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Mentorship May 24, 2019
Everything changes when you find a mentor who can help you grow.
Mentors go by many names. As children, our parents and siblings, guide us as we learn to speak, walk, and function in a world much bigger than ourselves. In school, we call them teachers and classmates, those who guide us through everyday challenges and pressures. When our career begins, a mentor who can help you grow is just as vital. Studies even show that that mentored employees receive higher compensation and more promotions.
When it comes time to build a career, we can often feel stranded. The truth is, now it’s up to you to seek out the guidance you need. But, how do you find a mentor who can help you grow?
As always, the first step is making a plan. Maybe you don’t have your dream job right now, but recognize that the right path and guidance can take you there. Look for people with careers you aspire to have one day and learn from their journey.
Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “if you don’t ask, the answer is always no.” Well, the same goes for finding a mentor. Throughout childhood and adolescence, lots of people advise and guide us without our asking. And while this unsolicited advice used to seem annoying (@mom), you really don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
Networking can be awkward and asking for help can feel desperate, but it’s not. No powerful person got where they are today without guidance. So suck up your pride and summon the courage to make *polite* calls and emails to those you’d like to learn from. You have nothing to lose.
Now that you’ve found a potential mentor who can help you grow, it’s time to set your expectations. You probably chose powerful people with busy schedules. Recognize that they can’t spend all of their time guiding people like you, otherwise they probably wouldn’t have the thriving career that they have!
Once contacted, be patient and work around their schedule. The easier you make it to be mentored, the more likely you are to form a lasting mentorship.
So go forth and start your career by recognizing the power of guidance. You’ll be amazed at the difference it makes to have a mentor who can help you grow.
For answers to tough questions like this one, check out #millenialtalk, where ENTITY Mag and career expert Chelsea Krost recently teamed up to show you, “How to Empower NextGen Female Leaders.”
