5 Must-Read Mentorship Articles You Might Have Missed

Below are five mentoring articles that I thought you’d be interested in.

Want a better job? Find a mentor: This short Reuters article by Chelsea Emery demonstrates why you need a mentor. I found this quite interesting, “One-on-one mentoring was named the second-most-effective career development program for employees below director level, after “traditional training,” according to a 2012 survey of 320 human resources professionals by talent development consulting firm Insala….Only one in five companies offer formal mentoring programs, according to a 2012 Society for Human Resources Management poll of about 550 human resources professionals.”

Where Have All the Mentors Gone?: In this Forbes online article, Steffan Postaer (@Steffan1), Executive Creative Director of gyro San Francisco shares his experience with mentoring and how it helped to shape him earlier in his career. Are mentors still relevant today? If yes, where can you find them?

Queen Bees, Mentors, and the Female Boss Problem: This short Bloomberg Businessweek article by Diane Brady (@dianebrady) covers quite a bit of ground, but the part I’m interested in is the section on mentoring. “Consultants Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman surveyed 7,280 leaders last year and found women notably better at mentoring, motivating, and driving for results (PDF).” Do you agree or disagree with the results? What have been your experiences with female mentors?

The 3 Career Mentors Everyone Should Have: Look at your short term goals, and based on that, choose a mentor who can help you to achieve your goals. The second mentor is someone who is mid to senior level in their career and will help you to get to where you’d like to go in five years. The third type of mentor is a career plan advisor who can help you with big decisions and events in your life.

7 Things I Wish I Knew Before Starting a Mentoring Program: The seven things Insala refers to in the article are: Create a well-defined plan; Define specific and relevant measurements of program success; Select mentoring program participants; Train participants; Ensure program participation is voluntary; Ensure mentee-driven partnerships in your program; and Save time, energy and company resources by using a technology solution.

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