A Career Mentor
June 10, 2008
I wanted to know if finding a career mentor would be a good move? I want to develop as much as I can professionally and was curious if this would be time well spent? - Johnny Neil in Clearwater, FL
Having access to a career mentor will provide you with valuable insight into your chosen path and can be like finding a diamond in the desert. These people can give you first hand knowledge that you wouldn’t otherwise have. Imagine trying to find the shortest path to a destination, but without having a guide who knows the area, you have to stumble and wander around obstacles that could have been made perfectly clear if you only had someone to point it out.
Career mentoring may be conducted in either an informal or formal setting depending on the arrangement. Sometimes by a stroke of luck you may find that you have attracted the eye of someone who takes it upon them self to give you the guidance and direction you need to become successful. Or on the other hand, a lot companies will have programs that place a new hire with someone who is already highly skilled and knowledgeable in their field.
Also, there are many professional organizations out there that are strictly geared towards providing this sort of mentor coaching. When seeking out a mentor, keep in mind to find someone whose goals have a correspondence and relation to yours. The mentor has to be able to provide the time necessary to teach and invest in the relationship along with you making the time as well to learn as much as possible.
Consider this, you must have the guts to go up face to face with someone you are considering as having a mentor and make that important initial step in asking for their time and advice. This shows confidence on your part but also a sincere desire to learn. However, don’t be forceful, no one owes you anything so remember that, you have to be humble when you ask. From the very start, you have to display an incredible work ethic so they know that you are serious about learning.
As a result, both the mentor and protege benefit through this symbiotic relationship. This is due to the protege gaining the insights and subtleties of their chosen path along with the knowledge of being able to navigate where others with less experience would fall and also, this allows for the mentor to strengthen and hone their leadership abilities.
In providing this guidance the mentor enjoys the satisfaction of seeing their hard work bear out in the achievements of the people they have mentored. So take hold of the opportunity and start looking for someone that can help lead you along the path to success.
If you are sincere in what you are seeking, more often than not, you end up finding it.
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