Our mentorship platform is here to help you gain the countless benefits that come with virtual mentorship!
What is a virtual mentor?
It’s no secret that we are all living in a digital world, and that means more standard processes are taking a virtual turn–including mentorship.
Previously, mentors were sought out in person and needed to be easily accessible. This was very limiting, making it so those who did not have easy access to a mentor were often left without one. Fortunately, virtual mentorship has completely changed the game. You can connect with a virtual mentor from anywhere in the world, giving you access to the best and brightest regardless of where you live or work.
A virtual mentor is a mentor in every way—someone who will guide you and help you to navigate career challenges—but instead of being someone you meet in the office or for coffee, you will connect online instead. You can find mentors to cover every industry, skill, and need. Whether you want to knock it out of the park during your next interview or you just need help improving your soft skills, a virtual mentor can help.
Virtual mentors can even support teams and startups!
What are the benefits of working with a virtual mentor?
These are some of the most common benefits you will gain when working with a virtual mentor.
Supporting your career growth
A professional mentorship is, first and foremost, focused on supporting career growth. When you connect with a virtual mentor, your career trajectory will generally be at the center of all that you do. Even if you’re looking to pick up a fairly specific skill, your virtual mentor will focus on the implications of that new skill and what it will mean for your career.
A virtual mentor is a trusted professional partner who is committed to helping you achieve your goals. Those goals will vary by the individual, but with the right virtual mentor, you can achieve them using dedicated strategies. With their guidance and your commitment to improving your career, you two will work together to help you advance one step at a time. Today may be about gaining new skills, but a year from now, you may be working towards a brand new position!
Successfully navigating career changes
The world is changing quickly, and career changes are becoming even easier to come by. The nature of a career change looks different for each person, but making these changes can be fairly intimidating. By partnering with a virtual mentor, you gain access to knowledge and resources that will help ease any transition.
It doesn’t matter if you are changing industries or just looking for a new type of position, finding someone who has been there always helps. Your mentor can provide invaluable insights to help you acclimate to your career’s new focus. It always helps to have someone knowledgeable by your side when making significant career changes.
Exploring learning opportunities
Regardless of your goals or focus, your virtual mentor is there to offer one-on-one learning sessions. What you learn during these sessions and how it helps may even surprise you. In fact, it is fairly common for people to start with one focus in a mentorship before identifying new learning opportunities.
The more time you spend discussing your career path, the more learning opportunities you will encounter. Having access to someone who has seen it all before makes it easy for you to optimize what you need to learn and turn that knowledge into action steps that propel your career forward.
Avoiding common mistakes
A natural part of career growth is making mistakes, and this is something that every working adult has to contend with. While having a virtual mentor does not mean that you will never make mistakes again, the fact is that it may help you to make less.
Your virtual mentor will have already worked through several mistakes and pain points to get where they are. This means that they can help you to adeptly navigate bumps in the road and outright avoid some of these problems for yourself.
Every mistake is a learning opportunity, but sometimes, it is just easier to learn from someone else’s mistakes instead.
Increasing your industry knowledge
The rapidly changing nature of industries can be disorienting for those who are looking to navigate them. While educating yourself on industry knowledge is essential, it really helps to have a little guidance. As industries continue to evolve, a lot of commonly shared knowledge is becoming outdated.
Unfortunately, this can leave you well-prepared in the wrong direction. Fortunately, a virtual mentor who knows the ins and outs of your industry can help you learn which information is valuable and which recommendations can be left behind.
A virtual mentorship allows you to gain knowledge from the people who built your industry!
Gaining new skills
Although a virtual mentor will provide a lot of general education, many mentorships also focus on gaining new skills.
Growing your industry-relevant skillset is the perfect way to kickstart a new career change or to improve your existing career. From soft skills to certifications, there are many great ways to improve your professional talents. As you talk with your virtual mentor, you will receive guidance on what skills to pursue and receive assistance when it comes to obtaining them.
Skill selection, suggestions for effective studying, and pep talks are just a few of the ways that a virtual mentor can help you collect new skills to advance your career.
All the benefits of networking
Businesses, regardless of industry, are built on connections. These connections happen naturally between people as relationships grow. For this reason and many more, networking is a crucial center point in the business world. It doesn’t matter if you work in finance or technology—who you know matters. The people you connect with will impact your career trajectory and help you to find new opportunities.
When you think about it, a virtual mentorship is a type of networking. However, it is often just the start. Your virtual mentor will present an incredible networking opportunity, and they may be able to connect you with others too. As you grow and improve, you and your virtual mentor can network with educated and talented people.
Finding the ideal virtual mentor for you
How can you find the right virtual mentor to start improving your career? These considerations can help.
Where can you find a virtual mentor?
If you’re thinking that a virtual mentor sounds like the right match for advancing your career, you are probably wondering where to find one. There is no right or wrong answer here—you can find a virtual mentor anywhere online. People connect through social media platforms, professional platforms, like LinkedIn, and through dedicated virtual mentorship platforms, like MentorCruise.
Finding a mentor on social media or through professional platforms can be a bit of a challenge. It often feels like cold calling, and the person you choose may not be open to mentorship at all. Worse, you may not be able to tell whether or not what the other person is telling you is true. Is the person you’re connecting with an expert, or do they just call themselves one online?
Opting to find a mentor through a virtual mentorship platform can help you avoid some of these common pitfalls. Individuals on these platforms are there to act as mentors, and you will be able to see relevant information to help you determine whether or not they are the right fit. You can even find mentors in specific niches based on skills or industry.
How can you verify the quality of your mentor?
Mentors offer life-changing advice and support, but not every mentor is a good match for the role. If you’re looking to learn and grow from a mentor, you want to know that the person is someone you can trust. This means that the mentor needs to be vetted, and that isn’t always easy to do on your own.
Signs of a high-quality mentor include:
- A proven professional background in your field
- Expertise in navigating specific challenges
- A history of success that makes them a good guide
- Plenty of relevant industry experience
- A positive, supportive attitude
Virtual mentorship platforms help to simplify this process by offering professional vetting. At MentorCruise, our virtual mentors are fully vetted so you know exactly what they are bringing to the table.
Deciding on the right mentor for you
Every business professional has unique needs to support their career growth, even if two professionals are in the same industry. You don’t just want a great virtual mentor—you want the right virtual mentor for you specifically.
Consider these factors when deciding on a virtual mentor:
- Do they have experience to help you grow through these next stages in your career?
- Does their expertise align with your goals and what you hope to accomplish?
- Are you comfortable with them, and do you communicate well?
- Does their mentorship style encourage you to improve and grow?
- Do they embody what you hope to see in your career?
A trial with a new mentor can help you answer these questions!
Connect with a virtual mentor today at MentorCruise
Now that you understand what a virtual mentorship is and how it can help, it is up to you to decide what comes next. Are you ready to begin your search for a virtual mentor and start leveling up your career? If you’re ready to become one of our happy mentees, our growing community of mentors is ready to support you every step of the way.
To connect with a virtual mentor, book an introductory call today!