{"id":11789,"date":"2021-05-28T05:26:36","date_gmt":"2021-05-28T12:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/?p=11789"},"modified":"2023-08-08T22:10:42","modified_gmt":"2023-08-09T05:10:42","slug":"why-having-a-mentor-is-important-for-career-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/career-advice\/why-having-a-mentor-is-important-for-career-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Having a Mentor Is Important for Career Growth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The days of getting a degree and working in one field into retirement are long gone.&nbsp;While there\u2019s no clear consensus as to the number, recent reports suggest that people now <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalancecareers.com\/how-often-do-people-change-careers-3969407\" target=\"_blank\">change careers several times<\/a> throughout their professional lives. Such a shift requires working people to constantly develop new skills and pursue new opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u200c<\/strong>Having a mentor can help you gain the skills and connections you need to continue on your career journey. Read on to learn what a mentor can do for you and how to make the most of a mentor relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Having a Mentor Is Important for Career Growth<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/shutterstock_252408901-1-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Why Having a Mentor Is Important for Career Growth\" class=\"wp-image-11799\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/data-science\/data-science-talent-shortage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">talent shortage<\/a> in the tech industry, transitioning into your next role may not be as simple as learning some new skills.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Having a mentor can mean the difference between advancement and stagnation. Having a mentor means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You gain access to industry insights and expertise from someone in a later stage of their career<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You have someone to help channel your ambition into actionable steps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You get someone to help you market yourself by building a strong resume or a personal brand<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These benefits alone would be enough to make a mentor relationship worthwhile, but they barely touch on what&#8217;s possible. Your mentor can give you unique guidance through the job search period and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How To Find and Choose a Mentor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Your mentor is likely to be in one of three groups of people: those you know, those in your network, or those you connect with through a career mentorship program. Think of a few people you trust from each group and make a list of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/mentors\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/mentors\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">qualities you should look for in a good mentor<\/a> are about the same no matter where you find them. That&#8217;s good news because you can use a few simple criteria to help you narrow down your list of potential mentors. Look for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Someone who can give constructive feedback<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Someone who doesn\u2019t judge you for asking questions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Someone who is further along your chosen career path than you are<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A career mentor with all three of these traits is well-positioned to help you reach your career goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How To Benefit From a Mentor Relationship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/shutterstock_1258980022-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"value of a mentor for career growth\" class=\"wp-image-11794\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Having an idea of what you need will help you benefit the most from a mentor relationship. Here are a few of the greatest benefits that you can expect to find:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Resources:<\/strong> A good mentor will often have a robust professional network that they can leverage to help you advance quicker<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Accountability:<\/strong> For a lot of people, having someone to hold them accountable makes all the difference in achieving their short-term goals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Guidance:<\/strong> When you&#8217;re dealing with a potential setback, a mentor will act as a sounding board and offer advice that keeps you on track<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, you&#8217;ll have to do your part to gain these benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve found a good mentor, you should be honest with them about what you&#8217;re dealing with so that they can offer the best possible advice. After that, be a coachable student by acting quickly on the guidance they give you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How To Have a Successful Mentor Relationship<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Reaping the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/software-engineering\/software-engineer-mentor\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/software-engineering\/software-engineer-mentor\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">benefits of learning with a mentor<\/a> depends on your ability to treat the relationship properly. Here are a few tips to help put you on the right track:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Respect the time commitment it takes to help you by taking advice seriously<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintain a long-term relationship by showing your enthusiasm for what you&#8217;re learning<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look out for ways that you can help your mentor achieve their goals<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Share your wins with your mentor when something they tell you is helpful<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Your mentor is there to guide you and offer perspective with your best interests in mind, which means they&#8217;re going to try to steer you away from potential pitfalls. They&#8217;ll offer feedback that will help you hone in on your strengths and shore up your weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This may be uncomfortable at times, so remember that a good mentor will never tell you anything without purpose.\u200c\u200c<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Ideas for Finding a Mentor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The best way to find a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/news\/mentor-spotlight-jasmeet-singh\/\" target=\"_blank\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/news\/mentor-spotlight-jasmeet-singh\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">potential mentor<\/a> is to look where you know they&#8217;ll be. Let&#8217;s say you want to find a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/success\/mikiko-bazeley\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/success\/mikiko-bazeley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mentor in data science<\/a>, for example. Here are some things you can do to find them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Look within your company:<\/strong> Reach out to a senior colleague or supervisor who works in your desired field to start a relationship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Attend meetups:<\/strong> Going to local events for people who do the work that interests you is a great way to meet someone who could become a mentor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Join professional networks:<\/strong> Groups of professionals, whether online or in-person, can help you connect to the right people.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Find a mentoring program:<\/strong> Work with an organization that exists to connect young professionals to people with more experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These are all different approaches, but what they have in common is that they give you the opportunity to meet people, ask questions, and develop relationships that could eventually develop into mentorships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"rm has-background\" style=\"background-color:#efeff6\"><strong>Since you\u2019re here\u2026<br><\/strong>Curious about a career in data science? Experiment with our <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/resources\/guides\/data-science-process\/\" target=\"_blank\">free data science learning path<\/a>, or join our <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/courses\/data-science-career-track\/\" target=\"_blank\">Data Science Bootcamp<\/a>, where you\u2019ll get your tuition back if you don&#8217;t land a job after graduating. We\u2019re confident because our courses work \u2013 check out our <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/success\/\" target=\"_blank\">student success stories<\/a> to get inspired.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The days of getting a degree and working in one field into retirement are long gone.&nbsp;While there\u2019s no clear consensus as to the number, recent reports suggest that people now change careers several times throughout their professional lives. Such a shift requires working people to constantly develop new skills and pursue new opportunities. \u200cHaving a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":11793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[125],"tags":[],"marketing_tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-11789","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-career-advice"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11789"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11789"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11789\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48979,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11789\/revisions\/48979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11789"},{"taxonomy":"marketing_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.springboard.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/marketing_tags?post=11789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}