Nurul Islam Laskar
Mentorship is an opportunity to provide youngsters with the necessary academic and emotional support. Most of our educational institutions don’t have a platform to provide holistic mentorship to the youth. So, a mentor from outside is of great help. Choosing a mentor is one of the most important career decisions even for those youngsters who have passed out from colleges and universities, and are now entering into employment or entrepreneurship. Choosing a mentor is one of the most important career decisions one can make in life. Opinions expressed by beginners are their own. Working with a mentor can increase one’s chances at promotion by a factor of five. Still, it doesn’t mean that one should jump into the first relationship that comes across one’s path.
While choosing the right mentor, one should take time to evaluate the opportunity, one’s willingness to commit and one’s potential mentor. Choosing the right mentor is critical. One will have to do the legwork to decide if the chosen mentor is the right one. Firstly, one needs to determine exactly what one needs. What skills does one need to learn right now versus in a year from now? There are a few more points which we are going to take up in the following paragraphs.
Career development is never linear, the same mentor who can support you today may not have the skills to help you four or five years from now. That’s why you need to analyse your current development needs before your future ones. Your mentor needs to help you succeed in the present before grooming you for the future. Tackle your professional development one step at a time. Surveys have found that a 12-to-18-month timeline for a mentor and mentee relationship is often the most effective.
Weighing the mentor’s potential strengths and weaknesses is of utmost importance, especially because these relate to your style. You don’t have to bend over backwards to change your work style to accommodate someone else’s regimen. You can spend your energy in better ways. Nobody is perfect – not me, not you, and not your potential mentor. So, ask the question, “Is this person going to complement my style or clash with it?” You should look for these qualities to start with: empathy, honesty and practical communication skills, lateral thinking, and a compassionate understanding of your aims and aspirations.
Youngsters face many challenges, including academic pressure, relationship issues, parental coercion, ragging, cyber bullying – all of which affect their mental health. Unfortunately, most people are not willing to seek help because of the stigma attached as well as the lack of psychological support systems in educational institutions. One needs to get over this complex and seek the guidance of a mentor. Mentors are like hiking guides. They haven’t always experienced the same paths that you have taken, and they need not spoon feed answers to you even if they have. Instead, they need to help mentees overcome their challenges without taking the reins directly. This comes back full circle to empathy and communication skills – in the form of listening.
In all, mentors are an important part of personal and professional development. They are guides through times when people need someone who is able to point them in the right direction. Good mentors are enthusiastic people, enjoying the role they play in enabling others achieve their goals. In summing up, we may say, there are many qualities of a good mentor. While considering a mentor, we need to look for someone who is enthusiastic, a good fit, respectful of others and a respected expert in their field. This will help you get the results you want and helpfully create a beneficial relationship for both you and your chosen mentor.
