Mentoring!

The definition of MENTORING (in my opinion):

Mentoring is the conscious effort of an individual to build a relationship with another person with the intent of providing various levels of advice, support and leadership that will enable the mentee to become a better person in all facets of his/her life.

What does that definition mean? There are different ways to become a mentor and/or mentee - sometimes we specifically seek and desire a mentor and other times a natural connection is apparent and the relationship develops into a mentor/mentee situation. Either way, having a mentor is just as important as networking or volunteering! In my experiences, the 3 keys to success are NETWORKING, VOLUNTEERING, and MENTORING (having and being a mentor)!

Do you just need 1 mentor? It is a good idea to have various types of mentors, to support us in our personal and professional lives. If you're lucky, you'll find one person that can mentor you in both arenas.

How do you find a mentor? Career Mentors: Seek out someone that is well established in his/her profession and research them, find out their success story. Find someone that has reached the level of success that you aspire to achieve and/or has experience in your area of interest. Try to make a connection, whether it be in person or over the computer - don't be intimated! Once you find your STAR SUSPECT, contact the person! Advice: be personable, excited and well-versed on who you are speaking with. Point to remember, people love to talk about themselves, so when you finally get your chance to speak with your potential mentor, have an attitude like what can I do for you, not what you can do for me! Humility will take you far! After your initial meeting, continue the contact by sending a thank you note and further along the relationship by continuing to reach out without being overbearing. Only after you feel comfortable enough to ask, do you mention the magic question...WILL YOU BE MY MENTOR?

I have a mentor, now what?! Once you have successfully secured a mentor (by the way, congratulations!), don't start to slack off. Continue to work hard and show your mentor that you are worth the effort and they should take pride in the fact that you are their mentee. It is YOUR duty to ensure that your mentor doesn't forget about you. So how do you make sure this doesn't happen?! Be sure to send cards, emails, offer to take him/her out for dinner or drinks, blah blah blah...you get the point. Basically, you have to work twice as hard to prove you're worthy (this is worst case scenario). If you have a mentor/friend relationship, then the constant contact will be more casual and natural but either way, don't let a good mentor slip through your hands because of laziness!

What do you need a mentor for? Mentors provide advice, gives you real life stories that can be applicable to your life or aspirations, a listening ear, support, the willingness to let you name drop (aghh the power of name dropping!) - basically you have to decide what you want from your mentor and go after it!

Get a mentor, Have a mentor, Be a mentor!