Career Mentors

Finding a Career Mentors in Your Field

Once you’ve graduated college and entered the working world, it can be difficult to advance your education. You can’t think about MBA programs immediately, many employers have very limited training programs, and you may not even have an idea of what your next education step should be. If your goals include advancement, though, you cannot allow yourself to stagnate.

A good mentor will not tell you how to do your job or live your life. Instead, a mentor simply offers a little advice and guidance, such as what he or she might have done in the same situation. Consider finding a mentor who can help you to build your skill set. Ideally, a mentor is an individual with much more experience in your field, who can point you to the steps you need to take. In some cases, you may find that older employees may even offer to mentor you, especially if they occupy a managerial role and see you struggling.

If a mentor doesn’t come to you, though, there are still plenty of ways to get the help you need. If you can locate an ideal mentor with in your organization, or through your personal network, you may be able to convince him or her to be your mentor, simply by asking. You might also consider checking with the professional organizations which handle your area of expertise and seeing if any of their membership would be willing to mentor you. Many service organizations also connect mentors to those interested in their help.

You can have multiple mentors, and should if you feel that you would benefit from it. However, never be afraid to end a mentoring relationship. You may move past the point where you need such help, or you may not find that your mentor is able to provide you with help in such a way that you can benefit. It is not unheard of for the dynamics to simply not work. If so, politely remove yourself from the situation and find a mentor better equipped to help you.

Overall, you can benefit from the experience of your mentors, if you are willing to make the effort to learn from them. Even sitting down over coffee with a mentor and talking can provide you with information that you have no other way of learning.

You might also consider passing the favor along, in the future. While some mentoring relationships can be for pay, generally, the time spent is time taken by the mentor with no expectation of compensation. There are many opportunities for even young people to act as mentors, with programs such as Big Brother, where mentors are paired with children and teenagers.