Eenie Meenie Miny Mentor?
By: Sophie Bagaeva
Tags: Content Marketing, Startup, Mentoring, Mentorship, Professional Development

A mentor must have the ability to teach and convey information effectively. Not every person can be a teacher and, therefore, not everyone can become a good mentor. A teacher is someone who provides valuable lessons, watches you make your own mistakes, and helps you learn the hard way. Albus Dumbledore provided Harry Potter with wisdom and guiding advice throughout and even though he always looked after the boy, Dumbledore let Harry discover things by himself, get in and out of trouble, and even let him put himself in mortal danger in order to become a “brave, brave man.”

If you respect someone, you’ll listen to their words with little doubt. That’s why a teacher mentor should be very careful with their advice. With great power comes great responsibility, you know. It’s important not to give the final solution, but to list the methods and ways you know to achieve it. Point out their advantages as well as disadvantages and let them make their own decisions. Afterall, most math problems have only one solution, but can be solved many different ways.

Why mentoring matters

In the summer of 2019, CNBC conducted a survey on happiness in the workplace and concluded that if an employee has a mentor, they feel comfortable and secure.

Nearly 4 out of 10 people without a workplace mentor stated they’ve considered quitting, while 9 out of 10 workers who do have a mentor claim that they’re happy in their jobs.

Mentored employees feel more committed to their careers simply because they believe their contribution at work not only makes a difference, but is also appreciated by colleagues.

At GoFable, we have a practice of mentoring each other and our open environment allows us to ask any team member for help or advice, suggest ideas, and develop creative solutions. We implement this practice in project management strategy as well. Usually there’s a team of up to 8 people working on each project: illustrators and art directors, project managers, copywriters, and strategists. Any team member is welcomed to implement their ideas in the production process and suggest corrections or improvements during the creative process. This helps us see the final result from a wider perspective and orient products to a broader target audience.

Employees with mentors are inclined to believe that their company provides good career opportunities… and rightly so. A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that people with mentors are more likely to get promotions. In a world where more and more companies are hiring in closed networks, it’s important to use your social capital and put yourself out there.

Mentoring is important for individuals as well as startups. In the US, around 70% of startups and small businesses whose founders are mentored, survive more than five years (two times more that startups without mentors). This is mostly due to the fact that young business owners lack the fundamental ingredient… experience.

It takes years to gain enough experience to grow a great business or develop into the ultimate professional — having a mentor who already has this experience can help you make better decisions.

A mentor doesn’t necessarily have to be someone from your workplace. Seeking mentors from outside your company can be beneficial as well. First of all, it provides you with a safe space to raise certain questions you might be afraid to ask your senior manager or anyone else at work.

How to get started

If you’re looking to be mentored or feel like your expertise can be shared with someone less experienced, starting a mentorship is easier than you think. First and foremost, the human resources department in your company is a great place to start. Or just summon your inner ninja and perform the mentor jutsu.

GoFable practices in-house cultivation of professionals and treats it as one of the most important things we do since it is our desire to grow and learn. GoFable was founded by highly skilled professionals with other pros in their field and we’re always willing to share our knowledge with juniors and newbies. During our founding year, we opened a summer internship for Marketing, Content Production, and Business Development departments. This initiative gave us an opportunity to mentor enthusiastic students and actually learn some pretty cool things from them. In fact, a couple of our interns liked the job so much that they decided to stay on as a part-time employees. So, now we’re doing our best to cultivate them into trained professionals and invite them to take full-time opportunities when the time comes.

There are several places you can look for a mentor such as SCORE and local networking events. Don’t underestimate the importance of social media connections: LinkedIn and Facebook can be great places to connect with experienced professionals and potential mentors.

Always remember: if you’re looking for a mentor or willing to become one, the formality of connecting with the right person is not the only key to success. Do your best to lead by example and obtain inspiration from someone you admire and respect… try new things… visit new places… experience a diverse range of events. Many successful relationships start accidentally and your perfect match can be right outside the door. Good luck, padawan and may the force be with you!

P.S. We’re always looking for rising talents to join the crew, so if you’d like to start your journey in marketing and content production, please feel free to send an email to job@gofable.com

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Credits: Alex Yakovlev, Gabe Fearing, Anastasia, Anna Davis