Three Reasons Why You Should Find a Mentor
Our dreams and choices in life always at some point are influenced by a third person. What if this “someone” could be the one to help you reach your goals faster? Here are my points of view on why you should look for a career mentor.
1. Another Perspective
Sometimes you feel stuck at some point in your career. Or you are looking for many different possibilities to achieve a goal, but it does not seem to be working. Having another person to talk to, with a different background, can help you find solutions you were not aware of and suggest innovative approaches to deal with that situation.
2. Realistic Guiding
One of the reasons you might not know exactly how to move on from a certain point in your career, or even where to start, is because of unrealistic expectations. We see that happening in other contexts, such as gyms, when people subscribe to a monthly plan wondering if they are having the perfect body in just one week. This is why we have personal trainers. Each person has their own body and time to work it. And for your career, it might be necessary to have a third person to help create a long term schedule for your final goal.
3. Improve Storytelling
After years of speaking to many women, I realized that most were struggling in their career life especially in moments where they needed to share about themselves. It could be, for example, during interviews, where they need to tell the biggest challenges they ever faced and their perspective for the future. Having a mentor can help you revisit your experiences and also learn how to prepare for these situations, where you need to share with others about your history and also fight for your dreams, such as a cause, a promotion or a new leadership position.
Extra Reason: A Safe Space
We always have some point in our career where we want help with situations that are happening to ourselves. You could have questions about your future: does it still make sense to stay in the position that I am right now? Do I feel comfortable in this place where I do not feel valued enough? It is highly recommended for you to have a proper team leader or human resources service in your company to help you deal with specific situations. However, it is also nice to have a mentor from the outside of your job context with whom you can feel secure to share about your insecurities or dreams, without the fear of judgment or lack of privacy by any means.
