How to Excel as A Mentor - Spark Hire

How to Excel as A Mentor - Spark HireWhen someone taps you to be their mentor, its both an honor and a responsibility. Your guidance and feedback can truly shape this individuals career and help them to grow both personally and professionally. If you want to become a valuable mentor, consider using these strategiesGive criticism, but position it properlyThis person has chosen you to be their mentor in hopes that you can teach them and help them to grow professionally. Simply offering praise doesnt benefit anyone in this situation. Feel free to offer honest feedback if you binnensee areas in which that person can improve, but make sure to do so in a tactful way. This feedback will be helpful, but remember that this person looks up to you, so harsh words can have a lasting negative impact.Share your own experiencesThis person respects and admires you, so theyre probably curious to hear your own tales about coming up through the ranks. Feel free to share stories that might prove relevan t to them. How did you overcome a similar challenge to what theyre facing now? How did you navigate the start of a new job? Offering your own personal stories elevates your relationship, and also helps to keep your mentee feeling inspired.Help them make other connectionsWhile having a mentor is important, this young professional will also want to work on developing a network of other connections in their chosen industry. Many times people who are new in a field struggle to do this. You can assist by taking your mentee to a networking event and helping to introduce them around so that they can start conversations with other industry professionals. This is a huge help to the person who has chosen you as their mentor, and is also a good way to continue building your own network.Remember that mentoring isnt all about time. Even if you only have 15 minutes to spend with that person that week, your words of encouragement and guidance can play a major role in shaping that young professiona ls career. Regardless of how little or how much time you have to give, your attention is hugely helpful to a person who is just getting started in your field.Image IJdema/Bigstock.com