A520.7.3.RB_TingJunLee

Write a blog entry on the significance, importance, and/or impact of having a coach and/or a mentor to help you in your professional journey.

Thus far in my career, I have had the opportunity to be both a mentee and a mentor considering that I am only 3 years into my job since graduation. When I first started out in my current company, I was assigned a mentor who was also my supervisor. This mentorship program was primarily in place to help new hires like myself settle in and familiarize myself with the company. I was also taught the intricacies of the job and how the work gets done. Because my mentor was also my work supervisor, we had a lot of daily interaction and I could approach my mentor for any problems I had.

For a fresh graduate just starting out in the work force, it is very important to have the right mentor to guide me. Obviously, I did not have a choice in choosing my mentor when I first joined. However, now that I am more experienced, I think back of my experience with my mentor (who is no longer my supervisor). Looking back, I realized that there were many things that were not explicitly taught to me. It seemed more like a rite of passage and that I needed to experience the good and bad things myself in order to learn. Picking up the good habits is a plus point, but I was not corrected on the bad habits. When I changed supervisor, I had a rude awakening when the expectations suddenly changed and I was not prepared.

At the moment, I no longer have a mentor though I wish I had one. The company has a mentorship program but it is not popular as most employees do not have time or are not willing to fork out extra time for such programs. Having a mentor in the company is important as it serves as an avenue for employees to channel their thoughts to. They can tap on their mentor’s experience in the same work scope to gather valuable information and insight that can help them with their aspirations both externally and internally from the company. Furthermore, such mentorship programs within the company are free, unlike external coaches which are not and also may not have the relevant industry specific experience for proper guidance.

Now that I am more experience, I was recently assigned an intern to mentor. At the moment, I am using my experience as a mentor to guide my mentee along and hope that he can pick up as many pointers along the way. More importantly, being assigned as a mentor reflects my manager and supervisor’s trust and faith in me that I can do a good job.