3 Steps to Mentor Mindset Success

We have lived by this system for years now and it has only enhanced our experiences in finding careers and successfully gaining our dream jobs. 

We believe this practise can be helpful to anyone who is starting out or early on in their career path or for someone who feels lost on their current one.

It's really important to think about what you want your journey to be. So far, you've moved through the school system, sometimes at a furious pace, and soon you will be at the end of this chapter. Now is the time to focus on your thoughts, your emotions, your values, your dreams. It's easy to fill every day with activites and media without establishing you next steps. It can be daunting to begin, there are so many options, YouTube and the internet blast information at you without any indication of how to sort your thoughts. Working out who you are and what kind of person you want to become can take time, it's not something you want to rush.

Use your community of friends and family to trial ideas with, ask them their opinions and clarify what skills others see in you that maybe you don't see myself.

To me a mentor is anyone who is aware of you as a person and can give you an insight into any subject that they are more specialised in than you are. Put simply:

Anyone you know who might have more information on an area you want to discover more about.

So if we all need mentors, how do we find them?

The best mentors to start with are the ones already surrounding you: your parents, your teachers, your siblings, your friends, parent's friends, sports coaches, dance captains, the list goes on. 

It's so important to ask questions and find answers when the ideas start becoming potential options!

The more you connect with people and find your way the easier it becomes to look for opportunities and seek out positive individuals who have your best interests at heart. You'll be amazed once you start working with mentors how many people you know, and how many people they know. 

Once you've exhausted all the answers that your local community and family have, you have the foundations. You might have some experience by now, a better picture of what and where you want to go, reasons you are well suited to it and how you think you'll succeed. 

Take ownership of your future. Never be scared to be seen as uneducated in a particular subject, learning is what life is about. 

It's equally important to work out what items lead in directions you don't want to continue. The more information the better, the more people you find to discuss each item the broader your knowledge will become. 

Make a list of things you think you need to learn more about. Write this list on your phone, in a notebook or in your head. The longer the list the better. Now take each item and think of a person in your life who could potentially have more information than you on this topic, or may have an insight about you that will help with this item. Do this for them all, if you can't think of anyone, that's ok for now. 

That's your action plan, right there. Have this list close, the next time you see this person ask, or text this person and ask for a good time to call. Have a casual chat about the topic that interests you, don't put any pressure on anyone. Then afterwards thank them for their time and always ask if they know anyone who would have more information. Once you've worked through all the list items which have names beside them you might have found others who could fill in other topics. It will take time but the process works.

Do I need to be final year or sixth year to start?

Absolutely not! Starting to establish what path you wish to take or investigate can begin anytime. The earlier the better as this will give you more time to think before making decisions about subject choices and directions after school.

Are my teachers good mentors?

Teachers know you well, they see you often and know your strengths. They can help you with many questions about careers and have access to materials which could be helpful.