Improving Your Career with a Mentor

Many people are looking for ways to boost their careers through meaningful interactions. Whether you are looking to boost your career through networking or professional development, considering mentorship is a strategy that will help to start your career insightfully and constructively.  

When I first started my career in Human Resources over 10 years ago, I sought out a mentor who was able to give me insight into the industry that I would have never thought possible. Mentorship is a relationship that can help you gain awareness in your industry that simply reading a book or online article might not provide otherwise.

I have always based my mentoring, whether being the mentor or the mentee, on a relationship that you build upon in a giving manner. Remember, a mentor relationship should be a two-sided relationship where you learn from one another.

With this being said let’s look into the top three ways a mentoring relationship can help boost your career:

Construct the relationship from the beginning – Constructing the relationship from the beginning in aspects of deciding on goals and what direction you want the relationship to go in is important. Before you meet with your mentor set up some goals that are simple and attainable. If you have a direction in the relationship, then your time together will be spent more productively. Another thing to consider is thinking about who you would want as your ideal mentor. Never go with a mentor for the sake of a mentor, having someone with things in common will help you to build a relationship and learn from one another.  

Learn for other people’s mistakes – When you have a mentoring relationship, you can learn insight into your industry that might not have been assessable otherwise. You can share ideas about experiences you are having in your career while hearing about relatable stories or strategies that can help you look at situations in a more productive way. Use these conversations as a looking glass into your future career, and learn from your mentor’s wisdom about the industry you want to work in.

Build a collaborative giving relationship – Being in a mentor/mentee relationship can be one of the best learning experiences in your life. I know for me it was an opportunity to learn about my industry and the growth my mentor had in the Human Resources field. Take the chance to understand their career growth track, among other things they did to grow their career. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about topics such as their education and professional development, what they wanted to be versus how they got to where they are now, or how well networking worked out for them. While you are building this relationship don’t be afraid to offer up help as well. For example, are they a manager looking to hire in a position that you aren’t interested in? Consider connecting them with someone you know that might be suitable for the job.

Getting a Mentor

Getting a mentor can be done in a few ways. First, some professional associations and clubs offer a mentoring service as a part of their membership. They will do the matching and will help you start the process. If you are a part of a professional club, alumni association, or anything of the sort, then consider signing up for this service and let them help you to arrange a mentor.

The second way is to seek out a mentor from your network. Now it is true that mentoring relationships can happen naturally, but most times you will have to search for one. Mentors can be managers, more senior people in your organization, or people in your network. Once you have decided who you would like to be your mentor you can simply ask them, or you can let the mentoring relationship grow naturally by building a collaborative relationship through sharing experiences and thoughts. Just be sure that you have gotten to know the person well enough and built enough trust before you ask for the mentoring relationship.

Mentoring is an invaluable experience that all professionals should have when making career changes, especially in the early stages of their careers. Determining what you want from the relationship, along with what the other person is looking for are both important. Remember to keep the relationship simple and collaborative, and you could build a lifelong relationship.