I am a big believer that someone who takes mentorship seriously whether as a receiver of such mentoring or as one themselves is a superior job applicant
than one who doesn’t.
Why?
Simply put, if you are a receiver of mentorship, you will make fewer of the mistakes and non-recipient will make because you have learned that figuring out things as you go along is harder than having a truusted advisor.
If you are a giver of mentorship, you are already seen in that way and your teaching has value.
I recently started to advise firms to ask about mentorship in their interview for leadership positions, in particular, and for all positions in general.
As you can see if you read the article, these are not questions you can “fake” unless you are an accomplished liar. After all, they will probe into your mentoring relationship after these two simple questions to get a sense of your character.
Also, except in rare instances, I don’t think it is possible to point to a parent as a mentor or say tat you are one to your children. Firms will see it as a “cop out” and not trust you.
Explore a mentoring relationship as a giver or recipient and you will receive the blessings of someone else’s experience and knowledge or that of giving freely of your time.
It will pay off.
© The Big Game Hunter, Inc. Asheville, NC 2013