Have you regretted any decisions you’ve made before? Have you learned about new opportunities that would have helped you a lot during your years in high school, college or grad school? Or simply, you do not know much about developing your potential in your new job? You might need a good mentor!
Mentoring is a tool to support and encourage people to manage their own learning. It is an effective way of helping people to progress in their careers. It is a partnership between two people (mentor and mentee) working together, sharing similar experiences. It is a supportive relationship based on mutual trust and respect.
Fortunately, the American Chemical Society (ACS) has a lot of resources that will help you to find a good mentor. For example, if you are a high school student thinking about studying chemistry, but don’t know where to start, click here to learn more about the resources ACS has for you. On the other hand, if you are a college student getting involved with one of the ACS Student Chapters, attending National Meetings, or getting an Internship, ACS will help you to find a good mentor.
Being a mentee has many benefits. These include but are not limited to:
- Learn from the mentor’s expertise
- Receive critical feedback in key areas, such as communications, interpersonal relationships, technical abilities, and leadership skills
- Learn specific skills and knowledge that are relevant to personal goals
- Gain knowledge about the organization’s culture and unspoken rules that can be critical for success; and as a result, adapt more quickly to the organization’s culture
- Have a friendly ear with which to share frustrations, as well as successes.
Mentoring could be a great tool to support people from underrepresented backgrounds. Are you mentoring someone? Do you have a mentor?
For more details about finding a mentor, please click here!
