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Your Next Career Step

By Catherine Mogavero posted 10-02-2020 11:42

  
I believe we all entered 2020 with hopes for a great, successful year. Everything seemed to be going along quite well until the middle of March and then the world came to a crashing halt! COVID-19 hit and we weren’t sure what to do next, except hibernate.


It is now six months later and we are all trying to get our lives and careers back on track. So now might be a good time to think about finding a mentor, if you do not already have one. What are the next steps?

An informative article in Business News Daily suggests there six valuable tips for building a mentor relationship.

Tip #1: Identify your goals
What do you need to learn to enhance your career and make a list of these goals.

Tip #2: How do I identify a person who would be a good mentor for me?
I am sure whether you have worked in a development office a year or five years or more, there are colleagues and individuals that you have met at conferences, meetings and educational sessions that you have been impressed with. I am sure you have thought, wow, I would like to get to know that person better.

He/she has such a good knowledge of that subject that I need to know more about. It could be planned giving, corporate & foundation relations, capital campaigns, or so many other development jobs that are out there.

Yes, just pick up the telephone or email that perspective mentor and set up an appointment so you can get to know the person better and the perspective mentor can get to know you better.

Over the many, many years I have been in development, my telephone has rung often and someone on the other end, who I did not know, wanted to set up an appointment with me to explore whether I could help them.

Honestly, I have always been willing to help a colleague and you will find that most people will be glad to oblige.

Tip #3: Follow-up
After your initial meeting, determine how often you need to meet with your mentor. It could be once a month or once every two months or when you might have another question for the mentor.

Tip #4: Be prepared
When you meet with your mentor be sure that you have followed up on any homework he/she might have asked you to do and what next steps your mentor might be able to help you with.

Tip #5: Know when it is time to move on
Only the two of you can determine when you have received all the information you need to carry out your career goal with that mentor. It might be that you may have to now find another mentor to assist with other career goals you have.

Tip #6: THANK your mentor
Remember, at some point you may be a mentor to someone else and everyone appreciates a thank-you for what they have done. By the way, in this computer age, a handwritten thank-you goes a long way.

A few weeks ago, I had lunch with a dear friend who I have known for over 20 years. We were talking about our careers and she said, “I have a successful consulting career because of YOU!”

I was shocked. She said, “Yes, you mentored me over the years and you kept telling me that I could go out on my own and do consulting. You kept encouraging me and I know it was because of your constant reinforcement of the idea I could do it on my own, that I have done it!”

You never know how you can influence another person.

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Comments

10-07-2020 10:45

Thank you for writing this and posting it. I have been casually exploring my next career move and found your blog to be the nudge I needed to reach out for support in my search. I'd love to connect if you are available.