Having a mentor is like watching a good trailer to the upcoming movie of your life and could increase the probability of its becoming a blockbuster. Nyahra.

In addition to having coaches all of my coaching life, I have always found it useful to have a mentor and to pay it forward by mentoring younger people.

Unlike coaches, mentors have free reign to give you advice, to literally tell you what to do, and since you dont pay them you are getting a gold mine of wisdom for free. The mentor/mentee relationship can sometimes mimic a paternal or maternal relationship and so some scolding may also be involved when mentees go off on a frolic of their own.

That being said, it is all done in the spirit of tough love.

Finding a mentor

I recommend that every young professional or career rookie seek a mentor. The operative word is seek. Your job is to examine your strengths and limitations, career vision, goals and values and try to find a mentor who is willing to help you along your career path. You should select someone whose character you emulate.

It is advantageous to find a mentor within your own career but someone within the industry or in a related field will be just a beneficial. In addition,

I like to recommend that young professionals seek out mentors who have also had several careers and business experiences, with varied interests and having travelled.

This is important since one of the enduring and critical attributes for success is being able to step outside your comfort zone and engage several types of people while coping with unfamiliar environments and circumstances.

Your next task is to get the mentor to say yes to you. There are three popular ways to achieve this.

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COACHING LIFE: Why should I have a mentor?