Mentoring plays a crucial role in the careers of engineers

To be successful in any field, aspiring professionals require role models and guidance.             

For young engineers, mentoring can help them reach their potential quicker by tapping into the expertise and experience of senior engineers. For mature engineers, the rewards are numerous.

So what do you get by mentoring?

• Enhance your skills. The experience you gain by mentoring can facilitate your own professional growth, making you more of an asset to your organization. Mentoring allows you to strengthen your coaching and leadership skills by working with individuals from different backgrounds and with different personality types. Your ability to manage people different from yourself is a valuable skill, especially as the workplace continues to become more diverse.
• Improve your performance. One of your roles as a mentor is to set a good example for your protégé. Mentoring can give you a fresh perspective on your performance. One mentor discovered that the mentoring experience gave new insight into her job. "My mentee always asked 'Why?'- why do we do things a certain way and why do I think and act the way I do," she said. "The questions helped me to take a critical look at how I was leading and what areas I needed to adjust for improvement."
• Learn new things. It’s inevitable that young professionals will know more about new topics you’re less familiar with. For example, if you’re a Baby Boomer, perhaps taking on a Generation Y mentee can help you learn more about new technology or social media. Every generation has their strengths, and mentor relationships are a great way to learn from one another.
• Give back to your industry. Mentoring is an opportunity to help young professionals to become better engineers. Not only does it help your industry, but it can also bring personal satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
• Create a legacy. By becoming a mentor, you create a legacy that has a lasting impact on your protégé and the engineering profession. The knowledge you foster in your mentee can inspire new ideas for generations to come.

Feeling motivated to become a mentor?  Newcastle Division’s ‘EngMentor Scheme’ will give you the opportunity to do so.  Complete the Mentor Information/Registration form or find more information online here.