Is career mentoring appealing? Maybe you are considering it? Have you already thought about what you are looking for? Here are some pointers to think about. Allow yourself some quality time to reflect upon them.

About you:

• What stage is your career in? Student? Early/Mid-Career/Closing-Down? Sabbatical? Gap-Year? Caregiving? Returning to work? Or others?

• What support do you need?

• How would you describe your personality, your core values & motivation?

• What is your preferred learning and feedback approach?

• What are your desired career milestones and timelines?

If securing a job is your milestone, define:  

• What is your job search status?

• What is your past, current, and desired salary?

• Which employer, sector, size, values, and responsibilities are you dreaming of?

• Your level of feeling stressed?

• How much time do you have?

• Which competencies, skills, or education and training are you lacking for a new job?

About the mentor:

• What skills, expertise, and background should your mentor have?

• How long do you want the mentorship to go on for, at what frequency?

• What are your expectations and desired outcomes from mentorship?

• How would you define the role and responsibility of your mentor?

• What else do you want to know about the mentor and the mentorship?

Where do you want to go in your professional life? I will be your career cheerleader, with a distinctive outlook to identify your blind spots and a bird´s eye view to support you in organizing what to look for in your next opportunity.

Finished school, lost your job, want to reenter after career interruption, feeling stuck and unsatisfied? I will be your partner to help you finding your own internal answers efficiently and put them into action.

I assist you in clarifying and narrowing down your unique profile and next steps. I guide you to sketch a vision of how you can communicate your strengths to the world and use them as your superpower to make your professional dreams come true.

I will make myself, my ideas, experience, the little wisdom I gained over the years and understanding available to you (read: about me). I will make time for you, and you can count on my support, especially when things are tough. Obviously, this means that I will be honest and transparent. Mentorship is most of all based upon trust.

I would not be a mentor if I were not a good and active listener. I believe this is the most fundamental approach I can take to helping you succeed. In addition to that, my analytical skills enable me to understand your concerns quickly and to come up with effective answers without beating around the bush.

I am happy to support whoever finds my help to be of value. I have not been involved in the inner circles of executives - there is only limited career advice I can provide to this group. But I certainly can help to further understand and become a better project executive, sponsor, or senior user (read here).

Should you want to work with me, the only criteria you would need to fulfill are that you

• speak English well enough (if you understand this text, you are good to go) or German

• can work online 

If this is the case, I can help you with:  

• gaining clarity, defining goals, and creating smaller steps to get there

• offering a different perspective, serving as a sounding board to test out ideas

• raising your confidence and problem-solving capabilities

• finding the right role or employer

• creating a narrative / brand to help you stand out 

• managing your career transition

• identifying measures to onboard faster on new roles

• becoming more effective in your role

• gaining visibility within your organization 

• getting a promotion

• creating a sustainable strategy to prevent burnout

• keeping you on track and accountable for achieving your goals and staying motivated

This work typically results in 

• job application strategies

• resume / online profile (e.g., LinkedIn) update or creation 

• explanation of gaps in career

• cover letter update or creation

• elevator pitch review and drafting

• interview preparation and practice 

• better understanding of “tell me about a time when” questions in behavioral interviews 

• plans for roles / career / industry transitions

• negotiating tips

Mentorships will also cultivate your leadership skills such as listening, compassion, and giving and receiving feedback as well as other soft skills such as self-awareness, adaptability, teamwork, collaboration, and verbal communication. These skills are essential for career success, and getting better at them is a nice side effect of career mentorship.

None of the above matters much until we come up with a plan of action to implement the steps you want to take. I will help you with both the planning and application of your actions and keep your motivation up. Check here if you wish to understand how this will work practically.

With your mentor’s expert guidance, you save time and energy in reaching your career goals. I am very enthusiastic to meet people with diverse backgrounds, temperaments, and styles. Some of your skills will certainly be inspirational for me, I can learn from you as well and definitely will enjoy being part of your success. Your feedback and our regular reviews of our mentorship process will help me to strengthen my superpower and continue to grow as well.

I would like you to be a mentee and partner who brings in fresh perspectives and your unique experiences to our discussions. When you share your viewpoints on different topics, you give me the chance to expand my knowledge too. 

I am not a therapist, and nor do I want to be. My focus is on your professional effectiveness and success, starting from thinking "About Me", the application and interview process, to beginning a new job and ensuring satisfaction in the long run.

There is another path you might want to follow: maybe working with a career coach instead of a mentor suits your specific situation better. Professional coaches are qualified to address self-limiting beliefs and behaviors. You might be depressed, burnt out or suffering from past issues. Addictions or toxic relationships play in the same area and need expert input to get resolved. Should that be your situation, please find somebody who can support you and has the required professional qualification from a reputable and recognized body. 

Should we come across any of these, we shall pause our mentorship until you are back on your feet. Do not worry about that, I sincerely understand.

Career coaches use their professional coaching skills and training to address your specific needs, promote your skill development and change of attitudes. They will direct and guide you as appropriate; they are very well-equipped to carry those responsibilities.

Mentor works differently. Their input aims to increase your maturity and understanding and is mainly based on their experience. Mentorship is centered around building a relationship, where you set your goal and maintain responsibility for the outcome. 

Thank you for reading this far. Is career mentorship the right thing for you? I hope I have been able to clarify this for you. Whatever you are going to do next, I do not want you to leave without at least a little bit of advice you might find helpful.

1. Maintain your goal and go at the pace that feels right for you, regardless of what others may say.

2. Preserve your inner peace.

3. Continue to self-advocate for your work.

4. Be aware of resources around you, put them to use for you.

5. Some experience is better than no experience. Do not reject work you feel is beneath you. There are always new experiences and learning opportunities waiting. Take that apprenticeship. Invest time and build your passion project.

6. 80% of the opportunities are not posted. Use LinkedIn or other online platforms to tap into the hidden job market.

7. Do things you are excited about. Be an initiative taker.

8. Apply for jobs you have disqualified yourself for, especially if you are a woman.

9. Consider free courses to improve your education or skills. There are many that can help you to get a better-paying job. 

10. Build a strong network. Start doing this before you need it.

Should you want more of this, why don´t you check the 99 Seconds Career podcast?