Do you want to grow professionally? You can read great books, listen to enthusiastic and knowledgeable speakers, and read hundreds of articles, but sometimes those approaches just don’t go far enough. They might dance around a topic you want to learn more about, but they are not fully interactive.
If you’ve ever found yourself wanting more out of the resources available to you, you might be missing one crucial addition to your successful career growth…a mentor!
Finding a mentor not only allows you to convey your specific concerns, excitements, and desires about your career, but it also allows you the opportunity to receive customized feedback to your situation.
When finding a career mentor, there are a few things you’ll want to make sure to do. First, you’ll want to make sure to find someone who will be candid with you. It’s not helpful if you share a situation with your mentor, no matter how ugly or wonderful, and it’s met with a canned response. Just like in working out, it’s the stretching and corrections that truly bring you to the next level!
Another element you’ll want to make sure your mentor is equipped with is TIME. Someone could be in the perfect position to mentor you (they’ve gone through similar situations, etc.), but not have the time, and really be of no help to you at the time being. That’s not to say they may not be interested in helping. As we all know, it is easy to want to commit to more than what you have time for. Make sure your mentor truly has the time to commit to a mentoring relationship.
To learn more about what makes a good mentor, and what you should be looking for, read this article on the St. Thomas business alumni blog. There are more examples you’ll definitely want to read!
