Mentoring programs are becoming increasingly commonplace within the world’s most successful companies. One report found that up to 98% of US Fortune 500 companies use mentoring programs. It’s easy to see the appeal of these programs for employers.
Mentoring can improve employee engagement and retention rates, enhance knowledge transfer throughout an organisation, and reduce training and development costs. But mentoring strategies aren’t just great for business leaders – they’re valuable to employees, too.
As a engineering employee, working with a mentor gives you access to a consistent source of expertise, support, and guidance as you progress throughout your career. Mentors can help you harness new skills, improve your personal brand, and help you make the right decisions for your future.
This guide will show you why working with a mentor is valuable for your future engineering career. We share our top tips for getting the most out of any mentoring experience.
What is a Mentor? The Basics
Simply put, a mentor is an experienced, trusted advisor who guides and supports another person. Mentors can come in many forms, such as life mentors and academic mentors. Part of today’s topic of conversation is career mentors.
A career mentor for engineering employees could be a peer from the industry or someone in your business with more experience or expertise than you.
Many companies run “reverse mentoring” programs, typically involving younger people helping more senior staff members navigate new technologies or adapt to different perspectives.
Great mentors will possess a few distinguishing characteristics in all circumstances. The best mentors have:
- Experience: Mentors should have expertise, skills, and background knowledge relevant to your industry and your goals.
- Excellent communication skills: Mentors are excellent communicators. They know how to translate complex topics into simple language and actively listen to their mentees.
- Empathy and patience: Great mentors should have high emotional intelligence. They need to empathise with your challenges and concerns.
- An open approach: A good mentor should be willing to share access to exclusive knowledge, valuable network connections, and resources to help you grow.
- A skill for delivering feedback: Great mentors know how to provide constructive, informative, and actionable feedback that you can use to guide your development.
How a Mentor Contributes to Career Success
Mentors are confidants, coaches, and valuable sources of support for employees in the engineering industry. They provide constant support and help their mentees continuously progress toward their goals.
Some experts say people with mentors are five times more likely to be promoted than their peers. In the competitive engineering landscape, a mentor can contribute to your career success in the following ways:
- Improving Goal Setting and Career Planning
Practical goal setting is crucial to progressing in your engineering career. To move forward in your professional life, you must know how to set realistic short-term and long-term goals that gradually push you toward new opportunities.
Mentors can objectively examine your situation and offer advice on setting achievable goals. They can also help you overcome potential obstacles and stay motivated by reminding you to celebrate every small “win.”
Based on their experience in your industry, a mentor can help you identify clear priorities, career paths, and opportunities. They can offer advice on career decisions and transitions and even help you map out your five to ten-year career plan with insights into the skills and experience you’ll need to develop. Plus, mentors help to keep you accountable.
They give you someone to share your progress with regularly, which means you’re far less likely to “give up” when encountering challenges. Studies have shown that people have a 65% higher chance of reaching a goal when they have an accountability partner, like a mentor.
- Enabling Ongoing Skill Development
Thriving in today’s fast-paced engineering environment requires a constant commitment to developing new soft and hard skills. You’ll need to regularly refine critical transferrable skills like communication, collaboration, and leadership.
Plus, you’ll need to be open to building your abilities with workshops and courses relevant to your industry and changing technology trends. Working with a mentor helps you improve your skills in various ways. A mentor can offer insights into leadership styles and show you how to motivate, inspire, and coach other employees.
They can share their perspectives on your challenges and use their experiences to help you determine which skills to develop to become more “competitive” in your industry. They can also direct you towards resources for skill development, such as industry events and certification programs. Regularly meeting with a mentor will help you build emotional intelligence, active listening, and communication skills.
- Enhancing your Brand
Personal branding has become particularly important to engineering employees in recent years, particularly as employers and recruitment teams pay more attention to the “online presence” of candidates they consider recruiting for their team.
A great mentor can give you feedback on how to draw attention to your unique skills and attributes, both online and offline. Further, they can provide you with access to networking opportunities and potential new valuable connections, which can help contribute to your credibility as a thought leader in your industry.
Mentors can offer you a new perspective when you identify your strengths and weaknesses and develop your brand “elevator pitch”. They’ll understand what characteristics matter most to industry leaders and can guide you toward better branding decisions. Plus, they can help you overcome feelings of “imposter syndrome” by ensuring you know your strengths.
- Boosting Resilience and Adaptability
As the engineering industry changes, resilience and adaptability are becoming increasingly crucial.
A mentor can help you stay agile despite evolving challenges and develop robust problem-solving strategies. They can also aid you in nurturing a “growth mindset,” encouraging you to look at setbacks as learning opportunities and helping you find proactive ways to overcome weaknesses and skill gaps.
Moreover, a mentor can help you adapt faster to industry trends by providing access to network connections, resources, and industry insights. One report found that mentoring significantly impacts a person’s “adaptive performance” in any sector.
- Unlocking New Opportunities
Reports suggest that up to 80% of job opportunities are never directly advertised online. While engineering candidates can work with recruitment companies to access a broader range of job opportunities, mentors can also open the door to other avenues for career progression.
A mentor could introduce you to a community in your industry where you may find employers promoting job opportunities at their company. Mentors could help you to track down job fairs and other events where you can interact with potential employers.
A mentor could encourage you to participate in programs and volunteer opportunities that make you more appealing to future employers. Plus, they’ll be able to help you identify which roles are right for you based on your current priorities and long-term goals.
Making the Most of Your Mentor
A mentor can be an asset for any engineering employee, but it’s important to remember that mentorship is a two-way relationship that requires dedication and commitment from both parties.
Here are our five top tips for making the most of your mentor.
- Find the Right Mentor
As mentioned above, mentors come in many different forms. Finding the right mentor starts with identifying your goals and the type of expertise and support you need. Don’t restrict yourself to looking for mentors only within your existing organisation. Evaluate mentors from different backgrounds and environments based on their experience, strengths, personality, and ability to deliver your needed support.
- Set Clear Goals and Expectations
Define what you want to accomplish with your mentor early in the relationship. Let them know what you need help with, whether making career move decisions or developing new skills. Make sure you understand what your mentor expects from you. For instance, how often will they expect you to check in and update them with your progress?
- Invest Fully in the Mentoring Relationship
Mentoring relationships can be mutually beneficial, helping the mentee and mentor grow and develop their skills. However, both parties need to commit fully to the relationship. Outline an early agreement with your mentor, determining how often you’ll meet and what will be expected from each interaction.
- Be Proactive and Responsive
Come to meetings with specific questions and topics to address. Take initiative when scheduling meetings, following up, and doing your homework. When your mentor provides feedback and guidance, pay attention and take action. If your mentor sees you’re not acting on their recommendations, they’ll lose interest in the relationship, and you’ll stop making progress.
- Measure your Progress
Pay attention to the milestones you achieve throughout the mentor relationship and share insights with your mentor to show them how beneficial their advice is. Sharing insights into your achievements will help validate the relationship with the mentor and give them clear evidence of their leadership potential, which they can share with their own peers.
Remember to reassess your goals and priorities regularly. Based on your progress, your targets will likely change over time.
Take Your Career to the Next Level with a Mentor
Mentors are more than just a valuable source of support for today’s engineering employees. They’re an incredible resource you can use to accelerate progress in your career, improve your skills, and unlock new opportunities for your future.
Working with a mentor in a competitive engineering industry could give you the secret weapon you need to accomplish new levels of professional and personal growth.
All the best
Steve
At Coalesce we have been partnering with engineering candidates for over 28 years; if you would like our input into how a mentor will boost your chances of career success, then give us a call on 07512 821708 or email us here.