Selecting a Mentor for Career Advancement
Having an Adviser Can Help Turn a New Job into a Successful Career
Nov 13, 2009
Some employees will breeze through new employee orientation and get acclimated to their new jobs faster than others. For those employees on the fast track, identifying and approaching a mentor should be the next stop on their career paths. Without this critical step, their climb to the top may be slowed or stopped altogether.
But, selecting a mentor and gaining his or her agreement can be an intimidating process that requires time and effort. Employees considering a mentor should put some though into what they want from the relationship and what they expect to gain. Mentors will be people that can be consulted for advice and guidance until they retire, if mentees properly plan their selection.
Selecting a Mentor
When thinking through how to select a mentor, employees should consider the following:
- Understand the next steps in their career paths
- Reflect on why the mentor is important
- Create a list of attributes that are most important for the mentor to possess
- Make a list of all peers, bosses, or other staff that have the potential to influence others
- Take the list and reduce the names to the two or three individuals that make the best possible match
- A potential mentor does not have to work in the same organization
- A potential mentor does not have to be in a formal leadership position
Employees should select the person from the list of two or three names who would be an ideal mentor, but they should be prepared to make a different selection should their primary choice be unavailable or unwilling to be a mentor. The new relationship will take time on the part of both parties, so planning must be the primary concern in the first meeting beyond the mentoring agreement.
Approaching the Mentor
After creating a short list of mentors, employees are faced with the challenge of approaching those mentors. This step is just as important as selecting the short list. Employees should consider the following ideas when approaching a possible mentor:
- Ask for time in their schedule, and let them know the purpose of the request
- Have an organized plan on the approach
- Do not force an immediate response from the potential mentor
- Be prepared to answer questions a potential mentor will have
- Be gracious regardless of the answer
- Have a plan for the next meeting should the parties agree to the relationship
Mentors can provide employees with valuable career advice and provide a sounding board for ideas. The relationship can be an important part of moving careers forward without some of the painful effects of direct experience. Employees with aspirations of leadership should seek out mentors and see how effective they can be.
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