Get support for career and personal goals
Having mentors can enrich your life, both personally and professionally, a great deal.
They can teach you new skills, give you knowledge and insights from their experience, help you develop self-confidence, give you connections, and help you reach your goals.
Mentors can be former teachers, bosses, or co-workers. They can be someone you admire in your field. They can be friends or acquaintances.
Finding mentors isn’t always easy. But a little prep work and knowledge about what you’re looking for helps. Here are some tips for finding, and working with, mentors.
Decide what skills you want to develop
A mentor can do a lot of things for you. They can help you with skills that pertain to the line of work you want to pursue, such as pointing you towards training like the Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) at NC-TEC. They can also help with what are called the “soft skills,” such as professional and interpersonal communications, writing a resumé, or public speaking.
Remember, you don’t have to limit yourself to one mentor. One can be focused on your professional field, while others may be suited to helping in terms of personal development.
Treat being mentored as a two-way street
You are beginning a professional relationship with your mentor. Treat that relationship with respect. Do not ask for a job or for their contacts in the first few meetings.
Show up on time. Take notes during meetings and conversations. If they make a suggestion, like attending a networking gathering or reading a book or article pertaining to your interests, follow their suggestion and let them know about it afterwards. A mentor appreciates knowing that they’re being heard.
You may not realize that you could have something to offer your mentor. If they are in an older generation, you can offer information about new technologies, or insights about your age group. If you are separating from the military, you can let them know about the process, and what people coming out of the military are looking for in terms of finding work in the civilian world.
Show gratitude
Your mentor is going out of their way to help and educate you to advance your life professionally and personally. You can demonstrate your thanks in many ways, including:
- a hand-written thank-you letter, detailing all the ways they helped you and how much the relationship has meant to you
- a small, personal gift that doesn’t have to be expensive, like a gift card to a favorite restaurant
- writing a recommendation on their LinkedIn profile
The experts who teach you at NC-TEC will provide mentoring and guidance that can help you get a leg up on starting your career in propane. Contact us to learn more about our Certified Employee Training Program!