Choosing a mentor is both very simple and very complicated. A mentor should display the qualities you are looking to improve upon yourself and maybe some you never thought you needed. While you will be learning from your mentor, you also need to remember that your mentor will learn from you. Mentoring is a symbiotic relationship-an exchange of information and skills that takes place in both directions.
Choosing my mentor proved to be surprisingly simple and extremely suited for my current lifestyle. The company that I work for has a program in place to help its employees succeed in their careers by goal setting and self evaluating. As part of this optional goal setting plan one is asked to choose a mentor within the company to meet with and with on the decided goals. My goal through this plan is to move into a position where I will be teaching courses for the region and fine tuning how training is delivered. With this goal in mind I’ve chosen our current regional trainer as me mentor, and she conveniently works at this same property.
With my mentor we will schedule meetings to discuss my goal of essentially having the same job as her and the smaller goals I have set in the meantime to help me accomplish that goal. Having also started out here as a server we share a similar background which I took into consideration when choosing her as a mentor. While I did spend seven years in cadets learning to teach and to lead, the process of doing so in a corporate structure is a bit foreign to me. My mentor will help me to understand the steps involved in moving into such a position and perhaps I will help her grow in her position by giving feedback and offering alternate solutions to problems.
Mentorship is not just something that struggling youth need to graduate high school or aspiring young workers need to climb the corporate ladder. Everyone young and old, can benefit from Not only finding a mentor but being a mentor. There is no rule saying you cannot mentor and be mentored. We all have knowledge to give and knowledge to gain.
If you are looking to find a mentor or be a mentor check out http://www.mentorcity.com
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