Throughout time, mentorship has shaped and re-defined the world in countless industries and practices. Socrates shared his philosophical wisdom with Plato, who then taught Aristotle. Christian Dior hired Yves Saint Laurent as his personal assistant and taught him the ins and outs of haute couture.

Throughout your career journey, you may find yourself seeking mentorship for career growth or personal success. In your current journey as an MBA student, it is especially important for you to reflect with a mentor on the career path you hope to undertake. Building a relationship with a mentor will help shape your goals, development, and career path. At Beedie, you have access to many opportunities from established mentorship programs to networking events where you can meet professionals.

Below, we’ve outlined three ways you can utilize your mentor-mentee relationship for continued success.

Utilizing Mentorship for Professional Goal Setting

Utilizing a mentor’s informed perspective for setting professional goals will help you determine what you want your career path to look like and the steps you can take to get there. Casey Jacox confirms that goal setting helped her achieve them as it made her “accountable because [she] never wanted to let [her] mentor or [her]self down”.

Effective mentorship involves your mentor holding you liable to your goals while you, as a mentee, hold your mentor accountable to providing effective guidance. Casey suggests to envision SMART goals, get feedback from your mentor, and write them down to cement them as a part of your to-do list. Regular check-ins, progress updates, and feedback during your meetings will help ensure achievement of goals.

Utilizing Mentorship for Challenging Your Thinking

Effective mentors are curious learners themselves, and hence, as a mentee you should utilize your relationship to expand on your thinking and grow your ideas. Mentors who approach life with curiosity and a growth mindset will always be the best teachers, because they will work with you using the same attitude. If you and your mentor approach your relationship with a willingness to learn and think outside the box, you are both likely to gain more value in the long run.

With your learning-oriented mindset should also come a desire to see from new perspectives. Ask your mentor to challenge your current beliefs and decisions, and don’t be afraid to use them as a sounding board to gauge your ideas. With the help of their experience and hindsight, you may be inspired to rethink your beliefs and brainstorm new solutions.

Utilizing Mentorship for Shaping Your Career Path

Utilize your relationship with your mentor to set realistic expectations for a career path in your chosen field. Mentors are professionals with experience, and thus, hindsight. They have made mistakes and experienced success; hence, they have developed expansive expertise that can now be utilized to help you.

You may develop questions and areas of concern when thinking about how you want to structure your career path. Don’t hesitate to bring these up in your meetings with your mentor! Whether your uncertainties involve choosing from multiple job offers, negotiating a salary, or simply preparing for an interview, your mentor will provide you with guidance based on their accumulated industry knowledge, skills, and personal opinions.

At the same time, don’t rely on your mentor to make decisions for you. Effective advice should enable you to reflect and think deeper, rather than tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. Use your mentor’s perspective to supplement your decisions and inspire your mindset for the most effective mentorship relationship.

Feeling Inspired?

You must want to seek out a mentor by now! If you aren’t sure where to begin, below are a few ways to start.

1. Consider the SFU Beedie Mentors in Business ((MIB) program. Open to all graduate students enrolled in the MSc Finance, MBA, MOT MBA, PT MBA or EMBA program, MIB provides a platform for working professionals to share their insights, experience and knowledge. As a MIB mentee, you’ll be paired up with an experienced mentor who has a perspective on your desired industry and functional area.
2. You may also seek a mentor externally, through your own network or connections. Remember to seek someone who you trust and respect, someone who will be a positive influence on you, and someone who will actively support you in your career growth.

For more career support, book an appointment with your career advisor via Beedie Community.