The benefits of formal mentorship

Since early last year, I’ve been running a global mentorship platform called MentorCruise. What started as a small experiment a year ago, has grown into a go-to source when it comes to tech mentorship, with over 120 available mentors that have actively helped over 300 people last year.

But why exactly did over 2,000 people sign up for the platform last year? What benefits does personal mentorship have over more traditional schooling, coaching or tutoring?

No pressure

A formal mentorship isn’t set up to show results on the first day. It’s all about persistence, keeping the motivation up, learning and improving.

That’s a great thing for both mentees and mentors. There is not as much pressure behind it, compared to school exams or even short-term coaching programs. Mentorships are usually longer than 1–2 months, so there is plenty of time.

This needs patience. We see this at MentorCruise as well: As part of an experiment, we offer students a trial period now, and many people who get out of a mentorship in that trial period won’t see any effect. On the other hand, there are mentorship relations active who have been around since the start of the program last year. That’s a timeframe where improvements get measurable.

A single point of contact

Ever signed up for an online course, started at a new company or joined a community? The concept of mentorship isn’t new at all. What’s different with a longterm formal mentorship is that this relation persists, even after a course has been completed or a company has been left.

Our mentees often tell us how great it has been for them to have a point of contact when things go south or it looks a little dark: When they lose their job and need to brush up their skills and CV. When a company-issued mentor isn’t as engaged as you want them to be.

While these things should never happen — sometimes they do. It’s good to have another point of contact and mentorship.

Personal growth with accountability

Finally, a mentor is the perfect accountability partner. Even if a mentor is rather hands-off, you have the duty to report to them once in a while. It’s a good source of accountability and makes sure that you get things done.

“My main goal was to get the guidance and learn from another experienced specialist. I’m keen to grow as fast as I can in my career and it’s great to have such platform like MentorCruise to help you.” — Egle

Whatever you want to learn — a mentor is a great source of knowledge, connections, accountability and learnings. It has been a great journey so far, and I hope that our platform can help many more this year.