Taking the step to becoming a mentor puts you in an important, powerful position. People from across the world need a mentor, and this is a role that you can fill. If this is the first time venturing into the world of mentoring, you’ll find that your position is both vital and empowering.

Why?

You Have the Power to Change Someone’s Life

Mentors help shape tomorrow’s leaders. You’ll be helping mentees enhance their education and skills using a hands-on approach. Many of the mentees that you’ll work will with have such great potential, but there are things holding them back from transforming their careers or businesses.

Being a mentor is an empowering choice that has several rewards:

• Help mentees overcome issues holding them back
• Help your mentees reach their true potential

Mentors can help shape a person’s career or business in a positive way. You may be helping the people you mentor earn more, get promotions and increase their chances of being hired, too.

You’ll be changing someone’s life by passing on your skills and experience.

There is Strength in Mentoring

There are many overlooked benefits to helping others. Mentors, in the future, can often earn a living mentoring. But even when mentoring for free, there are many strengths, or advantages, to consider, such as:

• Building long-lasting relationships
• Expanding your professional network
• Learning more about your industry

You’ll be shaping someone’s career and life, and that is empowering and satisfying in itself. But you’ll also be learning and honing your own skills, allowing you to enjoy more opportunities.

You Will Keep Your Skills Sharp

You’ll be helping others, but you’ll also be helping yourself. When you become a mentor, you’ll be honing your skills and keeping your skills sharp. Some of the many skills you’ll learn and can continue passing on to others include:

• Leadership. Mentors are leaders. You’ll quickly expand this skill and hone it while mentoring.
• Education. The landscape is always changing, and mentees may need help with different areas of your field that you’ll just be learning about. You’ll learn as much as you teach and lead when being a mentor.
• Communication. Some mentors are natural communicators, while others are not. No matter which category you fit in, you’ll learn how to better communicate with younger generations in a positive, powerful way.

You’ll learn more about your field and how to tackle different problems when you’re a mentor.

You Will Enjoy Personal Career Gains

Mentorship is a great way to help others and the community, but you’re also inadvertently helping yourself. The personal career gains that you will enjoy are just an added bonus. One study from the HR Department of Sun Microsystems found that 20% of mentors and mentees get a raise versus people who don’t engage in mentorship.

A few details of the study include:

• The study followed the progress of 1,000 people over a 5-year span.
• Employees that were mentored received five times the promotions compared to people that weren’t mentored.
• Mentors are six times more likely to be promoted to a bigger job.

If you’re wondering why you became a mentor, remember that you’re going to have a major impact on the lives of your mentees as well as your own. You’re venturing on a path to help others while also enhancing your own career and sharing the skills you know best.  Join Glocal Networks to get the most suitable mentees selected for you in the context of your privacy. 

D. Oladejo CEnv