As part of Avanade’s culture of mentorship and learning, every employee is assigned a career adviser (CA) who guides them through their career, helping everyone at Avanade grow professionally and feel inspired, confident and cared for. Career Adviser Spotlights shine a light on Avanade CAs who go above and beyond for their advisees.

This post features Ben Beath, Digital & Studio Lead for APAC and Brazil at Avanade based in Melbourne, Australia.

How long have you been a CA at Avanade?

2 years.

What’s the most rewarding thing about being a CA?

I love being a sounding board for ambitious people who feel connected to the business they work in. I feel like I’ve been lucky to have advisees who are passionate about what they do, and turn up each day looking to make an impact on the business and our clients.

What’s the most challenging thing about being a CA?

Being a career adviser to people who are only conditioned to receive positive feedback is challenging because small points of feedback become big problems. Encouraging a growth mindset, and helping advisees see feedback as a gift, rather than definitive criticism is probably the most important part of being a CA.

How do you balance/integrate your role as a CA into your work?

Prior to the pandemic, I would always try to do my CA sessions as a walk around a park. There is something powerful in consciously taking the time to break out of the office environment, get some exercise and be surrounded by trees as you chat. With COVID-19, I still make sure I’m walking, listening and treating the check-ins as being something special in my day.

What general advice would you give to advisees on how to work with their CAs?

Get to know them as people, not just colleagues. Ensure you understand where they’re come from, what mountains they’ve climbed to get where they are, what secret bold ambition they harbour. Create an ongoing conversation where they can be authentic, unfiltered, anxious, optimistic and realtime.

What advice would you give to fellow CAs?

Ensure your CA relationships are built on a platform of honesty and optimism at all times. One of the first things I ask my advisees to do is ask five people in the business for direct feedback on three questions - ‘what do I do well?’, ‘what do I need to improve on’, ‘what do I do that annoys or frustrates you?’. When someone comes back with no answers to point 3, I know we’ve got a lot of work to do together!

Thanks, Ben, for being a great career adviser and for taking the time to share your story with us!

When asked about what makes Ben a great career adviser, this is what we heard:

"Exceptional Empathy, with the superpower to propel personal growth and ideas to the next level. Having Ben as a CA is awesome, he naturally builds a positive rapport, finds ways to elevate everything you do, stays connected with you and inspires you to be the best version of yourself. Thank you Ben."