What are the benefits of having a mentor or a coach for your career development?

A mentor gives you a better insight into real-life experiences in a specific industry or field of choice. And it's a great opportunity for those of a 'certain age' to share their expertise and position themselves as a mentor while in job search. A coach can offer specific insights into what a mentor teaches a mentee. Both can be very helpful, differently

Mentoring isn't just for experienced, senior individuals. Offering early talent (apprentices and graduates) the possibility to mentor someone else is an amazing development opportunity. It can be done externally, via community projects or within an educational institution that is linked to the business.

Algunas diferencias a destacar entre el mentoring y el coaching pueden ser: - El coaching trabaja un tema concreto dentro del rendimiento de un puesto de trabajo actual y el mentoring trabaja el desarrollo personal y profesional de un puesto actual y futuro. - El coach no ofrece su punto de vista no juzga, el mentor si muestra su punto de vista y aporta su experiencia. - El coaching se centra en la tarea, el mentoring en las relaciones humanas. - El coaching las directrices las da el "cliente " en el mentoring ordena el mentor. - El coach es más táctico, el mentor más estratégico. En definitiva, la base del aprendizaje en el mentoring es la experiencia del mentor, en el coaching se aprende de la experiencia del "cliente".

Having someone with whom you can have a conversation without worrying about feeling judged is one of the biggest benefits of working with a mentor. Ideally a mentor should be someone who has trodden a similar path. However, there are also advantages to working with a mentor from a completely different background as they may provide a different perspective which could be equally as valuable

One of the best parts of working with a coach is that they don't hold the same bias or limitations that your family and friends have. Sure, your family and friends might be able to offer relevant professional advice, but a coach will focus on what you say you want and help you get there, rather than focus on what they think you want or what they want you to want. And if you're not entirely sure of what you want when you start working together, they'll help you figure that out without bias or judgment.

Sometimes when it comes to making career decisions, we need to test our thinking in a safe and objective setting. Many of my clients often suggest that having that objective viewpoint is very helpful in providing them with clarity. One of the other benefits that is mentioned quite often is the fact that working with a coach or mentor helps in building confidence to have productive career conversations as part of their appraisal discussions.

Look for mentors in the organizations that you belong to. Most of us can actually mentor each other. I belong to the National Speaker's Association and it's all about helping each other develop our speaking business. Every association provides you with this opportunity to network and learn from each other.

Anyone could say they are a Career Coach, or a Career ‘Expert’ - it’s vital that you receive help from a qualified and trusted professional who has invested in their training to offer career services. It’s essential to check that Career Coaches/Practitioners are appropriately qualified, experienced professionals who follow a code of ethics. If you are in the UK, a good way to do that is to visit the Professional Register with the Career Development Institute https://lnkd.in/gGwiMmyk You can double check against the register and ask to see their certificate if you are in any doubt. Any Registered Career Development Practitioner would be happy to help if you have any questions about this. #thecdi #RCDP #trustedcareersupport

Para buscar a una persona que pueda ser nuestro mentor, es necesario que reúna las siguientes cualidades: - Tiene que ser experto en el campo de nuestro interés. - Que disponga de tiempo para realizar tutorías. - Que transmita confianza y nos sintamos bien. - Que tenga muy desarrollada la escucha activa. - Que sea generoso para compartir sus experiencias y conocimientos. - Que muestre interés en nuestro futuro. - Que nos ponga a prueba y nos cuestione.

One great place to find mentors is through an organization like SCORE. Also, check out your alumni associations and see if they have a LinkedIn page. With whatever you do, it's important to have specific goals and needs so a mentor knows how they can best support a mentee

I do trust formal qualifications, but what is important about coaching and mentoring senior executives, for example, is having similar experience to them. If you "have been there" and " you have done it", you can be a valuable resource and a sparring partner in their career transformation. Senior executive career transition are very complex projects, and they require business expertise to ensure the real benefit from the relationship.

Here's the silver lining of a long-term mentor relationship: eventually you cannot tell who is "menting" whom! And you become great friends, after sharing so much over the years. This happened to me, and I hope it happens to you!

In addition to all the other comments, finding a mentor or coach you get on with is vital. Experience and qualifications are likely to count for nothing if you're not able to be open, frank and honest in your communication with them. Interview more than one possible mentor or coach before making your decision. Make sure you feel comfortable with that person. At the end of the day, they are there for you.

I agree that mentors play an important role in any professional development process. I’ve arranged a few mentoring relationships while working with clients and I find it’s important to share goals and needs from the mentee and understand what sort of experiences and insights will be useful when choosing a mentor.

It's very important to provide training to both mentors and mentees, so that they understand the expectations and the skills involved. A structured mentoring programme is a key element of a strong people-centric culture. It gives people ownership over their development and it develops collaboration.