Alexcross_esq Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Background: I am a middle aged man. About 5 years ago after going back for my undergrad, I transitioned from a blue collar job that I had for 15 years, to a white collar job to make use of said degree and increase my earning potential. Since being hired, I have been promoted 4 times in 5 years and things have been going generally well albeit, demanding. I have aspirations to further my career and have a 10 year plan mapped out with milestones along the way. I know that at some point along the way, the frequency of promotions will subside as I climb higher in my organization, and I am looking for ways to address that and start navigating some of the pitfalls that come with increased responsibilities in a corporate environment. My questions are: would mentorship be a viable option at my age? there appear to be programs to pair folks with willing mentors, but I wonder if a truly good connection can be made using this avenue.what are the best ways to go about getting said mentor if I decide to pursue it (i.e., should I be searching for someone internal to my org, or external). Trying to leverage the power of loveshack here as wisdom comes from many counselors. Thanks in advance for any opinions that you can share. Link to post Share on other sites
introverted1 Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 Are you an attorney? Or is the "esq" in your name not relevant to your career? Can you share the general field you are in? What do you hope to get out of mentorship? I've informally mentored people and, earlier in my career, had the benefit of a few managers who were interested in helping me grow. Formal mentoring was not a thing in my industry, although this could be changing now. Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 In my industry there is a group called Young [career]. It's open to anyone under 35 or who has been in the business less than 5 years. You may have already "aged out" in that sense but it fosters mentorships. I think the best mentorships happen organically not through pairings selected by others but it may be a place to start. You may also be able to emulate somebody whose success you admire. Make a point to get to know that person & sort of follow their coat tails. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Alexcross_esq Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, introverted1 said: Are you an attorney? Or is the "esq" in your name not relevant to your career? Can you share the general field you are in? What do you hope to get out of mentorship? I've informally mentored people and, earlier in my career, had the benefit of a few managers who were interested in helping me grow. Formal mentoring was not a thing in my industry, although this could be changing now. Hi there. No, I am not an attorney; this is just a tag name for LS. Generally speaking, I work for a defense contractor. I'd like to work with a mentor in order to help me make more informed decisions as I climb the ladder and responsibilities increase. I've observed some folks have their careers stall in my relatively short time, and I'd like to make some proactive moves to mitigate that risk. I guess your third bullet is the crux of things for me. I am early in this career, but not early career as it were for my age. A lot of the formal setups are geared towards younger professionals. I would welcome an informal arrangement and likely prefer that over something formal as an informal arrangement suggests the mentor has a genuine interest in the 'mentee' and is not necessarily just ticking a box. Edited March 13, 2021 by Alexcross_esq Saw another question that I hadn't addressed Link to post Share on other sites
Author Alexcross_esq Posted March 13, 2021 Author Share Posted March 13, 2021 2 hours ago, d0nnivain said: In my industry there is a group called Young [career]. It's open to anyone under 35 or who has been in the business less than 5 years. You may have already "aged out" in that sense but it fosters mentorships. I think the best mentorships happen organically not through pairings selected by others but it may be a place to start. You may also be able to emulate somebody whose success you admire. Make a point to get to know that person & sort of follow their coat tails. You've hit the nail on the head with respect to aging out. Intuitively, your suggestion about organic mentorships resonates. Some of the folks whose career I admire travel in a bit of a different atmosphere if that makes sense, so I wonder about accessibility, particularly with this transition to a more remote work model due to COVID. Any ideas on trying to strike up some potential relationships with folks thats are a few levels above? Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 When the world was open I would have had plenty of ideas. I'm still navigating this virtual world myself. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
introverted1 Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 58 minutes ago, Alexcross_esq said: You've hit the nail on the head with respect to aging out. Intuitively, your suggestion about organic mentorships resonates. Some of the folks whose career I admire travel in a bit of a different atmosphere if that makes sense, so I wonder about accessibility, particularly with this transition to a more remote work model due to COVID. Any ideas on trying to strike up some potential relationships with folks thats are a few levels above? Are you in the US? If so, there are often Meetup groups that are geared to a particular industry/role. There may be professional organizations, too. Things may be virtual for now but that won't always be the case. Are you leveraging LinkedIn and joining relevant groups there? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Ruby Slippers Posted March 13, 2021 Share Posted March 13, 2021 You're never too old to have mentors. I've formally sought out a few, and I mentor and have been mentored through several organic connections. In my experience, once you start focusing on needing and wanting guidance, somehow you take the right steps and a good guide always appears. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." Link to post Share on other sites
Author Alexcross_esq Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 9 hours ago, introverted1 said: Are you in the US? If so, there are often Meetup groups that are geared to a particular industry/role. There may be professional organizations, too. Things may be virtual for now but that won't always be the case. Are you leveraging LinkedIn and joining relevant groups there? Yes, I am in the US. Meetups may be an option. I suspect that I haven't looked into them yet as I've limited my scope to people within my organization, but writing this out, I'm not sure that the limited scope needs to be a part of my criteria. A quick Google search yielded a couple of options already. I do have a presence on LinkedIn, but could likely get more traction there. Thanks for the suggestions. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Alexcross_esq Posted March 14, 2021 Author Share Posted March 14, 2021 9 hours ago, Ruby Slippers said: You're never too old to have mentors. I've formally sought out a few, and I mentor and have been mentored through several organic connections. In my experience, once you start focusing on needing and wanting guidance, somehow you take the right steps and a good guide always appears. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said: "When the student is ready, the teacher appears." RS, of course you're right. I will admit that there's a bit of ego at play with humbling myself at my age, but in retrospect, that's just silly. Thanks for sharing. Question - can you share a bit of detail about how you formally and informally went about your processes of both mentoring and being mentored? Link to post Share on other sites
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