Having a mentor is like watching a good trailer to the upcoming movie of your life and could increase the probability of its becoming a blockbuster. – Nyahra.
In addition to having coaches all of my coaching life, I have always found it useful to have a mentor and to pay it forward by mentoring younger people.
Unlike coaches, mentors have free reign to give you advice, to literally tell you what to do, and since you don’t pay them you are getting a gold mine of wisdom for free. The mentor/mentee relationship can sometimes mimic a paternal or maternal relationship and so some scolding may also be involved when mentees go off on a frolic of their own.
That being said, it is all done in the spirit of “tough love”.
Finding a mentor
I recommend that every young professional or career rookie seek a mentor. The operative word is “seek”. Your job is to examine your strengths and limitations, career vision, goals and values and try to find a mentor who is willing to help you along your career path. You should select someone whose character you emulate.
It is advantageous to find a mentor within your own career but someone within the industry or in a related field will be just a beneficial. In addition,
I like to recommend that young professionals seek out mentors who have also had several careers and business experiences, with varied interests and having travelled.
This is important since one of the enduring and critical attributes for success is being able to step outside your comfort zone and engage several types of people while coping with unfamiliar environments and circumstances.
Your next task is to get the mentor to say yes to you. There are three popular ways to achieve this.
• Write a short “snail mail” letter introducing yourself. Say a little bit about your career goals. Be complimentary, naming just three professional and one personal quality you admire about him or her and why s/he would be a match for you. Do not try to convince him/her to be your mentor. This should be a modest yet confidently written letter. Do not include a résumé. While it appears proactive, it could be viewed as overreaching.
• Make a polite call to his/her office. State your business fully to the personal assistant and request an in-person meeting.
• Ask the mentor’s friend to introduce you via email, in person or by phone.
In all instances be sure to have your “sponsor” request permission for you to call the mentor in a couple days.
That way you have some control over the timing of your first meeting. Be sure to know his or her full name.
Once you’ve got the nod, be mindful of the mentor’s time. Remember your mentor is a busy professional, so be organized. Have short agendas when you engage them. Note that while the advice and wisdom is free to you, it is an opportunity cost to the mentor of time that could be leveraged elsewhere.
Six benefits
Now you are ready to hopefully experience a mutually beneficial lifetime relationship.
(1) Mentors can see into the future: They already know what works and what does not. They know the shortcuts to help you reach your goals easier and quicker. Their insights and experience with people can help you to manage expectations.
(2) They have well established networks that you do not have yet.
(3) They are idea generators and can see value in projects long before you do.
(4) They know how to avoid rat-traps. Mentors have made mistakes and hopefully have figured out how to avoid them. You do not have to learn from your own mistakes when you can learn from others’. Mentors are willing to share their misjudgements and the consequences they suffered so you can avoid them.
(5) They will advise on life and business.
(6) They give balanced yet “in your corner” advice. Your mentor will be focused on helping you develop your potential and will point out areas for improvement before they become issues of performance that could harm your career.
So find a mentor and jumpstart your career.
