#ToniTalksBS: Mentoring – Being a Mentee.
Being mentored had a huge impact on my outlook to the working world and inspired me to look for roles that appealed to my strengths. Rather than settle for roles as I have done in the past just to have regular income coming in. In part this is what inspired me to do further research in the perceptions from both mentor and mentee alike. After speaking to a range of mentees, including Cheyenne Davis Social Media Manager for over 8 years, Miranda Beckett Transformation Lead at Hestia, and Romeo Effs founder of Lumorous and Better Space member. Here are my findings
How did you find your mentor? (Medium – program, word of mouth, family member or friend)
When seeking mentorship often the delay comes in knowing where to start. The first factor to consider is what type of mentorship are you looking for. There are a variety of schemes and programmes designed for precise reasons such as Taylor Bennet Foundation who supply mentoring for BAME candidates interested in working in PR & Communications.
Another factor to consider is the values of an organization before applying such as whether they are purpose driven. A great example would be On Purpose who supply mentoring and work experience through their associate programme, working alongside purpose-led organizations whilst you learn.
Alternatively, you can find a mentor just by reaching out to your network on your LinkedIn. By creating a post expressing your interest in mentorship opening the door to recommendations. Through this you can discover organizations that cater directly to sector you currently work in such as WYMM. Who’s Your Mumma is a ‘programme for women who have at least two years' experience working in the UK advertising, marketing, and design industry.’
How long do mentorship schemes last?
Mentorships can range from six months to a year. Meeting with your mentor can range from once a month to meeting once every two weeks. These terms are either organized by the programme or together with your mentor.
Why should you find mentorship?
The mentoring experience does not always have to be through a traditional route. It could just be questions and guidance from a teacher or an employer that have left you feeling inspired encouraging you to seek out individuals you admire in their respective fields. These role models throughout your life help shape your view of the working world and your ambitions in your later life.
Seeking out mentorship can be for a range of reasons from personal to professional to financial. Commonly those looking for mentorship are embarking on progressing to the next step in their career and are unsure how to move forward. Others are in the midst of changing careers and find that bouncing ideas off a neutral party. They would be able to get an external perspective that would ask the right questions.
Recent graduates are often encouraged to join mentoring schemes and programmes to help them enter into an industry that lack representation and are struggling with barriers of entry. Mentoring offers them a kickstart to their careers whether it is just advice, work experience or a new role that will be there at the completion of the programme.
How does being mentored feel? Is it worth it?
During your mentoring experience there are memorable moments that impact your perception of your career. Our small sample supplied us with their momentous moments they would like to share. With one detailing meeting their mentor who happened to be a new social media director from a previous agency that they worked for. That moment of familiarity was pivotal to building their connection and gave them a better understanding of how their role would work from the C-suite level. (Cheyenne Davis)
Another explained how their mentor changed their views of the types of roles they considered in the future. Their mentor asked them a simple question 'do you want to be advising people on decisions, or the one making them?' (Miranda Beckett) which made them take a step back and reconsider the roles they were looking at.
Whilst another stated that prior to their mentorship, they had built up insecurities about their abilities so a conversation with their mentor about their strengths and weaknesses. By their mentor taking the time to focus on their strengths, they were able to find roles that play towards them. Offering the advice that their next role should not only be the right fit for the business but openly the right fit for you. This moment was pivotal to how they viewed the job search experience as more of an opportunity rather than a chore.
When new to the UK, for our final contributor a mentor was key to how she learnt how to navigate the working world. She made settling in easier and gave him insight into how you should conduct yourself in the corporate world. Especially when you are from an unrepresented background as a Black male. Opening doors with tips to disarm yourself of self-doubt and fear of not fitting into the work culture created in the given organization you wish to work for. (Romeo Effs)
What benefits did you find in having a mentor?
Mentoring has is often described as beneficial, but it is harder to define how, so I asked our small sample what benefits they found. Those being ‘my mentor worked as a soundboard outside of my colleagues to talk about career progression and the ‘joys’ of my role.’ (Cheyenne Davis) A common benefit, having ‘the opportunity to speak to someone who is external can really help change the way that you think about a problem.’ (Miranda Beckett)
‘A key benefit I found was outlining ways in which my current job could utilized to benefit me in my future career. By identifying gaps in my CV that could be filled, I have been able to create opportunities for myself rather than wait for them to arise for me. It was also beneficial to have someone to hold me accountable and keep working to towards my goals for the career I dream of.’ (Toni-Anne Davis)
‘In my personal life, I have had mentors who have helped me navigate difficulties in my relationships, as well as for my finances. So, I think for me mentorship has just helped me develop more holistically and help me navigate some of the hurdles. But also prevent some hurdles as they have been through it themselves before.’ (Romeo Effs)
Finally, my mentor recommended ‘lots of great articles and books to read.’ (Miranda Beckett)
Would you recommend having a mentor?
Mentorship is valuable regardless of what stage you are in your career. The relationships you gather along the way can be invaluable when looking to progress to the next stage of your career. Mentoring offers you introductions to people within their network and can help you gain clarity of your goals. As well as any pitfalls to avoid as you face new challenges. Allowing you to make more considered decisions when choosing your career paths.
Do you have a top tip and/or resources to find a mentor?
A top tip when looking for a mentor would be just like with any working relationship. A mentoring relationship can often work best when the chemistry is right, it might take a while to find a person you click with. So, do your research before making any commitment to a person or programme. Start by looking for people within your network: who do you know that is great at this for example right now we are going to market to raise funds for the business. So, who in my network has that knowledge that can then come onboard to mentor me?
If you do not find them, word of mouth amongst friends or colleagues can be extremely helpful. As the person you know may not be the person, but they have a network into which they can tap. An easy way to do this would be by using LinkedIn. Start by looking up people you respect within your industry you wish to join. Dive into work they may have published through this research you will find out whether their values align with yours before reaching out. Of course, there is always a possibility they will not respond. But you may find someone who would be willing to spend at least an hour a month just giving you some advice, especially if you are a young person.
How did having the experience of being a mentee change your approach to mentoring?
My experience as a mentee has shown me when to guide, prescribe, and pull out of an individual. I would say that I was lucky to have great mentors as they were mentoring me, I was able to pick up those skills from them. A mentor-mentee relationship should not be one sided, it should not just be the mentor constantly pouring into the mentee. The mentee should always say is there anything I can help you with, is there anything I can do for you. Give the mentor the opportunity to say no. If you can afford it and you are meeting in a coffee shop, say to the mentor, ‘I will get the coffee.’ Let them refuse it, a small gesture like this just shows your mentor that you value their time and appreciate their help.
Overall, I have learnt that both mentor and mentee play an active role in the success of the mentorship. By taking the time to in fact find a person that can fulfill those needs. The correct person would know how to probe, listen and advice you in areas of interest. The working relationship has to be catered to and nurtured to be beneficial for both parties, with opportunities to share new perspectives, ideas and develop new skillsets.
I would like to thank everyone that has contributed to my research, without you this would not exist. I have linked below to each individual that supported this blog.
Cheyenne Davis https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheyenned/
Miranda Beckett https://www.linkedin.com/in/miranda-beckett-0068a7125/
Romeo Effs: https://www.lumorus.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/romeoeffs/
Toni-Anne Davis: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toni-anne-davis-271225128/