Ad Hoc Mentorships are essential to the growth of young professionals. In a recent article on the Harvard Business Review, 75% of executives credited their success to mentors, and 90% of employees with a career mentor are happy at work (HBR). A professional mentor can help a less experienced employee in many ways:
- Career development: Mentees can learn from their mentor's experiences, improve their goal-setting skills, and increase their chances of promotion.
- Confidence: Mentees can gain increased self-confidence and self-awareness, which can help them share ideas in meetings and stand up for themselves. Mentors can also experience a boost in confidence as their mentees thrive.
- Communication: Communication skills are important for mentorship relationships, helping to set goals, provide feedback, and evaluate progress.
- Network expansion: Mentors with a large network of contacts can help mentees access new opportunities and resources.
- New perspectives: Mentees can gain new perspectives by communicating with someone who has a different point of view.
- Workplace culture: Mentoring programs can help organizations create an inclusive and positive workplace culture by matching diverse employees and supporting new team members. What if we Notre Dame-ified it? Like a sentence on the type of culture they want to cultivate.
To find a mentor, explore your network. Look around at work or online to identify people who have accomplished something that you hope to accomplish. Make a list of those to whom you may want to reach out. You may already know the perfect potential mentor! Most people seek out a mentor that they can identify with on demographical levels. While there may be some immediate benefits in this, such as a potential for quicker rapport, it is wrong to assume that you will not connect with or learn from someone who has a background unlike yours. Keep this in mind when making the list.
Asking someone to be your mentor can feel intimidating, but there is a process. Schedule an initial conversation. Clearly describe the guidance you’re seeking. Confirm your willingness to do the necessary work and follow-through. Acknowledge and respect the individual’s time. You can find more details on the steps in this article from Yale. Keep in mind that this is a professional arrangement, so if your first ask does not go through, do not take it personally. Move to another name on your list.