Mentors Matter

On the QT Newsletter, Mentors Matter
Attachment: Mentoring Worksheet
December 1, 2009

Did you know? Research indicates that mentored individuals perform better on the job, advance more rapidly within the organization (i.e., get promoted more quickly and earn higher salaries), and report more job and career satisfaction. Eric Schmidt, CEO Google, cited "getting a mentor" as some of the best advice he ever received. Schmidt goes on to say that because we can’t see ourselves as others see us, we need mentors to give us perspective. In addition to workplace guidance, mentors can be particularly helpful when searching for an internship or a first job out of college. Regardless of where your students are on their career journey, just beginning or experienced professionals, discussing the advantages and logistics of getting a mentor offers them positive insight and resources in challenging times.

Try this:

If you had a positive mentoring experience, share this with your students.
Ask questions about mentoring to determine what your students already know.
What is a mentor? (experienced person willing to help guide and advise)
Why is a mentor important? (provide insight, perspective, contacts)
Where could you find a mentor? (through friends, social media connections like Linked In, school alumni)

View and discuss this (one-minute) How to Find a Mentor video with Jack Canfield.
Distribute the Mentoring Worksheet and give students a few minutes to complete.
Have students work in small groups to write and practice a short mentoring pitch with each other.
As a class, make a list of how/where students can find potential mentors.

Add an Experience: Don’t let them put it off. Ask students to make a mentoring contact and set up a mentoring meeting before the next class. Suggest that they use their mentoring worksheets and contact the person(s) they would like to have as a mentor, and to draw on their “mentoring pitches” to approach possible mentors. Remind them that even if their contact declines to be their mentor, and a few will, these candidates will be flattered they were asked. Finally, you may want to offer extra credit to students who complete this assignment and share their experience with the class.

Quik Quote: Successful people turn everyone who can help them into sometime mentors. John C. Crosby, The Uncommon Individual Foundation