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The case for Career Mentoring
What do I want out of it?
A number of phases in my life involved meeting people to help me think and set things right. And this phase of life — a little more hurried, patience spent. A lot of ‘busy-ness’ and stuck in endless meetings with so little done. While in phases of structured education, the figure of expert authority is always within reach and pretty much planned for, adulting is messier. The reality I am often reminded of, even by a recent boss, is that ultimately we are in the drivers’ seat of our own careers and few will ever look out for your long-term career in mind.
How should one ‘grow’ a career? Beyond farming technical skills in that particular domain (courses, projects or otherwise), there is a good deal of meeting with people and finding the right opportunities to demonstrate those skills. Some are blessed to meet with people in their immediate vicinity/ workspace. Others who are not as lucky may turn to other structures to find mentors.
Personally, I offered mentorship on ADPlist in product management and also started a mini-initiative by the same vein in my current workspace. Regardless of the controversy, I believe generally people do have a positive experience on the platform and can find highly skilled people to point them in the right direction. I found that ad hoc mentorship gave that breath of…
