How To Find The Perfect Mentor To Help Grow Your Career
Look for someone inside and outside your professional circle to turn to as a mentor and accelerate growth in your career.
Getting ahead in a career or even in life doesn’t just take your skills, your wits, your knowledge, or even just your grit. We don’t get to see success alone. That rarely, if ever, happens. Everyone needs help or assistance every once in a while while we strive to improve our lives. That’s why we set goals or resolutions. Also, it’s a great practice to find a mentor. Someone who can advise and check in with you on a scheduled time to talk about real-world issues and how you dealt with them. Especially at your place of work and as you grow your career, mentorship can help you.
According to NPR, the right mentorship can give you immense success because you’re getting feedback from someone who has been in your shoes. When you have an outside source of someone who is knowledgeable about your professional aspirations, you’ll be surprised about the amount of wisdom you can gain. When you go about finding a mentor, know that you automatically don’t have to find someone older than you.
If you know someone in your professional circle (or outside of it) that you admire and are older than them, don’t let age hold you back from talking with them. Reverse mentorship has become quite the thing, significantly, as technology has sped up our lives. Younger workers–some being digital natives–have always had technology in their lives. With Gen X, that group remembers dial-up internet and carrying a quarter in their shoes to call mom or dad.
Digital natives, like millennials and now Gen Z, were born directly into the connected world. They’ve always had emails, texting, and now Tik Tok. If you have a kid and have a computer question, they can answer it. When your pre-teen becomes your tech support, you’ve made it as a parent. So, don’t be afraid of the younger set. They’re the bee’s knees (just don’t say that to them.)
Once you decide that you want a mentor, you must first focus on your goals and get clear with what you want to get out of the relationship. Write out your SMART goals, which are time-based goals. You can measure these goals and know exactly when you have made your goals. You can ask your potential mentor to meet online or in person. Remember, it’s what works for both of you.
Mentoring is only sometimes a way to get out of your current job. It’s a way to get professional and personal growth. But, if you want a promotion or are looking for a career change, mentorship can help you. But you should not expect that your mentor will act as a sponsor or give you a recommendation for a new job. They are only there to provide feedback and give you another point of view that may give you a better outcome.
Be sure you set an agenda when you meet with your mentor. This is your responsibility, not there’s. And remember, you do not want to waste their time–or yours. You should also take notes and send follow-up emails to ensure you captured their insight correctly. Another good point to know set an end date.
Mentorship does not go on forever and has a definite ending. Finally, know that mentorship is NOT a therapy session or a complaining session if you want to get out of your current job and into a new one. If you need this, talk to a friend, not a mentor. A mentor-mentee relationship is a professional one that is to help you grow. So remember to be respectful and grateful.
