The ongoing pandemic has created challenges and roadblocks for many professionals in design and architecture. Some have unexpectedly lost jobs. Some have had to adjust to working from home for the first time. Others have had to put schooling on pause. One bright side in all of this is that the pandemic has created the perfect situation for professionals in the industry to connect with a mentor.
Benefits of Having a Mentor
Architects and designers who have a mentor improve their knowledge and competency faster. Mentors can offer practical advice because they were once in the same place you are and succeeded. Professional who have a mentor are also better able to improve leadership and communication skills and develop career plans. Moreover, mentorship improves motivation and engagement. Mentors can help you expand your network, while providing emotional support. This provides the sense that your career is moving the right direction and inspires to keep up the hard work.
Remote Mentorship Adds Convenience
A lot of seasoned professionals enjoy acting as mentors. They like talking about the successes they experienced over the course of their career and the lessons they learned along the way. It also feels good to help others. However, serving as a mentor isn’t always convenient. Executives in the field often have busy schedules. Meeting up with a mentee remotely takes less time than meeting in-person. For example, an executive might not have to drive to coffeeshop, order, and have an in-depth conversation with a mentee, but they can reasonably squeeze in a twenty-minute Zoom call.
Mentors Are Easier to Find Now
An unfortunate side effect of the pandemic is that business has slowed down. While some executives still have busy schedules, other have more down time than they have had in a long time. This is especially true of executives who travelled a lot for work because international travel is so restricted right now. You may find mentors on LinkedIn or other networking sites who would otherwise be available. In addition, some professionals avoiding participating in mentorship because they had no desire to meet with strangers, whether for safety concerns or scheduling concerns. Now that mentorship has moved online by default, some executives are making the decision to serve as mentors for the first time.
Engaging with a mentor can give you insight into the architecture industry and provide you with the support you need to navigate an effective career path. Now is a great time to connect with a mentor. While the pandemic has made schedules more flexible, video conferencing has made mentorship more convenient.
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