Whom should you look upon as MENTOR ?

Mentor is a person who shares wisdom and impart knowledge to someone who is less experienced. The term has been adopted in english from Greek Mythology.

As per the Greek Mythology, Mentor  was friend of Odysseus and in charge of his son, Telemachus. When odysseus left for the trojan war, Athena, goddess of wisdom in the disguise of Mentor encouraged Telemachus to stand up against the suitors and to find out about his father.

Many times, pressures and stress of corporate life, puts one in situation which is beyond one’s control.  At such moments of dilemmas, we would love to have a mentor, who can actually encourage us and provide practical guidance / plan to follow.

Though few companies in India, have started with formal mentorship program, still it requires better efforts towards effective implementation of the same.

But what should you do, if your company doesn’t offer formal mentorship program. What kind of a person you can approach to as a mentee or protégé to get the required advice. Who would be the best person to help you out as a mentor. How to find right mentor to answers to my queries or issues?

Frankly speaking, its difficult to choose your own mentor. But still, I would like to discuss few things here which may help you in your search for right mentor, who guide and provide you practical advice about your professional life.

Short term career planning:

First and foremost, decide what is your short term career plan. Where do you see yourself two years down the line. Decision can be in terms of organisation, position, role, salary or anything else. Once decided, try to find people who are already on that position or working in that particular role and if possible people who have grown from the position which is similar to you in present. If this person has gone through similar situations as you are currently going through, he/she will be able to understand you better and will be able to provide you correct and effective guidance tips.

Your relationship with this person can be more casual. He / she can be someone with whom you can go for a coffee or dinner. You should be comfortable enough to discuss questions and different ways to approach the various issues troubling you.

Long term career path:

I am sure, like me, you also must be wondering sometimes, what should you do with your career. Should you just change a job, or is it a career change that would help you in reaching your goals. Should you do some course or certification which may help you in the longer run or do you need more hands on experience in any particular trade to promote your career. These may be few strategic decisions which can steer your career in right direction. To help you in guiding and advising on such critical issues, you need someone more experienced who understand the industry and corporate culture pretty well.  This kind of mentor, may change throughout your career and may be more than one person as well.

Relationship with this kind of mentor grows gradually.This person may be your college professor or ex boss who understands you, your aspirations and can help you in sidestepping your weaknesses and working on your strengths.

There may be lot of people in your whole career whom you can turn to for advice or guidance but its always better to identify few key mentors who can ensure that you continue on the right path in smooth manner towards your career goals.