Tuesday, 23 October 2007

How to Find A Mentor

Have you been hearing people saying that if you want to be successful in a certain field, it is important to find the right mentor in that field.

When we were kids, we looked to our parents for guidance. Similarly, a mentor at work can help ou journey to the top easier. Here's are my thoughts on how to find one:

A) Get the right mindset
A mentor is not a career fairy godmother or a babysitter. Your mentor helps you our by providing you with valuable knowledge such as sharing insights into the industry and the company (if you two happened to work in same company), and the politics involved. Armed with such information, it'll be easier for you to react appropriately when any issues arise.

B) Find the right person
Your mentor should be a person whose advice you respect. He or she must be supportive of your career goals and be willing to offer constructive criticism. It's not necessary for your mentor to be your direct boss. He or she can be someone who's more experienced. What's important is that you can communicate freely and both trust each other.

C) Set the right time
Once you have found your mentor, both of you must make the commitment to meet up regularly to assess your career. It does not have to be a weekly thing, it can even be once every two months. If your mentor is someone who works closely with you, then establish an understanding that he free to pull you aside to discuss work-elated matters whenever she sees a need to.

With the above points, i hope you can find the correct mentor to guide you towards your success. Remember not to rush into finding me thou - Find the Correct One!

Rgds
Sean

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