Finding a mentor and/or career advocate can increase the chances of career success. Mentorship is defined as the “guidance provided by a mentor, especially an experienced person in a company or educational institution.” However, the practice of effective mentoring is truly a relationship between two people rather than a one-way conversation.
Editorial note: We are interested in learning how mentors and/or career advocates have played pivotal roles in your career journey. Please nominate a mentor who displays high-quality attributes so that we may feature them on the blog. What qualities do they possess and how have they impacted your career? Send your nominations to womeninpharmacareers@gmail.com or contact us here.
Active listening: Key attribute of a high-quality mentor
One attribute of high-quality mentors is that they actively listen to their mentee. They are fully engaged in the mentee conversation, rather than being distracted while listening.
Mentors should ask open questions and keep an open mind while their mentees are talking. The goal of a mentoring conversation should not be for a mentor to pontificate advice but to listen and ask open questions, followed by more probing questions. Open-ended questions can help to guide mentees to think for themselves as they seek to resolve questions or problems.
For some mentors, it may be hard to resist the urge to talk exclusively about their own experiences or decision making. However, mentees often have experiences and decision-making processes that differ from that of the mentors.
It is important to remember that there is no “one size fits all” solution for questions. Asking questions and letting mentees formulate their own solutions allows for them to go through a decision-making process for the best personalized plan for their issue. Sometimes, there are opportunities for the mentor to learn through his/her mentee as well.
High-quality mentors as career advocates
In addition to being a good listener, high-quality mentor also have these attributes:
- enthusiasm for the role or for the field
- willingness to teach and to learn
- an open mind
- providing constructive feedback in a positive way
Many high-quality mentors can take these attributes and apply them to serve as career advocates. These mentors seek to provide or connect mentees to career opportunities for growth and learning.
Some examples of what career advocates can do include suggesting a task for a mentee to take on to develop new skill sets, forwarding a relevant conference or workshop opportunity, and helping the mentee expand his/her professional network. The career advocate/mentor may also provide an internship experience or recommend a mentee for a specific job or professional role. Moreover, some experts consider advice on salary to be part of high-quality mentoring.
In summary, career advocates go beyond the mentoring conversation by extending opportunities to the mentee.
Tips for finding a mentor
Mentor-mentee relationships are dependent on mutual understanding and a good fit. But how do you go about finding a mentor?
Oftentimes, we find high-quality mentors in informal settings. These mentors might be faculty members with similar interests. Having one mentor can lead to another. For example, the faculty mentor may introduce you to his/her former student who currently works in the pharma/biotech industry.
Social networking can be another way to find a mentor. Through LinkedIn, you may meet someone in your field in a position or a company of interest and can make contact.
Some professional and academic organizations (such as the Association for Women in Science, Women in Bio, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and University Alumni Associations) have mentor matching on a local or national level. Networking sessions at professional meetings (such as those of the American Association for Cancer Research or American Association for Immunologists) are another avenue for meeting potential mentors.
Making the most of the mentoring relationship
Mentees need to be respectful of their mentors. Check out our tips for informational interviews to help you prepare for meeting with a mentor for the first time. However, keep in mind that mentoring goes far beyond the informational interview and is an ongoing relationship that hopefully builds and develops over time.
Mentees should be curious about their mentor and be open to learning and seeing different perspectives. Mentoring relationships should be a give and take. As much as the mentor gives to the relationship, the mentee should also contribute to the relationship as well by checking in from time to time, asking questions of the mentor, and offering to buy a coffee, etc.
Eventually, the mentee should pass on the acquired knowledge to new mentees.