Career mentoring: what is it and how does it work?

If you don't know how to take your first step in the market or feel that your career is stagnating, you've come to the right place. In this content we talk about career mentoring and how this tool can help you review your professional path.

Mentoring can identify whether the mentee needs to develop skills or acquire skills to qualify their profile. During the process, the participant receives feedback, guidance and tips, in addition to counting on the experience of those who have already established themselves in the market.

Continue reading and discover how career mentoring can make a difference in your professional trajectory, regardless of whether you are just starting out or needing to reinvent yourself.

What is career mentoring?

Mentoring, also called mentoring, is a process of professional support provided to people who wish to seek advice or define new paths for their careers. Mentoring can be individual or group, always coordinated by a mentor.

As a rule, a mentor is someone experienced in their area of ​​expertise , capable of contributing a keen vision, experience and knowledge.

Therefore, admired professionals or those with a recognized trajectory in the market tend to become good career mentors.

The mentor can be an admired professional in the market or someone who has gone through a process of reconfiguring their path. The mentor can also be a specialist with extensive knowledge in the field.

And what is the objective of career mentoring? It serves to share experiences and experiences , showing the reality of the profession. Thus, as a mentee you can organize your plans and discover new paths.

What does a career mentor do?

Considering that a career mentor is an experienced professional, their role is to understand the mentee's needs to guide them to overcome difficulties.

Therefore, mentoring works as a personalized action and applied differently, depending on the needs of the mentee.

Because it is personalized, the mentoring style also tends to vary. Therefore, each mentor guides a group or individual by applying specific directions for each objective.

How important is mentoring?

Mentoring helps professionals grow and specialize in their areas of expertise. However, this is not the only benefit, check it out.

Space to ask questions

Mentoring is the ideal space to clarify questions about a specific position or company. The mentor usually uses real examples, based on their own experience, to help the mentee.

Asking questions is a way to rethink whether the chosen profession is what you really want for the future, identify gaps and find out if you are on the right path.

Career direction

A profession can offer different paths and possibilities, making choices difficult. In this sense, mentoring can provide the necessary guidance to understand what steps you should take to achieve your professional goals.

Professional acceleration

Whether starting a journey or seeking a transition, mentoring helps to boost the professional and make them grow. In the mentoring process you will be able to define clear goals and objectives based on practical examples given by the mentor.

Opportunity for networking

A mentorship is the ideal space to create a network of contacts , expanding your connection with renowned experts in the area where you want to work or already work. It's the opportunity to connect with professionals who are in the spotlight and can inspire your journey.

Achieve professional goals

Career mentoring is essential to help professionals achieve their goals . It works as a portal for good ideas, providing support and security to the mentee to achieve their goals. Often, even before the mentoring process ends.

What to expect from career mentoring?

When participating in mentoring, expectations are high. After all, we are talking about careers and dreams. Therefore, before going through the experience, understand what we can expect from it.

Relevant questions

The mentor wants to get to know his mentee. So, get ready to talk a lot about yourself and your professional career . To provide initial recognition, questions are concentrated in the first session.

It is the opportunity to describe your career, academic background, future goals and expectations for the mentoring process. The mentor can ask questions about your personal life in order to better identify your profile.

Career path

To truly understand what you need to do to achieve professional goals, the mentor needs to know what you want in your career. You will discover together the best way to pursue your professional plan.

Don't you have a plan yet? No problem. Mentoring is the ideal opportunity to set goals and outline a project consistent with your desires.

Advice and tips

A large part of the mentoring will be dedicated to sharing experiences . Remember that a mentor is someone with enough experience to guide different types of careers . In this sense, prepare to “listen to the voice of experience”.

Take advantage of the opportunity to better understand your area of ​​activity or the job market you plan to enter.

Inspiring examples and stories

Due to the consolidated trajectory, the career mentor is able to transmit enriching experiences to mentees. The sessions bring practical examples and stories experienced by real people.

The mentor can talk about previous jobs, challenges faced, achievements and strategies used to achieve goals. With this compilation of information, you will be able to take advantage of what is useful for your process and apply the knowledge as convenient.

Career feedback

Mentoring sessions include feedback dynamics to provide feedback to the mentee on the progress of the process. This way, the participant will have an external perspective to understand what is working and which strategies need to be revised.

It is worth noting that in external mentoring, the evaluation of the mentee usually happens towards the end of the process. After all, mentor and mentee don't know each other and need more time to build feedback.

While in mentoring carried out in companies, feedback can come at the beginning, mainly because the mentor already knows the participant and follows their work.

Active listening

The mentor is a professional accustomed to acting with empathy towards the mentee. He understands the anguish of those who are seeking their path, usually accompanied by many doubts.

In this context, although mentoring has a hierarchical nature between mentor and mentee, in practice, the sessions function in a mutual process of active listening .

It is an exchange where experience and interest coexist. The mentor transmits knowledge and simultaneously learns a lot from the mentee.

Valuable experience

Finally, the mentoring participant can expect a transformative opportunity. It is a unique experience capable of offering paths and redefining trajectories. It is a space to cultivate enriching relationships and have access to trained professionals.

Career mentoring can show the mentee what strategies they need to adopt for their professional development .

How to find a career mentor?

If you've made it this far and confirmed that mentoring is your next step, the question arises: how to find a career mentor. Therefore, we brought tips to help with the mission.

Look for directions

It is possible to find good mentors on search engines or on LinkedIn, for example. However, trust in the power of a good recommendation. Ask co-workers , your teachers or friends . They certainly know a competent professional in the area of ​​mentoring.

Next, research the recommended career mentor to find out information about their methodology, style and results.

Search references

With recommendations for possible mentors, ask for references. Use social media for this or talk to people close to you. Ask about the professional's training, companies where they worked, skills and mentoring style.

With this information we can analyze whether the mentor can contribute to your career. Having references provides security even in the planning phase.

Consult your network

Many times a career mentor has already passed through your life. Search your memory to find a senior professional you had a relationship with, a remarkable teacher, or a boss who made a difference in your path.

In this content, you learned about the concept of career mentoring, how it works and what a mentor's responsibilities are. We also brought inspiration for preparing for the sessions in advance and tips for making the most of your time with the specialist.

Keep in mind that mentoring is an opportunity for development. However, the process does not exclude continuous learning. Use career mentoring to acquire new professional skills and take your career to the next level.