The benefits of working with a career mentor
Facilitated by CA Connect, our member-exclusive online community platform, career mentoring is a great way for CAs to turn ambitions into success.
There are many benefits to be gained from working with a career mentor, whether they are helping to get your career off the ground, to take it to the next level, or assisting with a new enterprise.
The benefits to the CA being mentored can include:
- Learn from your mentor’s experience
- Be encouraged and empowered
- Develop new skills and knowledge
- Connect to a more established network
- Gain a trusted adviser
Learn from your mentor’s experience
By connecting with a mentor you’ll gain from their years of experience, learn from the mistakes they made along the way and so avoid making the same errors as your own career unfolds.
Be encouraged and empowered
A good mentor will empower rather than dictate, encouraging you to learn and find your own way, teaching new working methods and strategies you can employ going forward.
Mentoring has challenged me to think about the things that matter in my career.
- Alexandra Black CA, ICAS career mentee.
Develop new skills and knowledge
Whilst you may seek out a mentor based upon your matching areas of specialism, a more experienced CA will have gained additional skills and insights over the course of their, much longer, career, from which you in turn can benefit.
Connect to a more established network
When just starting out, your professional network will be restricted by your lack of working experience. Connecting with a mentor will in turn connect you to their wider, more established network. They’ll be able to make introductions and open doors that may have previously been closed to you.
Gain a trusted adviser
Working as mentor and mentee will facilitate the development of a close, confidential professional relationship, and although the mentoring process usually only lasts for a defined period, your mentor may still be available to you as a trusted adviser further into your career.