15 AGCAREERS.COM FOOD & AGRICULTURE CAREER GUIDE Regardless of what phase of your career you are in a mentor can help you throughout your career journey. WHY SHOULD YOU CONSIDER FINDING A MENTOR? As you enter your career, a mentor can be someone you lean on as you try to make decisions on your path. You may be deciding what industry sector you want to enter, what specific company to apply to, or even advice on setting off on the right foot in the industry. A mentor can help you to make connections and give you advice, sometimes they might be someone who is in the same field as you are, for example, if you are looking to get into marketing and communications and are trying to figure out the best path, finding someone in a job that you think you’d like to be in eventually could be a good person to connect with, they might have good insight as to how they got where they are and the steps you can take to get yourself there in your career. A mentor can advise from an outside perspective and help you make life choices or decisions. WHEN IS IT IMPORTANT FOR ME TO HAVE A MENTOR IN MY CAREER? Throughout your career, your mentors might shift. When you graduate from college, you might have a professor, a 4-H leader, or an FFA teacher who was influential in your life and would mentor you, helping you find that first career. Mid-career your needs in a mentor might change; you might know the path you want to take for your career but are looking for more opportunities to develop as a leader or fine-tune another skill, at that point, you might look to someone within your organization who could help give you advice about becoming a leader and growing your skillset. Or maybe you are looking for a way to volunteer and give back to your industry; perhaps they could advise you on different ways to get involved. There are many people inside and outside of the organization that you work at that you could look to be a mentor for you. Later in your career, even though you have already gained a wealth of experience, you can still learn things from others. Leaning on mentors and peers for advice can help you learn continually and grow. Perhaps as you enter those later career phases and have the knowledge to share, you could consider mentoring others to help develop young talent entering the industry and taking on a mentee of your own. WHO WOULD BE A GOOD MENTOR? Before looking for a mentor, consider those around you and in your circle who might be willing to mentor you. You might already know someone in your community, in your place of work, or at your college who could be an excellent person to ask to mentor you. If you don’t already have someone in mind who could be your mentor, some things you might want to consider in terms of what you are looking for are: 1. People in the industry you want to work in. 2. People with skills or qualities you admire and would like to have yourself someday. 3. Someone who works in a role you hope to work in eventually. 4. Someone willing to be a positive influence who has time and interest in helping you to succeed. by Katie Hunter, Talent Solutions Manager, AgCareers.com Photo by treety on Adobe Stock Finding Mentorship in Your Career Journey A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you than you see in yourself and helps bring it out of you. – Bob Proctor “ >>>
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