The Meaning of a Mentor

What exactly is a mentor anyways? Simply put, a mentor is someone who advises, guides or trains. This individual is generally more experienced and well trusted. Mentoring relationships are especially seen in regards to younger colleagues as mentees. Often times, the knowledge,

The knowledge, advice, and resources a mentor shares is dependent on the nature of and the goals of the specific mentoring relationship. A professional mentor may share with a mentee any information about their own career path, where a more personal or even spiritual mentor might provide guidance, motivation, emotional support, and role modeling.

Many people fail to find a mentor and often fail to understand the value of being mentored. This exchange proves to be beneficial to both mentors and mentees. There is commonly a misperception that you have to be a certain age or looking to go into a specific career path to be mentored but this is not the case. Many people find mentors within the early stages of their careers and years into successful careers, still maintain contact with this individuals.

A mentorship is all about give and take. As a mentee, you get to have someone in your corner showing you the ropes and affording you an advantage that they likely did not have. This in turn, will save you the stress of making avoidable mistakes, all while teaching you to navigate your respective field. As a mentor on the other hand, you get the joy of investing and pouring into individuals who may not be young in age, rather young in a field you both love.

So how do you go about finding a mentor? It is easier than you think. First and foremost, it is important to be mentored by someone who you can connect with. It would not make much sense to be mentored by someone simply because they are successful in the field you hope to work in. There are hundreds upon thousands of individuals who likely work in a similar if not identical field to your interests; therefore, finding a mentor is worth taking the time to see who is a good fit. Mentorship is not just a mentor investing in you, rather investing in the person you consider worthy of calling your mentor.

Often times, a mentorship takes place digitally with someone across the world who you met at a Conference and the chances of you actually meeting them is rare. That is completely okay. You do not have to choose a mentor based on convenience, rather connection. When you find your mentor, you will know it. From there, it is a matter of building genuine relationship with this individual and actually asking them to be your mentor once you are comfortable doing so. You can never just assume someone plays the role of your mentor because they may not have the time to mentor anyone or just might not be interested. It is always respectful to take the time to ask a prospective mentor if they would like to be your mentor. From there, the pressure is on. It is up to you to invest in this mutually beneficial relationship by taking the time to contact your mentor. This proves to help you develop personally, professionally and as a potential mentor one day.