Mentoring is needed now more than ever
Additionally, mentoring has the potential to diminish stress and reduce burnout. It is important to take time to think in different ways to support yourself and your mentees.
The pandemic has forever changed the way people network.
While in-person conferences have been canceled for the foreseeable future because of the risks, virtual meetings have become the new networking tools. They allow interaction with speakers and attendees.
Clearly, it’s a vehicle to exchange ideas, thoughts and opinions, which can eventually lead to mentoring relationships, according to the Clinical and Translational Science Center at UC Davis Health.
Even under ideal conditions, mentoring can be challenging, said UC Davis Health’s researchers. “Whether it’s helping a junior researcher collect data or apply for a first grant, or advising a postdoctoral fellow on next steps, mentoring requires a wide and varied skill set,” they said. “Mentors help mentees to align expectations, develop obtainable goals, sort out work-life integration issues and more.”
Additionally, mentoring has the potential to diminish stress and reduce burnout. It is important to take time to think in different ways to support yourself and your mentees.
Research website Nature.com recommends following these six networking steps, which can lead to forging mutually beneficial mentoring relationships:
1. Leverage your current network: You are connected to more people than you think. Rekindle relationships with people you trained with: find out what they have been up to, which sets the stage for you to share what you have been working on. Many productive things can come from ad hoc, casual conversations. Those contacts might very well suggest a person who would find your work interesting. But you have to talk with them to reap these benefits. 2. Partner with other
institutions. To be competitive for promotion, it is crucial for you to concentrate on your national reputation. Giving talks at other institutions is a great way to develop this portion of your resume. Ask your department’s leadership to leverage their academic network and develop partnerships to facilitate invited talks. Develop a pipeline between a few institutions.
3. Reach out to authors. Did you read an article that piqued your curiosity? Do not be shy. Reach out to the author and let him know what specifically you enjoyed
about the article and why. This can lead to a dialogue and possible future collaborations.
4. Engage in professional Zoom meetings.
Virtual meetings are the new networking tools. Interact with the speakers and attendees. Let participants know if a comment they made resonated with you and why. Connect with them on social media and continue the conversation.
5. Participate in social Zooms. Zooms are not just for meetings. Participating in social Zooms, such as virtual coffee breaks, happy hours, lunch-time sessions and exercise classes, can offer otherwise unexplored opportunities to meet new and interesting people in a relaxed setting. Build on these conversations, interact by typing comments into the chat and continue the give and take of these conversations long after the Zoom concludes.
6. Keep yourself out there. Maintaining and building relationships are investments in yourself and in your organization. Understand that the process takes time and effort and that your deliberate, carefully planned strategy will help to promote your strengths and value. Start now to lay that foundation.