Preparing to be Mentored

The most important conversation you will ever have is the one you have with yourself. – Anonymous Because none of us will have a perfect pathway to our career or to how that career will mesh seamlessly into our lives, we can learn and grow from the perspectives of others. A necessary first step to fruitful mentoring relationships is introspection that leads to better knowledge and understanding of oneself. While such introspection is an intrinsic part of one’s journey through life and career, it can also be more painful and arduous at the times when most needed. To navigate through these complexities, it may be helpful to consider the following ten topics in assessing which aspects you want to work on. You may choose to prioritize them, to eliminate some of them, or to use them as a springboard to develop your own personalized list of mentoring needs at any particular point in time.