Find a Career Mentor
A mentor is someone who agrees to act as a source of guidance and honest feedback for you as you complete the career planning process. Your mentor may be a professor, a parent or relative interested in your future, a former teacher who encouraged your learning, a neighbor who has known you as you have grown up, or a close friend whose opinion you respect. It can be anyone who is mature enough to be genuinely and unselfishly helpful, who has enough life experience to understand what you are trying to do, and who is willing to spend a few hours sharing his or her perspective on your efforts.
Steps
- Ask your mentor to evaluate your progress and to suggest things to think about as you continue to explore your opportunities for learning. Use these meetings to test your own thinking about the topics you will be exploring and the plans you will be making as you complete this booklet. Listen carefully to the feedback your mentor provides. If you have chosen your mentor wisely, his or her feedback will help ensure your success.
- When you approach the person you want to act as your mentor, bring along a copy of the following responsibilities. Explain that you are involved in clarifying your career and educational goals and would like to have some feedback and guidance as you do so. The primary responsibilities of a mentor are to:
- establish and maintain a level of trust and rapport that encourages you to share your career planning experience
- actively and emphatically listen to your thoughts, feelings, and concerns related to the content of this text
- review the activities you will be completing
- provide honest and thoughtful feedback related to concerns you will be sharing
- help you come up with ways to realistically test your ideas and your goals
- consider your conversations as private and confidential
- direct you to resources that may be helpful
- maintain a personal relationship while abiding by the highest professional and ethical standards
- meet with you several times as you complete the work in this booklet
- Know your responsibilities in the relationship:
- select a mentor to work with as soon as possible
- select someone you feel you can trust and who is genuinely concerned with your welfare
- arrange meetings with your mentor as you progress through the various following chapters (i.e., no "cramming" at the end of the process)
- provide your mentor with a written summary of the work you've completed and a written list of the most important issues and concerns you are dealing with (this will be facilitated by reviewing the Reality Check exercises)
- listen to the feedback provided by your mentor and to follow his or her suggestions to the degree you determine this would be helpful
- maintain the professional nature of the relationship
