Career-management relationships help bolster confidence and skill levels.
When it comes to career advancement, career counselors often suggest professional networking for making strong industry contacts that may prove helpful in career options. One step further is finding a mentor - someone willing to guide and gave advice about career development and decision making.
Back in the old days, when a career meant working for the same company for 20 or 30 years, a mentor was likely to be someone within the corporate framework - a colleague who had climbed the ladder and was willing to give a boost to the next guy in line.
However, things are quite different today, especially in the technology field. With the average IT job lasting fewer than two years, a mentor won't likely be someone you'll be working for or with for years. It's commonly someone who's not even in the same company, but having a mentor is as valuable as ever.
Do-it-yourself career management
"It used to be that the company management served as a mentor, taking care of an employee from when they stepped in the door to retirement," says Michael Reene, CEO of Third Millennium Communications, an Internet business solutions provider in Atlanta.
"It's now switched over to an individual being responsible for their career development and progression. So now professionals are really grappling with career choices and how to manage their career," explains Reene.
Today, in terms of career development, it's both who you know and what you know, that can drive a career forward, adds Reene, who's served as a mentor within his company and outside his business structure for years.
Mentoring has proved so successful, as both a personal and a business tool, that many large consulting companies have built in-house programs in which senior execs serve as mentors to incoming staff members. It's even spawned mentor organizations, such as MentorNet (www.mentornet.net), the National Electronic Industrial Mentoring Network for Women in Engineering and Science. The nonprofit initiative is sponsored through grants from the AT&T and Intel Foundations, the US Department of Education, IBM, Ford Motor Company, HP, and a slew of other corporations and agencies.
Benefits to the mentored
MentorNet pairs undergraduate and graduate women with industry mentors and creates a framework for them to pursue a yearlong mentoring relationship.
According to MentorNet, studies have shown that women students involved in mentoring relationships are more likely to persist in their fields of study, obtain increased commitment to their fields of study, and achieve increased degree attainment.
"Mentoring allows for the transmission of information about a field, bolsters self confidence and assurance for the protegee, and provides networks which are so important for the attainment of jobs and pre-professional development," says Peg Boyle Single, a mentoring specialist and associate director for MentorNet.
This year MentorNet has matched mentors to over 1200 students from 36 different colleges and universities.
Not a one-person job anymore
"The IT industry is changing so quickly that mentoring is an important aspect of keeping up with the change," says Boyle Single.
"Unlike in days gone by, when one mentor could suffice for a career, multiple mentors are much more advantageous. In addition, with the increase in IT, people can connect and mentor via email, which helps synchronize busy schedules with mentors who may not even live in the same city," she says.
While having one perfect mentor is the ideal, it's not really attainable anymore, adds Reene.
"A mentor is more a definition of a relationship than a person these days. A person can have a wide number of mentors, a circle of people for career guidance and support," he says. And while having a mentor inside the corporate structure is uniquely helpful, establishing a mentor relationship with someone outside your workplace can even be more valuable since it's likely to be more permanent, he adds.
That special someone
Finding a mentor isn't difficult, either, say the experts, since those mentored are often willing to serve in the role. A good first step is identifying someone you admire as a professional, says Boyle Single.
"IT employees, if they don't have a formal program at their company, can encourage management to start one. Or they can establish a mentoring relationship on their own. This may take a little persistence as IT professionals tend to be busy, but it's often very helpful to both individuals," she says.
"The mentors have reported that they have benefited from having an opportunity to reflect on their own careers, improve their supervisory skills, and understand what the students they are hiring are concerned about," she says.
Once a mentor and protege are connected, the next step is deciding upon a mentoring contract that dictates how often to meet and the goals for the mentoring relationship.
