Why being a mentor can help YOUR career

Rebecca Finbow

20 July 2022

Why being a mentor can help YOUR career

The idea of guiding someone else in their career can feel like a big responsibility. However, the role of mentor isn’t to have all of the answers. It is to be able to share your knowledge, perspective and experience and to act as a sounding-board to their ideas and proposed solutions.

Furthermore, being a mentor isn't exclusively for the most experienced professionals. In fact if you are in your early career you may be perfectly suited to support someone looking for their first role in the sector. Equally if you have recently achieved Chartership status you are well positioned to guide someone else through this process.

Whatever stage of your career you are at, you have skills and experience that can help someone reach their goals.

Mentoring has clear benefits for the mentee, but why become a mentor?

Develop your leadership skills

By becoming a mentor you will naturally develop your leadership and management skills, working out how best to motivate and inspire others. You will learn how to improve your active listening and questioning skills, and develop your ability to empathise, reason and build rapport. You will then be able to use this emotional intelligence in managing your own teams.
Mentoring also enables you to exercise your problem-solving skills in new contexts, accommodating other people’s ways of thinking and working, and applying your expertise to suggest appropriate training or development to best help mentees achieve their goals.

Gain fresh perspectives

By working with a mentee you will gain insight into how others approach challenges. Furthermore your mentee will have knowledge and skills that you don’t, so you will have the opportunity to gain fresh perspectives and broaden your understanding of the environmental sector.

Feel good factor

Past and present IES mentors frequently report that supporting others to achieve their goals is one of the most rewarding activities they have pursued as an environmental professional. Through working closely with another individual, you can see the real impact of your support, whether it’s an increase in their confidence, new skills they have learnt, or helping them to achieve a specific goal. You are in an invaluable position to help someone reach their full potential in the environment sector.

If you are ready to benefit from being a mentor, check out our IES Mentoring Handbook for more information about the range of mentoring opportunities available and how our new bespoke mentoring platform works. Through the platform you can also access a range of training resources and guidance to support you in becoming a mentor.

It has never been easier to sign up as an IES Mentor, so what are you waiting for? Sign up here.

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