I Believe in Informal Mentoring

Years and wisdom have pushed me to the belief of informal mentoring.

Yes, I think its important to have a mentor (several), but so many companies have these token mentoring programs that do nothing but make people feel awkward.  So after years of reflection upon this, here's some advice:

• believe in personal growth and learn what it means to take personal responsibility for your career
• approach someone who you like, and ask them to be your mentor
• friends are mentors too, don't abuse your friendships
• don't be afraid to ask a senior person to have coffee with you---for the specific purpose of asking career advice.  They will remember you for it
• always have a plan in place to get you to the next "next"

The best mentorships are the one's where you get real heartfelt advice.  Heartfelt advice is hard to get from a "forced" mentorship (although it can happen).  You won't get heartfelt advice unless you seek it, so ask for it.

Seek out menteeships where you can help others, be it a peer or a junior or a senior.  Surround yourself with people who have sunny dispositions.  And always go placidly amid the noise and haste.