Updated April 21, 2023
Professional Mentor
The right professional mentor is crucial in guiding and helping an employee grow. Here are key parameters to consider when selecting a mentor: someone senior with professionalism, wisdom, and a perfect match for guiding you toward success and financial wisdom. Stay tuned for steps to discover the right mentor for your professional journey.
“A mentor is extremely important to grow your skills and enhance your career path,” says Susan Ruhl, a managing partner at OI Partners – Innovative Career Consulting in Denver.
“It doesn’t matter if the person is internal or external (to your company) as long he or she understands what your personal development goals are.”
A good mentor sets goals, provides guidance, and tracks progress toward achieving them. They will advise you on overcoming obstacles, finding solutions to problems, and discovering new challenges in your work life. A mentor will also help you learn and grow by sharing your knowledge and encouraging continuous improvement.
You love being with such a mentor and enjoy his/her company. He portrays the image of a true guru who enlightens your life and shows you the right direction and path in your career and life.
#1 Your Mentor Would be Willing to Give you Some Time to Impart Training
Your mentor is the right person to guide you throughout your professional career. He is one point of contact in an offer to clarify all your doubts and problems and help you find better and smart tools to work faster in pace with technology.
A mentor with a healthy self-image is a positive role model for you to follow. You should believe in Him in what He directs you to do. This is what true guidance is like. He should be a role model for all his colleagues in the office. A mentor should be well-known and respected by other office colleagues. This is possible if he has a good reputation with other people and colleagues in the office.
#2 Professional Mentor – He Should be a Bright and Fast Learner
An expert in a domain can impart the right skillsets to his people. He will always motivate them to strive towards excellence and never to compromise before the best quality of work. He will do quality work and ensure that he returns the same in return.
#3 He is the One Who is Honest and Open to Praise and Criticism
Your mentor is the one person who should be very adept at asking you any professional question, questioning your work, and criticizing it even if you are underperforming. A good mentor always encourages colleagues to do their best and never compromises quality. He is the one who should know where his people are lacking, and a true leader should always work in the right direction to guide his folk to never compromise on the quality of work put up.
#4 Professional Mentor – He Never Demotivates his People
A mentor should avoid demotivating colleagues through overly critical feedback, which can lead to negative consequences such as poor performance, low appraisal ratings, and job hopping. Instead, mentors should provide constructive feedback at the right time, encourage the best work from their colleagues, and create a positive work environment that fosters professional growth.
#5 Having Clear Clarity upon What you Want as the Job Roles and Responsibilities are Very Important
Write down clearly what you want, seek out customers, and the role you want to play in your career. Clarifying your goals and objectives is very important to help you find the right mentor in life. It will benefit your professional mentor goals. Also, do not restrict yourself. Demand what you want. What kind of job are you looking for? Be specific about that. Clarity of thoughts is very important, be it in any job profile. Spend time outside your professional circle. Great mentors can be found even outside your professional circle. Network and find a professional mentor, your guide to your career goals. Get going and achieve them.
Well, a perfect mentor, though difficult to find, is a complete blend of passion and dedication toward work. He is a go-getter and will always inspire you in some or the other way. But in life, you can be a great mentor to yourself. Make a list of all areas you need to work on, which you struggle through in life, or find that you are weak in those areas. Try to build your skills around your weaknesses. This will help you even to gain confidence and strengthen your weaknesses. Someone very greatly said – “You have to be clear in what you are asking for,” Julie Bauke, career strategist, president of The Bauke Group, and author of Stop Peeing on our Shoes: Avoiding the 7 Mistakes that Screw Up your Job Search. “You can’t just say, ‘I want to get to the top of this company. Can you mentor me.’”
You will have to take a stand to find out your mentor. The best mentor will always help and motivate his colleagues to achieve professional goals. He will never be demotivating. So, don’t wait. Network in your professional life and seek out your best mentor at the workplace. Searching for a mentor is like detective work if you are a new hire. Sure, the top working professionals would be the ones who would have knowledge in all areas of work. They might be your good and ideal mentors.
One generally does not reach out to the CEO until he has good relations with him or her. Ruhl says to consider the organizational culture to decide upon your mentor when selecting a mentor. If it’s an easily accessible structure, you may be able to go very high up when targeting a mentor. Still, if it’s a flat or rigid, or strict organizational structure, you may want to start by going only one level above you to search for your mentor. It’s also important to select someone who is well-admired and respected. Do not dare choose someone no one respects, he would rather frustrate you. The worst thing you could do is align yourself with someone without respect within the company.
Creating a team of mentors with different areas of expertise can provide well-rounded advice and reduce reliance on just one mentor. Setting expectations ahead of time regarding the mentorship format, such as formal meetings or informal communication, is important for a successful mentorship relationship.
When seeking a professional mentor as a new hire, it may be challenging to approach top-level executives. Instead, consider identifying respected employees within the firm. Before reaching out to a potential mentor, take the time to get to know them and determine why they are the ideal mentor for you. Be specific about what you admire in their professional expertise, such as their ability to handle work pressure or presentations. By providing specific reasons, you are more likely to receive a positive response to your mentoring request.
If you can have a group of people to mentor, it’s even better because just one person is not often enough, which is why career experts say you learn something from everyone. Creating a team of people, all experts in different fields, to get well-rounded advice and guidance. It reduces the stress on just one person and the burden on the mentors, and if it doesn’t work out with one mentor, you will have others will better guidance. For instance, will it be a formal meeting for some time each week to learn what news he can impart to you?
Well, if you are smart enough, you need to select someone to match your personality type, someone not a dumb ass but one who can train and guide you to become even smarter, wiser and do work fast and smartly. Today in the IT industry, office politics strikes in each office. Networking, meeting, professional parties, and mingling with colleagues is the key to success –it is the key to finding your most suitable mentor. Yes, networking is the ultimate key!!!
My most important mentors have been my aunt and uncle. I had dinners with them every Sunday through college, and they taught me things I use every day now in my career,” said Jenni Hogan, the most followed local female TV journalist on Twitter and Facebook in America.
