Mentoring Makes a Difference

By: Justin Orow

Overview

Everyone learns in a different way.  Some people can hop right on to a new job or a new task at work and understand it and teach them self along the way, but on the other hand there are those who need proper training for any new task at hand.  The most elementary way in which people learn, and one of the best is through behavior modeling, or copying someone else’s behavior (Mathis & Jackson, 2010).  When I hear this I automatically think of having a personal trainee or a mentor to show you the ropes and be there for all your falls to help you be a successful employee.  Mentors can be very beneficial for employees that are not sure of their career path or future with a company.

Article Description/Connection to Text                                                          

The article highlights situations in which young employees that needed someone to help mold them in to the kind of employee there job needs.  There are many benefits to having a mentor such as answering tough questions for a young employee who is not sure of their career path or the industry they are working in, getting more familiar with company policies and procedures and some of the other normality’s on the job that the new employee might not know about, getting to know clients better, and improving their networking skills.  Some companies have formal mentoring programs that pair a young employee with a seasoned worker (Ensign, March 2012).  Mentoring helps with all the types of training such as interpersonal and problem-solving, developmental and career training.  Developmental and career training provides longer-term focus to enhance individual and organizational capabilities for the future, while interpersonal and problem solving addresses both operational and interpersonal problems and seeks to improve organizational working relationships (Mathis & Jackson, 2010).  Mentoring can aid employees in any type of training.  The improving networking skills goes hand in hand with the interpersonal and problem solving training as it seeks to improve organizational working relationships.  It meets the goal of developmental and career training as it pursues to provide longer-term focus to enhance individual and organizational capabilities for the future, mentoring can help young employees with their career path which help provide the long term focus.  Mentors will become friends, but employees must be careful to not become too personal and share particulars about their personal life, the relationship has to stay professional.  The article also suggests that maybe sometimes its best that the employee finds a mentor within the industry but outside your employer, as they can help you with a broader perspective on your profession.  

Take Away Points

Mentors can help a young nervous and anxious employee get familiar with little things like procedures and rules at work, or much bigger things like landing a new job or advancement within the company.  When searching for a mentor, young employees should be careful to pick the right mentor.  Companies should start looking in to formal mentoring programs if they already haven’t.   This will help young workers get situated in new jobs and help young workers who are looking for a mentor but don’t know how to go about it if the company will already pair them with someone through a situated program. 

Works Cited

Ensign, R. ( 2012, March 31).  Benefits of a Mentor. The Wall Street Journal.                                  Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577309750220810364.html?KEYWORDS=human+resource+managment

Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2010). Human resource management. (13 ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.