Mentorship is often considered to be centered around the professional growth and development of the mentee – getting constant guidance from a more experienced mentor. If anything, mentorship is a two way street.

There is much to gain in the process as a mentor. If you do get an opportunity to be a coach to someone, grab it at once! It’s a chance to share all the experiences you have had, mistakes you have made, to direct and guide your mentee on how to handle similar situations and avoid all the hiccups you went through in the first place.

Here are 5 reasons why you should consider to become a mentor:

1. Chance to Contribute

Being a mentor is one of the best opportunity to contribute and give back, not only to your Alma mater but to the society as well! There is immense joy and a sense of fulfillment that comes with guiding a younger professional. Every session will stir up a change and motivate someone to move up in life and progress better through their career and will leave you with a “feel good” factor about being a mentor.

Six months into mentoring, every session I complete, brings me a sense of accomplishment. The most rewarding feeling is when my mentees get offered new jobs, successfully apply new ideas, stretch their creativity for their next project or simply walk out of the session feeling more inspired.

2. Career & Professional growth

Mentoring will definitely add 5 stars to your resume and boost professional growth. It gives credibility to your leadership skills as well as industry knowledge. The more skills you master, the more value you create, and the higher and faster you grow in your career!

Almost all mentorship programs come with certificates after successful completion. Each session I have pans out in an absolutely different direction – job search, career path, industry insights and more since each mentee has their own different needs including project clarifications, how to apply for jobs and more. The sweat put in to prepare and deliver each session is worth the rewards in terms of the 5 stars on my resume.

3. Strengthen your network

There is one thing that I have learned as a professional – networking is everything! Your connections in the industry are your biggest resources. Mentoring gives an opportunity to expand your network, meet young professionals and fresh graduates and often connect them to more people in your network. In all, it builds on to your professional support system.

In the process of connecting my mentees to other professionals, I have fostered new friendships as well as gotten in touch with my mentors and friends who have helped me at every stage of my professional life. This definitely helps you stay in touch with your connections.

4. Keep up to date on new trends and ideas

As a mentor, you will always need to be self aware and keep yourself up to date with the latest trends in the industry. To be a better teacher, you must know the subject well 🙂 ! Every individual thinks differently. Mentoring is a chance to broaden your thinking since the mentees do bring in new ideas and different perspectives to things!

The best way to learn is to teach. While mentoring, I brushed up my supply chain fundamentals and am always catching up with new industry trends – something which I easily overlook hustling through my 9 to 5 job!

5. Hone in on your Soft skills

Apart from leadership skills, as a 1-on-1 coach to a mentee, you will build confidence, empathy and communication skills as each mentoring session goes by. You will become a better and patient listener! A leader should also be a good coach and decision maker, and if being a mentor can help you build these skills, then why not ?

Each session I had was intimidating while I prepared for it, but has added to my confidence many folds after I completed it! The entire process has made me a patient listener. Each session has been more energising and positive than the previous one!

Mentorship is the perfect opportunity where a mentor and mentee can mutually benefit from each other! So, if you do find an opportunity to mentor, why not?