Finding Mentors in the Workplace
By Eve Cai
Realizing during my senior year in high school that my initial and only plan of being an accountant was not going to work out, I suddenly drew blank as I tried to envision my future. Hence, when the college applications season came, I intentionally applied for management programs without a very specific set of disciplines, which would allow me a broader range of future career options. Throughout college, I was under the naive assumption that as I go through different experiences (e.g. academics, orgs, internships, etc.), my desired path would naturally become clear to me. Four years into college, and I am still at a loss (and that's okay!). However, in hindsight, I realized that more than just looking out for experiences, finding role models and mentors in the midst of these experiences could have greatly helped me in my journey of figuring out my path.
What is a Mentor?
Whether it be an industry professional, a former boss, or simply a trusted voice of reason, a mentor is essentially someone who has the experience and can serve as your guide and personal cheerleader in navigating the areas in which you wish to achieve further development. They are there to not only answer questions and offer advice but also challenge the comfort zones of their mentees in hopes of bringing them to their full potential. Oftentimes, the main thing holding us back can be our own fears, and being under the guidance of someone more experienced or knowledgeable can help us overcome that.
How to Find the Right Mentor For You?
As I was (still am) at a loss in terms of my professional development, it felt like anyone more experienced than I could have been my mentor. At one point, I was clinging on to any career advice I could get, regardless of whether or not it was in line with my personal context. While having a certain kind of openness is not a bad thing, being more intentional in finding a mentor that is the right fit for you could make the mentorship that much more value-adding and meaningful.
Know Your Goals. Just like in any other relationship, assessing whether or not the relationship would work involves an understanding of oneself first, and mentorship is certainly no different. It can be as specific as learning a certain skill or as open as narrowing down career options. Lacking self-reflection, I heeded the advice of people who did not actually share or understood the goals that I had, even if it meant going against what I believed about myself. Consequently, this inevitably left me feeling frustrated at times.
Be open to different perspectives. While it's good to have a clear career path in mind, there also needs to be space for growth. As such, Vicki Salemi of job-search platform Monster advises that it is good to turn to people who are not exactly under the same department you are in, but nevertheless, in a related one (D'Angelo, 2020). This is especially relevant when taking into consideration the idea that a mentor is there to expand your horizons and provide a grander perspective. In my case, I saw one of my previous bosses as a mentor while still working under them. Being my current supervisor, they were naturally inclined to push me towards continuing to grow in the kind of work I was doing for them. Having one's current superior as a mentor can definitely work for some, but looking for one elsewhere is also worth considering.
Reach out. Once you narrow down a potential mentor, it's now time to reach out. According to a Harvard Business Review study, while 76% of people believe in the importance of mentorship, only 37% of them actually have one (Phan, 2021). A big contributor to this is not being able to reach out in the first place. However, reaching out can simply be through talking more with the superior or colleague that you would like to learn from about a project they are working on and letting the relationship develop organically from there. Formal efforts are also not unheard of, where the mentee emails their potential mentor how they see them as such and if they would be free to have conversations or meet about it.
How to Build the Mentor-Mentee Relationship
Align with your mentor. Understanding more about where you're coming from would help them navigate the mentorship better. For instance, my former internship boss turned mentor initially advised me to explore different companies and experiences to build my resume. However, upon explaining that I already saw potential in a certain company to fulfill some of my career objectives, she then shifted her feedback as to how I can continue developing myself so that I am able to present myself as an attractive hire for that company when the time comes.
Set time for them. While this may seem intuitive, it's also easy to get carried away by the daily flow of things and set of responsibilities. As mentors are typically the more experienced ones in the mentor-mentee relationship, they may be facing more hectic schedules, and hence, the burden of initiating meet-ups and conversations would fall on the mentee. In my case, while my former boss has emphasized that I can approach her anytime I had career-related questions, her lack of initiation made me think she was too busy. I soon realized that while she indeed was busy, it did not mean that she had no time for me. It simply meant that checking up on me was not always going to be at the top of her mind, so it was up to me to initiate things. Nevertheless, it's always important to be sensitive to the schedules of your mentor and make it as convenient as possible for them.
Show appreciation. While mentors will not usually explicitly expect anything in return, they also have their own personal and professional lives but are still choosing to invest in you. At the very least, showing one's appreciation for their time and effort could encourage continued engagement from their side. With regards to my mentor who was advising me about my career, I would update her whenever I had a new realization or epiphany to show her that I do take her feedback to heart. Little things like these can help make the relationship more personal and lessen the likelihood of both of you drifting away due to busy schedules.
Whether you are a college student, starting out your career, or a seasoned member of the workforce, there's never a wrong time to look for a mentor. Like in most situations, it's always good to remain proactive, and having a mentor is one way to do that in the area of professional development. While experience can teach you a lot, try to also look around your circle in the workplace and see who you can look up to for guidance.
Sources:
D'Angelo, M. (2020, December 23). How to Find a Mentor. Business News Daily. Retrieved from https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6248-how-to-find-mentor.html
Phan, J. (2021, March 10). What’s the Right Way to Find a Mentor?. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2021/03/whats-the-right-way-to-find-a-mentor
