
- Increasing your confidence
- Gaining a fresh perspective on the world
- Improving your empathy
You may have heard the old African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together” and it is especially true in the case of mentorships. Finding the perfect mentor – someone who can advise, guide, and listen to you – can be an invaluable asset in your career and job-seeking journey.
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How do I find my perfect mentor?
You should identify your ideal mentor by considering what exactly you see for your future. If there’s someone in your mind who has walked in your shoes but has a title that you would like to wear someday, they might be perfect for you.
You stand on common ground with your work history and lived experiences. Learning from someone who has been where you are now will be far more valuable to you than learning from someone who shot straight to the top.
It’s important that we remind ourselves that even some of the most successful entrepreneurs and business people in the world were part of mentorships themselves.
Steve Jobs mentored Mark Zuckerberg when he was in the development stage of Facebook. Warren Buffet was a close friend and mentor of Microsoft’s Bill Gate. Even Oprah Winfrey was mentored by the one and only Maya Angelou.
If these confident, successful people took it upon themselves to look for mentorships, then we all can. There’s nothing wrong with seeking advice and help in times of confusion and lacking direction.
When you’re on the hunt for your mentor, here are a few more characteristics that a great mentor will possess:
- Similar education to you
- Their industry is relevant to yours
- Has overcome similar challenges
- You are compatible with their personality, ethics, and values
- You trust and respect them
- Approaches mentoring with flexibility and kindness
- Is a great listener
CFA UK have extensive research on mentoring and how you can apply to be a mentee or a mentor.
