Mentoring And Career Development

In todays busy lifestyles and job opportunities, mentoring and career development tends to go hand and hand. While an individual may figure out his or her skills and interests that will eventually lead them down a career path, a mentor is able to help counsel them with their own expertise and wisdom from past mistakes and achievements. A mentor has already been through much of the ups and downs a new comer is liable to face in their career down the road.

A person who communicates well and wants to share his or her experiences with others in the same field can become a mentoring and career development specialist. Depending on their strengths and weaknesses when dealing with one on one, or groups of four or higher, the specialist can decide to mentor individuals, or an entire organization.

Classes or courses aimed at mentoring and career development teach the specialist how to understand the importance of career development, how to recognize the individual's present skills and how to apply them to the desired job. They also teach a specialist how to understand a mentor's role. It is important for the mentor to learn how to clearly communicate with people of all lifestyles and skill levels in order for the individual and company to succeed.

Mentoring and career development skills are important to the workplace and businesses as a whole. Mentors use verbal communication as well as written documentation, instructional video and audio to provide assistance to their students.

Businesses managers, corporations and organizations look to frequent studies of the effects of mentoring and career development on employees individually and as a group. What works for one person may or may not work for another, which is why a mentor learns about different personalities, lifestyles, and upbringing that can affect a trainee.

A good relationship with a mentor will ensure that person is there when the trainee runs into a snag anywhere along their career path. Discuss job options, including personal events that happen to hamper progress. While a mentor can only do so much under his or her role, he or she has the tools to steer almost any individual in the right direction.

There are many occupations covering mentoring and career development. Most involve some level of teaching experience. While experience is part of a mentor's role, care for the trainees well being, position in the company and a desire to do well for the company are of equal importance.

For more information about mentoring and career development look at local courses, presentations and conferences, or search online.