I am a product of mentorship and trust me when I say that I have enjoyed every bit of it. Many successful entrepreneurs attribute their success to mentorship, and I believe that mentorship is a tool necessary for career success. Having a great relationship with your mentors can help your career significantly and take you to the next level of your career. Also, the right mentors or networks can connect you with amazing career opportunities you might not have thought about if you did not have mentors.
However, how do you make ample use of a mentorship opportunity? How should you make mentorship work you for? I will tell you how I did, hopefully you find some nuggets in my story.
I am very aware that mentorship has its numerous benefits, it is left for you as a mentee to tap into the opportunities embedded in it. How do you invest your time and energy? Do you make out time to ask your mentors questions that are particularly necessary to your career? This was the first step I took during my mentorship journey. I understood that the relationship must be balance; give your mentors some level of energy and you would get it back in return, let them see that you are hungry for knowledge, hungry for success and they will feed you. It is important to know that mentorship requires intentionality and as a mentee, you must be thoroughly invested in it, invest with your time, energy by reaching out to your mentors.
As a mentee, you should set out clear goals, objectives and plans for every mentorship opportunity you get. Ask yourself what you would love to achieve at the end of each session.
As humans, be aware that there is always room for improvement and evolvement. Do not wait for your mentors to feed you with knowledge, search for more, meet your mentors halfway. Did you know that your mentors can also learn from you? They will be able to learn from you only when you show them that you are also capable to teach and impact. It is also important to experience newer perspective. Are you ready to start your career? You just got a new job? You are a young entrepreneur? You should have a mentor because you do not have to go through trial-and-error system before you get it right! You mentor can save you the stress, give you insights they learned through years of experience. Do not underestimate the importance of experience, and your mentors will help you avoid every pitfall before you fall into them.
Furthermore, one of the most important advantages of mentorship is the skill of evaluation. Yes, your mentors can advise you, set you on the right part, but you have the final decision to make. The art of evaluation is necessary for mentorship because it enables your critical thinking and makes you put on your thinking cap. Mentors mainly build on your reflection, they are not there to make ultimate decisions for you.
Making mentorships work for you will be one of the greatest decisions of your career. The earlier to start, the easier the journey towards success becomes.