If you have ever thought of becoming a mentor, you are on the right track to furthering your career. Those that mentor end up with higher-paying jobs, and greater respect from fellow employees, particularly those employees they have mentored. Here are some benefits of mentoring a younger, less experienced employee.
It Reflects Very Well on Your Personal Character
Mentoring shows your boss that you are a team player, someone with initiative, and someone who wants to see others succeed just as much as you want to succeed. It reflects very well on your personal character, and the drive to help others encourages your boss to consider you for promotions and raises. If you are serious about furthering your own career, mentoring someone else gives your career a major boost.
Your Knowledge and Expertise Makes Others Knowledgeable Experts
Very few people enter the workforce as experts. It takes years of learning a job and learning the changes that come with the years on the job to become an expert. Younger employees cannot do better at their jobs without experts like you. Mentoring ensures that everything you have learned over the years is passed on to someone else who can use what they have learned from you to continue to do the job well.
Did Somebody Say “Networking?”
Networking is not as easy as it sounds. Trying to find new people and new connections in your line of work takes a lot of effort both inside the company and outside its doors. However, when you mentor a new employee, you automatically have built a new network partner. It’s one of the easiest ways to network, and the contacts that mentee has could become new network contacts for you as well.
Do Some Research to Find out How You Can Become a Mentor Where You Work
Most companies have some type of mentoring program. If you are unsure how to become a mentor in your company, ask your Human Resources rep if the company has such a program. The HR rep will then be able to provide you with more information on how you can participate and how long a typical mentorship runs.