Do you have a mentor to help you in your career? (tips, job)

[Tough Questions]

When I graduated from college I thought I had all the answers and was convinced my strong technical and intellectual skills would send me to a Vice President position in a Fortune 500 Company by the time I was in my early 30s. For some reason they never told me the tips for real success in graduate school in my MBA Program. I also did not understand the importance of soft skills in career success.

Fortunately I meet a real nice boss who was 20 years older than me who pulled me aside and told me he would spend a few hours with me every week and mentor me about how to really be successful in my career. We spent a lot of time on political skills, workplace dynamics, and general soft skills that I was missing. He introduced me to other professionals in the field who also mentored me about workplace survival skills.

Have you had a mentor in your career and what have you done to gain the assistance of older more experienced people in your career to gain advice? Any stories about mentoring?

[Racelady88]

*waves at old friend* Hi Weekend Traveler!

[sike0000]

I never had a mentor like that. I do have a friend that inspired me, and was someone that I looked up too and tried to follow what he did. But that was mostly for deciding what career path to take.

From a success standpoint, I learned everything the hard way.

[CMPX2]

Find someone who's job you want in 5-10 or more years and befriend them and learn from them. I've found some people are open to teaching and most like to talk about themselves (career-wise), LOL.