Outside help: Great mentors come from all places

While numerous companies offer mentoring programs through their HR departments, usually to pair willing mentors with younger or new employees, it’s not for everyone. Literally. In some cases, mentors are coupled with employees that the company considers future leaders. So what if you don’t get the mentor invitation? What if you’re left out of the latest group of the best and the brightest? Does that mean you’re destined for a life of grunt work? Are you even good at your job?

Well, don’t get too down on yourself, for starters. Potential is pretty hard to evaluate so your exclusion from a mentor program may be based on nothing more than who you know, says Edward Black, a career coach in Austin, Texas.

“That’s the reality for many people but it shouldn’t be a deterrent,” Black says. “A company may identify its crop of mentees based on where they went to school or who helped them get the

job. Don’t take it personally if you’re not chosen for a program. Instead, take matters into your own hands and get started on your own plan.”

Search party

In some ways, the lack of an invitation to participate in a company-sponsored mentoring program — or the lack of one — can free up potential mentees to work with something of their own choosing. “That’s the beauty of being on the outside looking in because if you’re on the

outside, you’ll have access to a lot more mentors,” Black says.

Jackie Kelly, an executive coach in Pullman, Washington, recommends using your own personal network to find a good mentor or your extended network on sites like LinkedIn. “A good mentor doesn’t have to be in the building. He or she can be across the city or across the country,” Kelly says. “The key is communication. If you speak to someone

on a bi-weekly basis, it doesn’t matter where you are. You’re sharing something much more important than proximity, which is information.”

Still, that isn’t to say an unofficial mentor should be chosen or treated lightly.

Lucy Lloyd, CEO of mentoring software firm Mentorloop, believes that effective

mentoring is a long-term endeavor for

all involved parties. “Good mentoring doesn’t just happen; it requires conscious

effort and commitment on the part of a program coordinator, the mentor and the mentee,” she wrote on the RecruitLoop blog. “In fact, the best mentor programs involve initial goal-setting, frequent communication and a desire on the behalf of the mentee and mentor to learn and connect.”

Plan accordingly

Jesus Bravo, clinical assistant professor of management at the Carson

College of Business at Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, says the right mentor can help you in numerous ways. “Consider finding mentors that can give you valuable career information, expand your social networks and help with honing professional skills,” Bravo says.

To maximize mentor relationships, Bravo says the mentee should have clear expectations about what he or she wants out of the relationship. “Lay out specific goals for your current work and future aspirations, then choose multiple mentors that align with those goals,” Bravo says. “Internal mentors can help with organizational issues and opportunities while external mentors can offer insights into larger career issues.”

Unique opportunities

Kelly suggests looking for mentors who can give you solid career advice, even if they aren’t in your specific field. “I think it’s important to expand the mindset when it comes to mentors,” she says. “Instead of just focusing on

someone who is in a senior position that’s similar to your own, branch out and find someone who is respected for their accomplishments, their creativity and their ethics, regardless of their field.”

Bravo agrees, suggesting that mentors who work in areas other than your current field can help expand your professional network and provide opportunities for you to gain first-hand experience in a new field of interest. “Goal setting, career planning and role modeling are all ways that mentorships can help open your mind to new opportunities and experiences you may

have not otherwise considered,” he says.