Why Having A Mentor Can Fast Track Your Career As A Recruiter

Everyone needs a coach. That’s what Bill Gates says anyway- but hey, what would he know about career success? Richard Branson is another hugely successful individual who credits much of his success to having the guidance of a mentor early in his career, and he continues to surround himself with mentors today.

Mentors lead, they teach, they encourage. Crucially, they point out some of the errors they made along the way, so that you don’t have to make them too. They increase your network, boost your expert knowledge, and give you a realistic view from the top of your game- which is exactly where you want to go. In short, having a mentor can fast-track your career, and make your path to success a whole lot smoother.

So, how can this apply to your career as a recruiter? How do you identify a potential mentor, and how do you get them to take you on? And how do you make sure that the arrangement works for them as well?

Steps to create a great mentoring relationship

1. Identify who in your company or field you admire professionally and would like to emulate. Remember that this can be more than one person: after all, there are probably several people in your company or field with highly admirable skills in different sectors. Also be flexible and alert to learning opportunities from all sorts of people, not just your managers- and also for those that shine at ‘soft skills’ such as negotiating, as well as those who excel at measurable performance targets.

2. Reach out to them to ask if they’ll be your mentor. You can have a fairly informal agreement to bounce ideas off someone in the office and get their feedback, or a more formal agreement where you meet to discuss your career progress once a month or quarter. Be clear as to what you are looking for so they can decide if they have the time to properly support you-the relationship will only work if they are truly keen to help.

3. Come up with a battle plan. You need to know beforehand what you want to learn. Have a list of specific questions or points ready for each time you meet-as you would a business meeting, rather than letting your conversations get sidetracked because you don’t know what you want to know. Explain to them what your goals are in this mentoring relationship so that they are clear on what you want and can tailor their advice accordingly.

4. Be open to suggestion. They got to the top for a reason. Even though I say in the point above that you should be specific about what you want to know, be open to their wisdom on other topics. You might be desperate to know about how they got promoted so you can climb the ladder quickly, but they might also be keen to tell you about how they learnt to take criticism, or how to encourage others. You might not see the connection (yet), but listen with open ears.

5. Don’t get defensive. If you don’t agree with their advice or find some of their feedback insulting, don’t react defensively. Remember that you chose this person as a mentor for a reason, so don’t dismiss their advice out of hand. However, there will probably times when you disagree on how to go about things- and that’s absolutely fine. Make it clear that you respect their opinion deeply, but are going to follow your own instinct on this particular case.

6. Find out what you can do for them in return. The most successful mentoring relationships have a good balance of give and take. You’ll probably figure out how you can help them in return as you get to know them better, but it might involve alerting them to some good candidates or resources, and supporting any social media or charity campaigns they’re involved in.

Above all, the best way to say thank you to your mentor, is to mentor someone yourself. Not only because it’s the decent thing to do after you’ve benefited from someone’s help, but also because when we teach others, we continue to learn.

Until next time,

Cheryl