A successful career is all about having the right education and relative knowledge of the industry. As you build your career, you also improve your experience which will also expand your ability to handle problems, create solutions and even predict trends so that your company could survive the future. If you start right, you’ll be able to harness the industry early on. Encountering mistakes is even ok as long as they are done early since this will become your learning platform to become smarter and better.

But starting in your career is not a walk in the park. Your education and knowledge will never matter if you don’t have the ability to cope up with the tricks of the trade. Even if you don’t have the experience, you will be required to perform as if you’ve been in the industry for many years. Without assistance, you can easily fail and be terminated on your first job.

A Mentor is a Must

Early survival and performance at work is a must. If you can start right, the rest will be a lot easier. For that reason, the first thing you should do when hired is to look for a mentor. Your mentor should be able to lead you to the expected productivity and will set the motion for a better career.

But you have to be careful in selecting a model. Although it’s relatively easy, you have to make sure that you have the best mentor that you can get. They could easily become a big factor to your success but they could also become a stumbling block to your success.

A Mentor is a Model

A mentor is someone that you can emulate. Just take a look around and you’ll be able to easily find someone that you can emulate. They should have that drive to succeed without having to drag everyone down with them.

It’s also about your personal preferences. If you are looking for a model that can help you improve your leadership skills, then your supervisor or manager is an easy choice. However, if you think you are lacking on sales and other skills to succeed, even your office mates who have exhibited the skills that you lack could become your mentor.

A Mentor is a Teacher

A mentor is not only someone who can become a model where their actions could be emulated. That could be a little awkward if all you do is follow their actions.

Always seek tips from your mentor. Instead of doing what they do, seek advice on the principles in doing things. This will give you the idea on how you can do things on your own and improve in your own way.

A Mentor is a Goal

A good way of knowing if you actually improve in your career is when you slowly become your mentor and you become a role model yourself. As you slowly improve, you become someone who can also help your mentor and others as you advance in your career.