Que faites-vous si vous ne savez pas comment choisir un mentor pour le développement de carrière dans le mentorat ?

Four things to decide before embarking on your search for a mentor: 1. Understand Your Learning Style: Recognize how you absorb information best to find a mentor whose mentoring approach matches your preferences. 2. Define Your Values: Reflect and clarify your core values to seek a mentor whose principles align with yours, thus fostering a harmonious partnership. 3. Assess Your Availability: Evaluate your schedule and availability to ensure you can dedicate adequate time and effort to the mentorship. Mentors would like you to stick to the schedule. 4. Gauge Your Commitment: Reflect on your commitment to personal and professional growth, as mentorship requires dedication and action on feedback.

Like anything in life, it is always recommended to perform introspection. To understand your motives and what drives you to achieve a particular goal and the subsequent value to yourself. It's very easy, in the rush of the moment, to dive headfirst without any planning or with higher expectations. It's best to acknowledge that we have flaws and gaps that need to be attended to before we start something. You won't be able to complete a marathon if you aren't mentally and physically prepared for it.

I have had mentors all through my adult life and I have always been intrigued by the fact that very few of my friends or colleagues seemed to have mentors. As I learnt to reflect on my journey and to mentor others, I realized that the starting point for mentoring is for the someone to have a destination they are clear they want to reach and a commitment to reach there. One that happens, usually one starts looking for people who have reached that destination in the past, thereby initiating a mentor-mentee relationship. It's surprising how often people get into jobs but don't set career goals, thereby depriving themselves of a destination to aim for and a mentor who can help.

Before you became a mentor, you have to have a clear idea of what you want and the expertise you wanted to share. Have a good communication skill and empathy it’s the key. Be a person who like and enjoy to mentor others. Try it in your work to mentee junior members and see it , do you see yourself in this position? Go for it.

There’s a saying in coaching - “never judge tomorrow’s version of you by today’s standards”. The purpose is that you’ve no idea what life changing event or thing you might learn today, and skills develop over time. If you make goals for 5 years time based on your capabilities today and your projected timeline to develop them, then it’s really just an educated guess. This philosophy applies here. Some self-awareness is key, however, you’re looking for a mentor for a reason! If you had all the answers and capabilities already, you perhaps wouldn’t be embarking on this journey to find a mentor. So while doing some soul searching, remember that you are judging your future based off today’s version of you and stay open minded!

Four criteria to look for in your mentor! 1. Evaluate the mentor's Feedback Style: Look for mentors who provide constructive feedback in a manner that resonates with you. 2. Consider Availability: Take into account the availability of potential mentors and ensure they have the time and capacity to dedicate to your mentorship needs. 3. Review Track Record: Examine the track record and achievements of potential mentors, including their professional accomplishments, leadership roles, and mentorship experience effectively. 4. Assess Cultural Fit: Evaluate the cultural fit between yourself and potential mentors, considering factors such as values, beliefs, and organizational culture,

Sometimes, I imagine myself preparing a meal. I jot down the ingredients I'll need, consider the myriad of tools required, plan when to start cooking, and estimate when everything should be ready. Apart from the cooking itself, there's also setting the table, cleaning dishes, and creating the right ambience to consider. Sometimes, we're capable of handling it all on our own, but other times, we may require assistance from someone experienced. The key is knowing what dish we want to prepare so we can invite the most suitable person to assist us. After all, you wouldn't want to invite someone who specializes only in desserts when you need help with cooking a hot meal.

There are numerous sites and places where you can search for assistance. I suggest approaching people directly and asking if they can help you. It's important to be specific about what you're seeking and how you approach them. Sometimes, people approach mentors seeking to drastically increase their salary within 3 to 6 months, without fully understanding the underlying motives for such a goal.

Where can you find your mentor? 1. Networking Events: Attend industry events, conferences, and seminars to connect with professionals who match your mentorship criteria. 2. Online Platforms: Utilize professional networking sites like LinkedIn to identify potential mentors who align with your goals and express interest in mentoring. 3. Alumni Networks: Leverage alumni associations from your educational institution or past workplaces 4. Professional Associations: Join industry-specific organizations to access mentorship programs and resources tailored to your field. 5. Referrals: Ask colleagues and trusted professionals for recommendations to experienced mentors.

Three things to look for before the first contact with the potential mentor. 1. Personalization: Tailor your message to the mentor's background and achievements, demonstrating genuine admiration for their specific contributions and expertise. 2. Clarity of Intent: Clearly articulate your expectations for the mentorship and what you hope to gain from the relationship, ensuring transparency and alignment of goals. 3. Professional Tone: Maintain a respectful and professional tone throughout your communication, reflecting your seriousness and commitment to establishing a meaningful mentorship.

Each of us in our career journey have changing needs and goals.. So it is very important to choose a mentor who will believe, accept and dream along with you.. Example if needing a good remuneration is the goal, then the mentee can choose a mentor who has achieved such high scaling goals and position in the recent past If instead, a person wants to pursue a passion within career path, with the idea that the passion has the ability to spin off a second career path, then the mentee needs to choose a mentor who knows how to play such transitioning roles

Be open minded too. Don't limit yourself to mentors who share your exact career path, sometimes different perspectives can offer you valuable insights and broaden your horizons

Five things to consider when evaluating a mentor-mentee fit. 1. Alignment of Goals: Assess if your mentor's goals and values align with yours. 2. Relevant Experience: Evaluate if your mentor possesses relevant experience and expertise in areas that are pertinent to your goals and needs. 3. Effective Communication: Observe if your mentor communicates effectively and listens attentively. 4. Supportive and Encouraging: Determine if your mentor is supportive, encouraging, and invested in your growth and success. 5. Commitment to Mentorship: Assess if your mentor demonstrates a genuine commitment to the mentorship, showing consistency, availability, and willingness to invest time and effort in your development.

Having the right fit is very important. This is also why as I am looking for mentee to join me in the career, I will assess their fit too. Knowing your enneagram can help your mentor knows how to mentor you so that it aligns. Also, assess as a mentee, what are the areas you need development in and whether your mentor excels in those area too

A good mentor - mentee relationship requires effort from the mentee to justify the investment being made by the mentor. Making earnest efforts based on the mentoring conversations is a good place to start. However, there is much more that can be done. Mentors are often lifelong learners and look to learn from your experience. Contributing to the mentor's work is another way in which one can strengthen the relationship.

I agree, show gratitude. A little appreciation goes a long way in nurturing a positive and professional mentor-mentee relationship .

We often take mentors for granted because mentors are often senior to us and tend to volunteer into a mentoring role. I have seen this as the greatest risk to a mentoring relationship. It is important to acknowledge the time and effort being put by the mentor and to showcase that one values it by acting on it. This not only wastes the critical opportunity to learn and grow, but also often sours the relationship. A good rule of thumb is to respond to your mentor in a manner akin to the way you would respond to a very demanding boss (even though the mentor would not demand it). It helps you to be alert and responsive and ensure that you don't take the relationship for granted.

What worked for me was choosing a mentor a couple a levels above me and thriving in a different area. That gave me an unobstructed view of my mentor's journey and fresh perspective to consider, as growing in your career become less about your hard skills and more about your soft skills with each step. Having mentors from various teams helps you to drive conclusions on what all of them - successful and acknowledged - have in common, which in turn will give you a clear overview of your growth areas and necessary communication and behavioural changes

Ten claro tu propósito, conoce diferentes Mentores, pero busca uno que tenga estos 4 factores principales: 1. Que haya trabajado en Recursos Humanos en cargos donde pudo decidir por planeación de carrera y sucesión, preferiblemente gerenciales y / o en selección y desarrollo. 2. Que sus estudios base tengan que ver con Psicología, Desarrollo de gente, coaching, mentorías, consultorías o apoyo. 3. Que tenga autoridad y reconocimiento en el uso de herramientas de empleo, ante todo en LinkedIn. Y 4. Que tengas un espacio de entrevistarte con él, donde notes que te escucha y se preocupa más por ti que por venderte un producto.