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""23 things I didn't learn in college / grad school":
#13:Get a mentor. Be a mentor.
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#13:Get a mentor. Be a mentor.
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There are many models of mentors:
the mentor who walked in your shoes not long ago;
the mentor who'll share with you their mistakes so you can make new ones;
the mentor who'll listen to you and ask questions that you don't need to give them the answers to.
They're all good.
the mentor who walked in your shoes not long ago;
the mentor who'll share with you their mistakes so you can make new ones;
the mentor who'll listen to you and ask questions that you don't need to give them the answers to.
They're all good.
Mentors aren't meant to solve your problems.
A good mentor will help you identify your options.
A great mentor will help you identify your goals and frame them to optimize your potential.
Remember: 'help' is the operative word here.
A good mentor will help you identify your options.
A great mentor will help you identify your goals and frame them to optimize your potential.
Remember: 'help' is the operative word here.
The hardest thing about mentoring is to accept that your mental picture of the goals, preferences, and experiences of the mentee might not be accurate.
Consequently, a mentor should not give "advice" to the mentee; and a mentor should never project their biases to their mentees.
Consequently, a mentor should not give "advice" to the mentee; and a mentor should never project their biases to their mentees.
The hardest thing about getting a mentor is acknowledging the value of getting one.
The next hardest thing is not to let the search for a perfect mentor stop you from finding good ones.
The next hardest thing is not to let the search for a perfect mentor stop you from finding good ones.
If you can't find one great mentor, find three good ones -- individuals who are not cynical or judgmental but are willing to be open about what worked and what didn't work for them in the organization / field / at a similar stage in their career.
Always ask your mentor how to think about a situation, not what to do.
This slight change in the framing will help your mentor list your options / the criteria you could consider, and pull them away from telling you what they would do in your situation.
This slight change in the framing will help your mentor list your options / the criteria you could consider, and pull them away from telling you what they would do in your situation.
In the five stages of my post-undergraduate career, each between four and seven years, I've never sought a mentor.
Always too sure of myself. And almost always wrong, occasionally lucky.
Always too sure of myself. And almost always wrong, occasionally lucky.
With hindsight, I feel that a good mentor would've helped me avoid nearly every career mistake I made.
But then, if I didn't make those mistakes, I wouldn't be writing this thread, so maybe there's a silver lining after all
But then, if I didn't make those mistakes, I wouldn't be writing this thread, so maybe there's a silver lining after all
