Insights

A message to recent college graduates who are entering the workplace (and anyone else who may be interested in achieving success!):

At the start of your journey as a professional, it is likely that despite your decade and a half of classroom education, you will find yourself struggling to grasp assignments given to you, to understand requests made of you, and to recognize the direction your career is taking you. You will need more than your brains and hard work -- two elements that served you so well in the classroom – to succeed in your professional career.

As a student, you worked on your own, committing the time and effort necessary to adequately prepare for a test or complete a paper.  You generally did not seek help. The workplace is different. To be sure, working hard and being smart are essential elements in achieving success, however, the ability to work with and learn from others is equally important. By developing associations with others and leveraging their experience and knowledge, your transition from college to professional life is made easier, and that will allow you to progress quickly. Identifying a mentor early in your career – someone with whom you have a special rapport – is essential. A mentor is more than a friend and confidant. A mentor is someone you can trust and who trusts you, someone who can influence your career, someone who can show you the ropes and give you challenging and high-profile assignments, someone who is not afraid to give honest and helpful feedback on your performance, and someone who will ultimately support future promotions and provide a clear path that leads to your success. 

The special relationship with a mentor does not occur spontaneously. It requires effort on your part. You must take the steps necessary to convince an experienced professional that you are worth mentoring.  

So what are the steps required? How do you attract a mentor?  Consider the following:

• Learn to listen.

Look for opportunities to demonstrate your ability to listen.   Never interrupt others before they have completed their comments. No one wants to mentor a “know-it-all” who doesn’t appear interested in listening to advice and acting on new ideas. 

• Present yourself with assurance.

• Accept failure as easily as you accept success.

Learn from your mistakes. Have the strength to try again by carefully examining what went wrong and what you could have done differently to ensure success. Seek help from others who have more experience.

•  If someone says the race is 5 miles, be ready to run 10 miles.

You can never be too prepared. Be ready for questions. Demonstrate your commitment. No one wants to mentor someone who is not willing to make the extra effort. 

•  Experience life outside of your comfort zone.

Exposure to other lifestyles and cultures broadens your perspective and often generates new ideas. Such experience makes you a more interesting person and someone a mentor is likely to gravitate toward. When possible, travel with people other than your peers. You can learn a lot when seated next to a senior person on a long flight or car ride.

•  Work to develop a sincere, honest, and trustworthy reputation.

 In the professional world, reputation is everything. If you lose that, you lose it all.  Stand by your work, be honest and avoid playing political games. 

• Monitor your health carefully.

Health often dictates success. Pay attention to your diet and your exercise regimen. Good eating and exercise habits project both physical vibrancy and mental acuity.

• Set realistic career goals.

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