Harvesting Your Potential through Mentorship

Jennifer Broman

Initiating a professional mentorship can be exactly what you need to take your career to the next level.  Unfortunately, some professionals end up signing up for another class on marketing software, attending another networking mixer or putting in additional blood, sweat and tears at the office - in hopes of finding the ultimate cure for their professional life. Yet, no matter what is going on in your career, forming and developing a professional mentoring relationship can provide valuable learning opportunities to enhance your career and your personal life.  

How do I use a mentorship to my advantage? 

Mentorship can take a variety of forms depending on the goals of the individual mentee and those goals are meant to grow, adjust and change throughout the mentorship.  Before you meet with your mentor, take time to be reflective on your career and professional development to assess where you would like to improve and where you could grow.  Even looking at a previous performance review may be a good place to start - but remember, the goals of the mentorship should be directed by you, not your boss.  During your first meeting, share your hopes and goals of the relationship, so both you and your mentor can shape the direction of the mentorship to come. Also, continually take time in your mentorship to discuss these goals and adjust the relationship as necessary. 

How should I go about finding a mentor? 

For many of us, our employers will connect new employees with mentors at the beginning of their career.  But what happens if this service isn't readily available to you?  Professional mentorship is still a very valuable part of development and just because mentorship services and/or curriculum aren't provides, doesn't meant they're not valuable.  Some places to look for mentorship opportunities, include re-connecting with your alma mater's Career Center, a past co-worker or boss, professional organization, or an organization specializing in mentoring relationships. Or just tap your network and talk to business professionals you respect and ask them for a contact who would be a good mentor.

What makes the right mentor? 

The key to success in finding the right mentor is two-fold. Most importantly, your mentor should be someone that is able to help inspire insightful conversation about your current and desired career path.  Another important element is that you and your mentor are able to work together to make your desired career path a reality.  Depending on where you want to go: your mentor can be an industry expert who is looking to teach you, someone you go to for day-to-day advice, or a professional who can challenge you to pursue (or develop) a new career path. 

So now you want a mentor, right? 

Now that you've learned tips for finding and cultivating a mentorship, go out and find a mentor who can help you to learn, reflect and develop into become the business professional you've always wanted to be. 

Jennifer Broman is an Assistant Account Executive at Hunt Adkins, a full-service advertising agency in Minneapolis.  Currently, she is serving as the MN AMA Blog Content Manager.  Recently, Jennifer started a mentoring relationship to help her further develop as an advertising professional who is connected and knowledgeable about the industry.

Marketing Physical Fitness

Moray Bonneville

Physical Fitness for marketing!  What?  Just like working out to keep our bodies toned, cardio up and cholesterol low, it benefits us to flex our marketing muscles to keep our mind sharp.  By keeping up with trends and staying mindful of traditional methods we can stretch our knowledge.  Here are some suggestions to keep you mentally fit.

1. Cross Train: V-A-R-I-E-T-Y!

What I love most about marketing is variety!  It is our job as marketers to provide it.  Step out of your comfort zone and sign up for a class, seminar or web-ex to mix things up and then keep mixing things up. 

Incorporate cross training into teams to prevent “Groupthink” and prevent reaching plateaus.  A good method for this is role playing.

1. 2. Crunch Creativity: Be a kid again
   

Do we always have to think outside the box?  What about the box itself?  A box can be a fort, a race car, a robot, a castle or a boat.  It can be a boat sailing the seas with a crew looking for lost treasure – Aye Matey!

Keep a small notebook nearby for ideas or even just to doodle.  Letting your mind take a break and wander helps refresh us to let the creativity flow.

1. 3. Strength Train: Lift your talent

We all have strengths but how often do we use them?  If you are one who doesn’t get to power lift your talents, there are options to do so, volunteering with the AMA MN Chapter is an excellent way to put your fine tuned skills into motion.

Ask to volunteer at work on projects.  This can work one of two ways.  One, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate your strengths or two, learn new ones. 

Like Hans and Franz, Saturday Night Live would say, “It is time to Pump You Up!”

Moray Bonneville is a St. Mary’s University alumna.  She graduated with a double major of B.S. of Sales and Marketing and B.S. of Human Resources Management.  Her early marketing experience began at age sixteen as a samples marketer.  She participated on campaigns with MAC Cosmetics, Calvin Klein CK One and Yoplait Breast Cancer for the Cure.  Currently, she works full time as an assistant.  In her spare time she is taking classes to learn to play the guitar.

Learning Through Mentorship Opportunities

Barrie Berquist


Perhaps you are a recent college graduate trying to navigate your way through a competitive job market or land your dream job.  Maybe you are trying to take your career to the next level and are not sure how to get there.  Or maybe you just want to learn from another's experiences so you can do your job better.  Whatever your situation, you might benefit from having a mentor.


Mentoring relationships can be formed either through a formal process where a mentor and a mentee are matched based on designated criteria, or through an informal process such as a mentee simply asking someone to share their wisdom and experiences.  Either way, the mentoring relationship allows opportunities for learning and personal development that are not readily available.


Many companies offer mentoring opportunities for their employees.  My company offers a Leadership Development Program for recent graduates who are interested in entering the Retail Grocery Industry.  Each LDP associate is given a mentor with whom they meet with regularly throughout the two year program.  This mentoring relationship allows the LDP associate the opportunity to ask questions and learn more about the industry and specific roles within the company.  At the completion of the program, the LDP associates are better prepared to enter permanent positions within the company and are more likely to remain with the company long-term than those who did not have a mentor.


What about you?

• Have you ever had a mentor? Have you ever been a mentor?
• If so, how was this relationship established?  What criteria were considered when selecting a mentor? 
• What did you get out of your mentor/mentee relationship?

Barrie Berquist is a Senior Category Development Manager at Acosta Sales and Marketing.  She has been a member of the MN AMA since 2007 and is a member of the MarCom Committee where she serves as the Career Insider Blog Project Manager.  She can be reached at barrieberquist@yahoo.com.  You can follow Barrie on Twitter @BEBERQUIST. 

Using Feedback After Rejection

Barrie Berquist

You applied for the job, got past the phone interview, and persuaded your way through 1, 2, even 3+ interviews only to find out that you didn’t get the job.  Why not? Did anyone tell you why?  Probably not.  Most companies refuse to give feedback to candidates not selected for the job for fear of a lawsuit.  You most likely hear a response such as “We ended up going with a candidate with a little more experience.”  It’s true that there are still numerous extremely qualified candidates competing for the same positions you are, but is that the whole truth?  Was there something more to their decision?

I recently interviewed for a director level position at a mid-sized Minnesota company.  The hiring company had narrowed the pool down to two candidates but asked each of us to work with an independent management consulting company and partake in a series of psychological and problem solving tests to assess cultural fit and our ability to perform the job duties as required.  After 8 ½ hours of grueling computer tests, role plays, simulations, and interviews, the job offer went to the other candidate.  However, I was offered the opportunity to receive a 30 minute feedback session regarding my results.  I took it.

My feedback session began with a list of the areas where I scored high: I have a strong work ethic, I’m ambitious and driven, and I have a strong focus on customer service.  No real surprises here.  Next came the areas for development.  My consultant told me that I had strong leadership skills but not a clearly defined leadership style. He also told me that I am a perfectionist and may get hung up on unnecessary details, which may result in a very long work day. 

His statement regarding my leadership style got me thinking and I realized that although I have served in a leadership role in many different settings, I do play it by ear and may vary my style accordingly.  It made me curious about the different leadership styles that exist and I made a vow to myself to research leadership styles and find one that fits me best.  The comment that he made about me being a perfectionist was right on.  Not only does my desire for perfection result in long business hours, it caused me to run out of time on the assessments for the interview, resulting in a lower score than I would have liked.  My consultant advised me to use the “80% rule”.  He explained that it takes almost as long to get a task from 80% perfection to 90% perfection as it does to get it to 80% perfection in the first place.  Therefore, once you get it to 80%, it’s good enough.

Only a few days after this feedback, I had my first performance review with my current employer.  Although the feedback was different, I began to see some trends.  Was it hard to hear? Absolutely.  But you know what is harder to hear?  “We ended up going with another candidate.”  I can assure you that I will be taking the feedback that I received and using it to make positive changes in my current role and in preparation for my future one.

What do you think?

·       What kind of opportunities have you had to receive feedback on your skills, strengths, areas for development, etc.?

·       Have you used this feedback to help you grow and develop?  If so, how?

·       Have you referred to feedback that you have received in performance reviews during an interview?  If so, what was the result?

Barrie Berquist is a Retail Analyst on the ConAgra Foods Team at Acosta Sales and Marketing.  She has been a member of the MN AMA since 2007 and is a member of the MarCom Committee where she serves as the Career Insider Blog Project Manager.  She can be reached at barrieberquist@yahoo.com.  You can follow Barrie on Twitter @BEBERQUIST.