Mentoring: Is it for you?

                                                                                         

Mentoring is a natural phenomenon. It occurs when somebody with less knowledge or experience in a particular activity asks somebody more senior for guidance.

In its raw state, mentoring has many benefits. It is the primary means by which knowledge and skills are passed on. It can create an atmosphere of trust and confidence within organisations. Through informal mentoring, employees can gain useful contacts and develop the skills necessary to progress along a career path.

Formal mentoring programs, however, have the advantage of bringing the individual a perspective from outside the ordinary working environment. This means that the mentor can offer unbiased and confidential support, help with job-seeking, and advice about skills, training and opportunities outside of the mentee’s immediate industry and environment.

What can a professional mentor offer?
- Inside advice about searching for jobs, writing a focused CV, approaching employers and nailing that interview or assessment test.
- Insight and a broader perspective on your own position or organisation.
- Advice about technical or methodological issues in the workplace.
- New networking contacts.
- Advice about developing new skills and necessary training programs.

A mentor is not there to offer answers. A mentor is there to guide and to support. A mentor is somebody who has been where you are now, and who wants to give you the advice that they would give to their younger selves, if they could.

With a professional mentor at your side you will be able to navigate the complexities of Project Management and chart the career path that you have chosen, drawing on your mentor’s expert knowledge and understanding of the discipline in every area of your career development – from gaining the basic skills and requirements to finding a project management position to dealing with your project portfolio.

About the author:
Simon Buehring is a project manager, consultant and trainer. He works for KnowledgeTrain which offers training in PRINCE2 project management and PRINCE2 trainingin the UK and overseas. Simon has extensive experience within the IT industry. Contact him via the KnowledgeTrain project management training UK website.

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