As part of my mid-year resolution, last year I decided to make a concerted effort to move my career and professional life along in a more positive direction. Since my company doesn't offer these sorts of career development 'perks', and being well aware that it's as much who you know as what, I decided to expand my network by actively seeking out a group of mentors.
Having solid mentoring relationships is important whether you work for yourself or for someone else, and no doubt being able to get some insight into someone else’s successful career may help in keeping sure footing on the career path.
But this begs several questions:
Who can be a mentor?
What makes a good mentor?
Should you have more than one?
Do these mentoring relationships have a lifespan?
So who can be a mentor?
Anyone you know can be a mentor: people you know, and even people you don't know... yet. Friends, colleagues, associates, parents and all of their extended networks are potential mentors. Or you can step outside of your known circle, (I'm not talking about being a stalker) and join a mentoring network to find an mentor, like I did. Finding a mentor is about asking questions - finding people who excel at what they do, what you're interested in, and reaching out to them. One of my mentors has somewhat of my dream job as a Marketing and Comms manager for a global computer company, and another is a creative director for an ad agency and has been a stylist for a popular TV show. Many people are pretty keen to pass along nuggets of wisdom from what they've learnt along the way, and are sometimes flattered to hear that you're aspiring to be like them. Mentors can be found all around.
What makes a good mentor?
Being articulate and being able to dish out criticism competently are good traits, but don't think this means your mentor will be good at delivering constructive criticism. Some mentors can be most undiplomatic. The key is that your mentor should be able to see what your strengths and attributes are, and be able to see when you're not using them to your advantage.
Another good quality is someone who can help you identify the gaps, and point you in the right direction. That's right, they can't just diagnose you as a bad communicator; remember, this is as much about self-discovery as anything else. Your mentor should be able to inspire you to feel accountable for the steps you take to make positive changes in your career, the mentor is part of your cheering section, but as a mentee, it's important for you to demonstrate your willingness to take advice to heart. If as a mentee you're not feeling like you owe it to yourself and your mentor to complete tasks and assignments, then it might be time to reevaluate that relationship.
Which leads me to whether you should have more than one mentor:
Why not, I say! Maybe the person with your dream job isn't the best public speaker, maybe the entrepreneur you idolize can't organize his life. If you're looking for direction in multiple areas of your life, why not speak to an expert in each area? There are multiple ways to overcome obstacles, and getting multiple perspectives can be really helpful.
And finally, the question of the expiration date on the mentoring relationship:
My mother always says you meet people for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. I believe this, and my mentor said to me in our very first conversation, that there's so much she can teach me, and eventually I'll outgrow her (it's all very Yoda!). I think there's some element of truth in that statement for any mentoring relationship, but the truth is, by that time, your relationship may have transitioned from mentor-mentee to more of a friendship, and perhaps you can teach each other.
Over the past few months, my experience as a mentee has been extremely valuable. I have learnt to identify things that I want, and things that I don't want out of my career. I now have some insight into breaking my goals and aspirations in to manageable steps.
Having a good group of mentors is a great way to develop rewarding professional relationships and I hope one day to help someone else on their journey.
Showing posts with label career advancement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label career advancement. Show all posts
Monday, August 3, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Reverse Engineering and You: Breaking your career steps down in to manageable chunks
A new organization can use reverse engineering look at its competitors' activities, failures and experience and use observation, research and development to identify the path to success.
Why shouldn't this process also be applicable to career advancement? If you're aiming to become a Marketing Director for a large consumer goods organisation, why not buddy up with someone already in that position (how are those face-to-face networking skills coming along?) and de-construct their career?
Maybe find a job description for your dream job or career nirvana (for now or forever) and assess the criteria -- which are already true for you? Where are the gaps? What do you need to do to make the required skills and experience part of your set? You could freelance on your own, building up a network and reputation as you go along, or you could do some short-term contracting.
Hey, if you convince a few people to mentor you, you can probably be privvy to the good, the bad, and the ugly of their career path, and you might get a little insight as to how you can evaluate your next project or career opportunity and avoid losing your footing.
Either way, each journey begins with a single step
Why shouldn't this process also be applicable to career advancement? If you're aiming to become a Marketing Director for a large consumer goods organisation, why not buddy up with someone already in that position (how are those face-to-face networking skills coming along?) and de-construct their career?
Maybe find a job description for your dream job or career nirvana (for now or forever) and assess the criteria -- which are already true for you? Where are the gaps? What do you need to do to make the required skills and experience part of your set? You could freelance on your own, building up a network and reputation as you go along, or you could do some short-term contracting.
Hey, if you convince a few people to mentor you, you can probably be privvy to the good, the bad, and the ugly of their career path, and you might get a little insight as to how you can evaluate your next project or career opportunity and avoid losing your footing.
Either way, each journey begins with a single step
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Short Commute and other Career Must-Haves
Today I had conversation numero uno with my new mentor. We've decided to make a regular fortnightly call part of my career advancement strategy. I suppose it was the 'getting-to-know-you' aspect of the relationship, which it will continue to be for the next few conversations at least.
Ms Mentor suggested, among other things, that I lay out a laundry list that I can use to identify or dismiss opportunities as part of my marketing career advancement strategy. It should be said at this stage that things have been stagnating for the past 6-9 months, but I had to sit tight until getting closer to finishing some post-graduate work. That said, it's official: the hunt is on.
But what is it I'm actually looking for? So many of us don't know, which is really silly after twenty years if schooling in one form or another. And how can you know when you've found that awesome career step if you haven't identified the things you want ahead of time? You won't know it for what is, will you?
So here's my laundry list. Yours may look a little different, but I think Ms Mentor's advice is sound: you can't recognise a good thing (career, apartment, house, husband) until you know what you're looking for.
1) Location, location, location - for me, living in the beautiful city of Sydney is great. I love the look and feel of the city, I love the vibrance. Why would I want to drive or ride a train/bus for an hour and a half to two hours each day? I'm at the stage where I'm ready, willing and able to put in the hours and the effort to move forward. If this means I'm getting home at eleven pm, fine. just don't make me go far to go home. I currently have a 40 minute round trip. I'd like my commute to stay that way or shrink.
2) Give me an organization I can believe in - I mentioned before being willing to put in the hard yards to move forward. In return, I want an organization I can get excited about and be proud of. I want the company I work for to have a reputation for doing great work, having talented people and at least giving the impression of caring about them. Is that so much to ask? I want their products to be relevant to me. That way, I can give a hundred percent and take some pride in it.
3) Show me the money, Honey - Let's be honest, money makes the world go round, right? Or does it? Money isn't everything to me right now or it would have been at the top of the list. That said, I don't want to move backwards in salary, either, though I know any company's going to want their pound of flesh for whatever they offer. I just want to know that I'm being paid fairly and competitively for what I do.
4) Travel - Do I get to? I got my first slight taste of corporate travel for my current role, and I still think it's glamour! So I want more, but this time I want to go to differenc countries. I want to see different places, work with different people, work through cultural differences and make a difference on a broader scale. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to get to travel back to North America to see the folks every so often either. I suppose this has an impact on the type of organization to some extent, too. They've got to have a global presence!
5) Let me see your flextime - What sort of flexible working arrangements does this organization have? Can I work from home if I need to? In my current role I can't, and I know that there are times that I'm sick enough not to get suited up to go in, but I would have no problems answering my e-mail and finishing other tasks from home, or on the road or anywhere else. Some people loathe the working from home because it makes it seem like you're never out of the office. I think a flexible approach focuses on outcomes, rather than putting in token facetime. Ultimately, results are more important, no?
6) Perk me up! - I'd love a chance to test out new products or services before they go to market, or get samples of cool promotions or a discount on whatever my beloved company offers. Maybe to entice me to work longer hours they offer a gym membership? Maybe an extra day of paid vacation? Or perhaps they give cool tech-gadgets like leading edge phones, laptops and other treats to make me feel they love me - or just keep tabs on me. Either way, bring on the perks!
7) Manage me, Mentor me! - Can I have a great manager, please? Someone who I get along with, who I can speak to, who knows what he or she is doing and is willing to develop me to move up, rather than hold me back?!? Can I have someone who has experience enough to give good guidance, who makes me want to emulate effective behaviours and go the extra mile for my beloved organization?
There you have it: My list of what I want in my next role - mentoring assignment 1 complete! Maybe I sound like a whiny child saying "I want, I want". I figure, if I put it out in the universe, maybe there's a better chance of me finding them or at the very least sticking to this list as a set of benchmarks for what I'm willing to accept. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and surely as my priorities change, so will my role requirements. I wonder if there's anything I didn't consider? I'm sure there is, and I'd love to hear comments or feedback.
Ms Mentor suggested, among other things, that I lay out a laundry list that I can use to identify or dismiss opportunities as part of my marketing career advancement strategy. It should be said at this stage that things have been stagnating for the past 6-9 months, but I had to sit tight until getting closer to finishing some post-graduate work. That said, it's official: the hunt is on.
But what is it I'm actually looking for? So many of us don't know, which is really silly after twenty years if schooling in one form or another. And how can you know when you've found that awesome career step if you haven't identified the things you want ahead of time? You won't know it for what is, will you?
So here's my laundry list. Yours may look a little different, but I think Ms Mentor's advice is sound: you can't recognise a good thing (career, apartment, house, husband) until you know what you're looking for.
1) Location, location, location - for me, living in the beautiful city of Sydney is great. I love the look and feel of the city, I love the vibrance. Why would I want to drive or ride a train/bus for an hour and a half to two hours each day? I'm at the stage where I'm ready, willing and able to put in the hours and the effort to move forward. If this means I'm getting home at eleven pm, fine. just don't make me go far to go home. I currently have a 40 minute round trip. I'd like my commute to stay that way or shrink.
2) Give me an organization I can believe in - I mentioned before being willing to put in the hard yards to move forward. In return, I want an organization I can get excited about and be proud of. I want the company I work for to have a reputation for doing great work, having talented people and at least giving the impression of caring about them. Is that so much to ask? I want their products to be relevant to me. That way, I can give a hundred percent and take some pride in it.
3) Show me the money, Honey - Let's be honest, money makes the world go round, right? Or does it? Money isn't everything to me right now or it would have been at the top of the list. That said, I don't want to move backwards in salary, either, though I know any company's going to want their pound of flesh for whatever they offer. I just want to know that I'm being paid fairly and competitively for what I do.
4) Travel - Do I get to? I got my first slight taste of corporate travel for my current role, and I still think it's glamour! So I want more, but this time I want to go to differenc countries. I want to see different places, work with different people, work through cultural differences and make a difference on a broader scale. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to get to travel back to North America to see the folks every so often either. I suppose this has an impact on the type of organization to some extent, too. They've got to have a global presence!
5) Let me see your flextime - What sort of flexible working arrangements does this organization have? Can I work from home if I need to? In my current role I can't, and I know that there are times that I'm sick enough not to get suited up to go in, but I would have no problems answering my e-mail and finishing other tasks from home, or on the road or anywhere else. Some people loathe the working from home because it makes it seem like you're never out of the office. I think a flexible approach focuses on outcomes, rather than putting in token facetime. Ultimately, results are more important, no?
6) Perk me up! - I'd love a chance to test out new products or services before they go to market, or get samples of cool promotions or a discount on whatever my beloved company offers. Maybe to entice me to work longer hours they offer a gym membership? Maybe an extra day of paid vacation? Or perhaps they give cool tech-gadgets like leading edge phones, laptops and other treats to make me feel they love me - or just keep tabs on me. Either way, bring on the perks!
7) Manage me, Mentor me! - Can I have a great manager, please? Someone who I get along with, who I can speak to, who knows what he or she is doing and is willing to develop me to move up, rather than hold me back?!? Can I have someone who has experience enough to give good guidance, who makes me want to emulate effective behaviours and go the extra mile for my beloved organization?
There you have it: My list of what I want in my next role - mentoring assignment 1 complete! Maybe I sound like a whiny child saying "I want, I want". I figure, if I put it out in the universe, maybe there's a better chance of me finding them or at the very least sticking to this list as a set of benchmarks for what I'm willing to accept. This is by no means an exhaustive list, and surely as my priorities change, so will my role requirements. I wonder if there's anything I didn't consider? I'm sure there is, and I'd love to hear comments or feedback.
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