Thursday, May 14, 2009

mentorship

earlier this week i met with a colleague's 22 year old daughter who is struggling to figure out what to be and do when she grows up. he thought it would be good for her and i to chat about life, growing up, and educational opportunities (he also threw in that maybe i could mention how many degrees i have). we met, we had a great chat, we'll probably do it again.

then today i took a summer student out for coffee and answered her questions about our company, our department, my background, and what i wanted to be when i was a student. i gave her some work, encouraged her to me ask me about anything (which she later did - asking me how to post something out of our office, which i had no answer for!), and reassured her that she'd have a good experience in her position.

i recall many times when people took me under their wing in previous jobs and when i moved to other countries, when i showed up without a clue and a thousand questions. i know i never would have figured things out as i did without other people's help and i am now enjoying being in a position when i can share what i know with young women who are beginning their careers. i surely don't have all the answers, and never will, but i like the role of mentor and cannot imagine how i would've made it this far without them myself.

2 comments:

Sara said...

mentors are key to enjoying your job and really succeeding, in my opinion!
you always need someone who you can go to with all of the embarassing questions, like how do you post something out? or, like on my first day, where is the bathroom!
i bet you have made this girl (both girls) feel better knowing you are there to answer all of the embarassing questions.

lu said...

i answered that very question today! and the woman who asked me had no shame in her question, which i thought was awesome (i would be so shy). then again, maybe she had been waiting for someone she could ask and had to go RIGHT NOW!