One of the easy ways to move smoothly up the corporate ladder is to find yourself a career mentor. In fact, you don’t even have to restrict to only having one mentor. I am very fortunate to have my first mentor when I was 18 years old. I was in my first permanent job in the early childhood education because I love children. She told me to get out more, explore out of the industry and set my sights higher. I heeded her advice and realised that even though I love working with the little beings, I have so much more in me to give, challenge myself and gone on to try many different industries.
When you are new to the job, having a mentor would definitely help you settle in your new position. They will give you a low down on what the company is all about, what ways you can help and how you can advance.
Even if you are in the workforce for a number of years, having someone as a mentor will help you to focus on your existing goals and share valuable experiences that goes beyond what you have encountered.
However, not every senior member of the staff is “mentor material” and picking the wrong person may be detrimental to your career. The wrong “mentor” will:
- undermine your talents
- be negative around you
- refuse to listen to you
- steal your limelight or your ideas
- take all the credits
- guide you only if he or she benefits in some ways
- steer you in the wrong direction
- have a prejudice mindset
- unwilling to help you
To help you out, here are our tips on how you can find that awesome mentor to help you at your workplace.
Know what a Great Mentor should have
Every great mentor must be happy to give you some assistance in dealing with tricky situations at work. They should also help you stay motivated in the job and listen to you when you have problems.
A great mentor also gives out honest and constructive feedback that would help his or her mentees improve, as well as give them advice on how to reach their potential.
Mentors must also build their relationship with their mentees through open communication, acceptance and respect.
Know your future career goals
If you want to succeed and need a mentor to guide you, you must know what you want for your career.
While mentors can’t give you all the answers you need, giving them an idea on what you want to be in the future can help them give you the right advice you need. They will also be able to assess how much help they can offer and how to make the mentorship work.
Check the people you already met
In a workplace, there may be a person you always turn to when you have problems. This person may be your mentor even if you both don’t realize it.
Keep your relationship open since most mentorships do not really need a formal recognition from both the mentor and mentee.
If someone is already acting as a mentor for you before you considered getting a mentor, you are in luck.
Check other employees outside your team
There are times that your ideal mentor is not a part of your department. If you are a big company or group, look at other teams and departments that are related to your department and see if you can find someone who stands out.
Don’t worry if that person doesn’t have the same job position as you do. They can give you the perspective you are looking for to assess your next move.
Seek those who have the skill to be a mentor
As I stated above, not all senior staff can be a “good” mentor.
Look at your colleagues who give out good advice and feedback even if you are not asking for it. You should also be open to such criticism because it will help you improve.
Don’t be afraid to ask those on the top
Seeking training or mentorship from your company’s top brass isn’t a bad idea. They have the experience and insight your coworkers do not have, as well as ideas on how your company could grow even further.
If you see someone like that in your company, ask them. Even if they said no, at least you tried. You can ask them for recommendations in case they do say no.
Lastly…
Work is filled with challenges that you can’t easily overcome without getting guidance from a mentor you can trust. With these tips, we hope that you will be able to find that mentor that will help you advance and be the person you could look up to for guidance.
Need a career boost? Here are some articles that could help you:
12 Things You Need To Do Once In Your Career Life
Time to Kick Away those Bad Work Habits for 2019
4 Ways to Prevent Yourself from Getting Complacent at Work
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MiddleMe 
Thank you for this great post. I just love the topics you write about. I agree about having the ‘wrong’ mentor as I had a few with what I’d call ‘professional jealousy’! They’re terrified that you’re good at your job and you’ll be noticed so they try to hold you back. Which is such a shame? I loved mentoring and taught mentees everything I knew, I shared hints and tips and encouraged them to be the best the could be. After all, I wanted to teach them to do my job well when I was off on holiday or sick and when I was eventually promoted. Caz x
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Hey Caz! Happy Monday!
Yeah, some folks are just jealous that you are better than them so they will pretend and bully you in the best ways possible. These bullies usually have Low self-esteem and lazy. Which is a shame, I agree.
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Wish them divine guidance to goodness and awareness and forgive them if you can …
Help if you can while being careful …
I could tell them that they hhave great abilities to benefit from grow and evolve …
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Ahh.. these golden words comes from a heart of gold.
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Sometimes , answers are within divinely inspired and guided through both the combination of your heart and mind , or intellect plus intuition ( in-tuition means in other terms inner guidance system or inner knowing or inner instruction ) …
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Good advise on seeking out guidance.
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Thank you very much! Have a great week!
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Hope you have a gwonderful week as well.
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And if you can’t find a mentor within the company….find yourself one outside 😉
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I’ll find Patty!!
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🙂
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Nice piece of work and great articulation. Not every senior colleague can be an automatic or great mentor to follow. Some may devalue you, if don’t have strong inner belief and confidence,you will definitely make negative steps. I had to make a hard decision and keep off from him. Still out there evaluating and looking for a right mentor for me.
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Thank you, Felix! You have sum it all up!
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Very nice article, thank you for sharing, I connected on other socials as well. ☺️
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Thank you, Flavia! Have a great day!
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You too Kally 😊
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Hi Kally!
I really like your posts because I am a career oriented person. I always seek for an advice and tips on blogs and articles. I just want to share my story:
I quit my job as a highschool teacher here near my place.
At the moment, I am waiting for a full-time job for a Government sector. It’s taking a long time already. It’s 4 months waiting til now. My person contact there told me to wait still.
I know the position is sure for me. My problem is me being patient. While waiting, I am trying freelance writing job. Not all succeeded but I am hoping to be hired as content developer this November. That opportunity is a good jump-start with me. I am so excited on my career shift because finally I’ll get the chance to do what I really wanted. I am not saying that I don’t like being a teacher. I will still get the chance to teach if there is an opportunity. But, I don’t want to miss this one on being a writer/editor and be back in the publishing arena. ❤ <3<3
However, It's hard to communicate with my friends and socialize because I don't earn decently yet. Some of my colleagues in gradschool will tell me that it's better to settle with a job near my home because it's hard to deal with heavy traffic. Others see it impractical choice. What do you think, Ms. Kally? Be my mentor pls. hehe.
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Thank you for sharing your experiences with us. I really like that you take matters into your own hands and so proactive in keeping your options open. Congratulations on your career shift. You will learn a lot from all the new challenges and will grow so much more as a person. Even better when you are finally offered a teaching position because you can bring in so much more to your students. They will be lucky to have you as a teacher.
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I am not going to be a teacher in my next job. but thanks with that.
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Good teacher is really hard to find these days…
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So true, Ianus. Hard but not impossible! Welcome to MiddleMe!
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Yes, there are not so much things in this world that are 100% impossible! And, mathematically speaking, there is no 0% or 100% percent in reality…
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This I have to agree with you. Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
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