In the nicest way possible, most of our loved ones don’t give a damn about our careers – yes, they love us and want to see us happy, but they’re probably not bothered about the jaunty email you sent earlier, the project management tool you’re finally getting to grips with (Asana, I’m looking at you), or the Instagram post that got high engagement last week.

But against the odds, most of us are lucky to know someone who does care. An unofficial mentor if you will, who's invested in you – someone who, for no rhyme nor reason, is on your side when it comes to your professional development.

At AllBright, the team is no different. With the upcoming launch of our Mentor Matching feature, we got chatting about who these unsung heroes are in our own lives, what makes them great, and why it’s important to hold onto them tightly.

If you don’t know anyone you can turn to for career advice, then step into our office... Subscribe to AllBright Plus today and register yourself as a mentee, mentor, or both!

"I always go to my old boss Ailsa Kerr for career advice - we were friends as colleagues but now we're not in a work capacity, we're great friends. But the best bit is she also knows my strengths, weaknesses, the way I work, the nuances of my work personality and is invaluable to providing advice that's personalised to me.

She’s the most creative person I've ever met, teaches in such a graceful way, and is always willing to share her wisdom, advice, network and experiences. Because she's further along the career journey, I always look to her for inspiration.

When you find a good boss, even when you don't work together daily, work hard to nurture that relationship."

Courtney, Global Cultural & Community Programmes Lead

"My parents! Both parents have a different perspective and approach but between the two they always have an answer or advice that helps me get through difficult things or come to my own decision. They've always supported everything I do and are always there when I ask for help rather than offer unsolicited advice or pressure. Although, I might need a London based career mentor soon!"

Sally, Partnership Delivery Manager

Thinking about this has made me realise that either I am quite open to talking about my career or that I am very lucky to have many people in my life I go to for advice – I think it is a mixture of both! I can say that I have received advice from my parents, previous colleagues, bosses, friends and current colleagues and I think who it is I go to first depends on the question I have. What makes all these relationships so great is that everyone has a varying perspective and experience in the world of work, so they can provide guidance and advice that looks at my situation objectively and always with my best interests at heart. 

Daisy, Social Media Manager

My parents, grandparents, sister, friends, colleagues both past and present! I can without a doubt say that I have turned to all these people at one time or another for career advice. The one person whose advice always stays with me though is my Grandad. He had experience in a wide range of roles in different industries throughout his working life and would always remind me that being happy in your job is the most important thing. This simple, and somewhat obvious, piece of advice would always ground me and has influenced many of my career decisions since. 

Laura, CRM Manger 

I was thinking about this and, like Daisy, I'm quite lucky that I have quite a few people to chat to about career advice! I think I like to gather insights from different friends who work in the same company or industry, who 'get' where I'm coming from (feel super lucky to be able to talk candidly about career, work etc with my team at AB), but also friends who work in different industries (public sector for example) to put into perspective a challenge or difficult situation I might be facing. For me personally, I think chatting to mates or friends in similar stages of their careers is quite important because, although I have received good advice from my parents and older friends, their attitudes, perceptions and experiences of the world of work are very different to mine.

Jasmine, Product Manager

For me, my go-to career cheerleaders have got to be both my mum and my friend, Gina. Both are very good at taking into account who I am personally with what I want professionally, to give realistic advice they know I’ll follow based on who I am. Writing this, I now realise it’s because I bring a lot of my real self, for better or worse, to the workplace, unlike others who are great at creating an ‘office’ version of themselves. Story- time: at one point, I nearly left London (perish the thought) post- pandemic, and Gina said, ‘look, give London another go. Then, if you don’t like it, you can emigrate to Norfolk. It’ll be much harder to leave, then come back again’ - I am so glad I stayed.

Who’s your go-to unofficial mentor? What makes them great? Let us know in the comments below, and if you feel like cementing your mentee-mentor relationship into something more official, then it’s time to embark on a mentorship. Connect with someone outside your comfort zone to take both your careers to the next level. Register for Mentor Matching today.