Haha. Same here. Just started working in Big 4 as a consultant and am feeling incredibly lost. A mentor, a paternalistic figure would make life a hell of a lot easier. Doesn't even necessarily have to be from my office, just someone who could clear a few doubts and be a guiding light from time to time. Don't mind me. Just here to look at the answers.
Ideally, you’d want to find someone within your company. Someone who understands the culture and your specific challenges and can help with reaching the right people. Failing that, it would be useful to have someone who understands the local market and how your company and your own skills fit in.
If neither option is available, you can try to connect with someone further away, but then the support is more generic and can be contingent on geography. If nothing else, you can always watch videos / read books on relevant topics.
Having a good mentor is a true career booster. I cannot emphasise this enough. Here is what I experienced.
You cannot force a mentorship, or someone to be your mentor, but you can recruit for it.
I realised you have to get really lucky in consulting to get a good mentor because there's so many of us.
During my exit, I started looking for companies where the people who I would be working with had the following:
1. My entrepreneurial drive to create and test out new things
2. We clicked on a personal level
3. They had a ton of entrepreneurial experience AND leadership acumen
4. I would be working very closely with them
Basically, true mentorship started with recruiting for me. I found someone I worked 6 months with very closely, then he started backing off and giving me more and more space. Now I can call this person whenever I want, professional and personal.
To come to your point of where to find one: target one PERSON you would love to work with who has some years of experience above you, reach out and be open "I would love to work with you because xyz". If its positive, yay, if not then I guess its not meant to be and on to the next one.
No one will out of the blue become your mentor, make them WANT to mentor you by showing your drive and actually delivering. Only then will you form a great bond together, which is to me the basis of a great mentorship. The goal here is to get things done together, and learn in the process, if it clicks on a more personal level, the other person would feel inclined to keep giving you advice that reaches out further than just the project you're working on.
EDIT: I honestly did not care any more about working for a prestigious brand, because for me that meant jack shit. I wanted to learn, and best way for me to learn was through experimenting and talking to inspiring people who have actually done shit and not just talked about it on slides. I started recruiting for great managers and not companies, because to me, people you work with are more important than the brand on your LinkedIn profile, because they teach you shit.
I was lucky enough to get close to a more senior member of my team on my first case, and afterwards I asked them to be my mentor. It’s very much about finding someone you click with and feel comfortable asking advice (easier said than done during COVID times, I know). I set up time in her calendar to chat every 2/3 weeks and we chat about how I’m doing, the feedback I’ve been getting and actionable steps to tackle my AFDs, and I ask her any general questions I have. I can’t recommend trying to find a mentor enough, it has helped make my transition a lot smoother. I know there is also a formal mentorship programme where you’re matched up with people are willing to be mentors, maybe your firm has something similar?
Let me ask you this - do you mentor people? If not, maybe consider mentoring others outside of work.
I invest in people who are serious and do the work we talk about, and are actively paying it forward and mentoring others.
Ask your supervisor to assign you one. I started having the new team members out of college report to someone two years out of college and assign them someone a bit more senior as a mentor. If you aren’t comfortable asking your supervisor find somebody who you work with and respect to help mentor you. I don’t have a mentor now but I bounce ideas off other often. For how often you should speak with them I have my managers do weekly meetings with their team members and the mentors have monthly sessions with their mentees at a minimum.
I don't really have one but I think sponsors, who support your promotions are far more important.
I would recommend working with people who you aspire to be, work hard and show your true colour, most people will invest time in your growth only when you prove your potentials.
This synopsis of mentorship is as oft-putting as your joke.
No Partner is gonna be "harmed" by mentoring an awkward Junior... Big4/Accenture/MBB etc. is not Succession... let's chill out a bit.
I’m “Junior” because I don’t know how “fundamental social dynamics” work lol?
You perfectly remind me of the “Pete” character from mad men… you should be careful not confuse smarminess with social aptitude.
A mentor is defined as “an experienced and trusted adviser”.
The other question is what do you want a mentor for - Professional growth? Personal growth? Academic growth?
I have worked hard for years in the corporate world and I’ve never been compensated appropriately. I’m done investing in corporate development. I want to develop more hobbies and things I would do for free. I will take a mentor in those areas any day of the week!
I was looking for a mentor within my company, but I realized that all the relevant/available candidates were unacceptable (low ethical standards, low moral standards, cheating on their partners, only good on one dimension, no real compatibility, etc.).
I think a mentor can be anyone, an author, a local person that takes care of strangers, or any other proactive self starter that is interested in helping you/others positively grow as a person. I would say Jordan Peterson is my mentor, Richard Wolff is my mentor, killer Mike is my mentor, not Joe Rogan, not Sam Harris, not any politician. Find and align with people in your preferred direction of growth.
The most effective mentors I have/had were ones that just naturally mentored me while on project and we continued that relationship afterwards.
In an ideal world you have at least ongoing mentors at any one time, if not more, and I’d split them up as such:
1. The “project mentor”. An on-project mentor who you can look to for guidance with direct client matters that require specific project context. This may be your immediate manager, or the client partner etc. depending on your seniority, size of team and so on.
2. A “firm mentor” - an internal mentor separate from your project. Someone you can go to for advice about development opportunities, pushing for promotion, any issues you may have internally at the firm etc or any conflicts you have with mentor 1. Someone who has the relevant firm context but is not personally invested in your current project performance so they can give legitimate, objective advice within the firm’s contextual and political considerations.
3. A “career mentor”. Someone who is at another firm **or* someone far enough removed from you in your own firm (e.g a director/partner of another vertical unit so they are not directly invested in you, if you’re an M or below) and can give more generic, objective advice when considering things like exit opportunities, switching firms, general life decisions that affect your career etc.
The best way to develop these relationships is by keeping the best people close and managing and cultivating the relationship.
My career mentor started off as a project mentor. He served me very well providing extremely valuable advice, and we kept up the relationship as a firm mentor until he left the firm.
I currently have 3-4 “firm mentors” and 2 “project mentors”, as well my career mentor, and I use them all for different concerns or discussions. Some are better placed to help me navigate the firm’s performance & promotion expectations so I can achieve fast-track career progression, others are better placed to discuss specific opportunities and imo multiple opinions are almost always more informative than just one.
Usually, in some companies there is a mentorship program for every employee. If this program is not available you can find someone from the outside to help you. I don’t know whether my expertise will be good for you or not, so i can give you 1-2 consultations free of charges. Pm if interested.
Haha. Same here. Just started working in Big 4 as a consultant and am feeling incredibly lost. A mentor, a paternalistic figure would make life a hell of a lot easier. Doesn't even necessarily have to be from my office, just someone who could clear a few doubts and be a guiding light from time to time. Don't mind me. Just here to look at the answers.
What doubts do you have?
Ideally, you’d want to find someone within your company. Someone who understands the culture and your specific challenges and can help with reaching the right people. Failing that, it would be useful to have someone who understands the local market and how your company and your own skills fit in. If neither option is available, you can try to connect with someone further away, but then the support is more generic and can be contingent on geography. If nothing else, you can always watch videos / read books on relevant topics.
Having a good mentor is a true career booster. I cannot emphasise this enough. Here is what I experienced. You cannot force a mentorship, or someone to be your mentor, but you can recruit for it. I realised you have to get really lucky in consulting to get a good mentor because there's so many of us. During my exit, I started looking for companies where the people who I would be working with had the following: 1. My entrepreneurial drive to create and test out new things 2. We clicked on a personal level 3. They had a ton of entrepreneurial experience AND leadership acumen 4. I would be working very closely with them Basically, true mentorship started with recruiting for me. I found someone I worked 6 months with very closely, then he started backing off and giving me more and more space. Now I can call this person whenever I want, professional and personal. To come to your point of where to find one: target one PERSON you would love to work with who has some years of experience above you, reach out and be open "I would love to work with you because xyz". If its positive, yay, if not then I guess its not meant to be and on to the next one. No one will out of the blue become your mentor, make them WANT to mentor you by showing your drive and actually delivering. Only then will you form a great bond together, which is to me the basis of a great mentorship. The goal here is to get things done together, and learn in the process, if it clicks on a more personal level, the other person would feel inclined to keep giving you advice that reaches out further than just the project you're working on. EDIT: I honestly did not care any more about working for a prestigious brand, because for me that meant jack shit. I wanted to learn, and best way for me to learn was through experimenting and talking to inspiring people who have actually done shit and not just talked about it on slides. I started recruiting for great managers and not companies, because to me, people you work with are more important than the brand on your LinkedIn profile, because they teach you shit.
I was lucky enough to get close to a more senior member of my team on my first case, and afterwards I asked them to be my mentor. It’s very much about finding someone you click with and feel comfortable asking advice (easier said than done during COVID times, I know). I set up time in her calendar to chat every 2/3 weeks and we chat about how I’m doing, the feedback I’ve been getting and actionable steps to tackle my AFDs, and I ask her any general questions I have. I can’t recommend trying to find a mentor enough, it has helped make my transition a lot smoother. I know there is also a formal mentorship programme where you’re matched up with people are willing to be mentors, maybe your firm has something similar?
Let me ask you this - do you mentor people? If not, maybe consider mentoring others outside of work. I invest in people who are serious and do the work we talk about, and are actively paying it forward and mentoring others.
Ask your supervisor to assign you one. I started having the new team members out of college report to someone two years out of college and assign them someone a bit more senior as a mentor. If you aren’t comfortable asking your supervisor find somebody who you work with and respect to help mentor you. I don’t have a mentor now but I bounce ideas off other often. For how often you should speak with them I have my managers do weekly meetings with their team members and the mentors have monthly sessions with their mentees at a minimum.
I don't really have one but I think sponsors, who support your promotions are far more important. I would recommend working with people who you aspire to be, work hard and show your true colour, most people will invest time in your growth only when you prove your potentials.
Don't be confused between a mentor and a sponsor. What you want is a sponsor.
Try unstop mentorships: https://unstop.com/find-a-mentor
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This synopsis of mentorship is as oft-putting as your joke. No Partner is gonna be "harmed" by mentoring an awkward Junior... Big4/Accenture/MBB etc. is not Succession... let's chill out a bit.
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I’m “Junior” because I don’t know how “fundamental social dynamics” work lol? You perfectly remind me of the “Pete” character from mad men… you should be careful not confuse smarminess with social aptitude.
So, like friends.
A mentor is defined as “an experienced and trusted adviser”. The other question is what do you want a mentor for - Professional growth? Personal growth? Academic growth? I have worked hard for years in the corporate world and I’ve never been compensated appropriately. I’m done investing in corporate development. I want to develop more hobbies and things I would do for free. I will take a mentor in those areas any day of the week! I was looking for a mentor within my company, but I realized that all the relevant/available candidates were unacceptable (low ethical standards, low moral standards, cheating on their partners, only good on one dimension, no real compatibility, etc.). I think a mentor can be anyone, an author, a local person that takes care of strangers, or any other proactive self starter that is interested in helping you/others positively grow as a person. I would say Jordan Peterson is my mentor, Richard Wolff is my mentor, killer Mike is my mentor, not Joe Rogan, not Sam Harris, not any politician. Find and align with people in your preferred direction of growth.
The most effective mentors I have/had were ones that just naturally mentored me while on project and we continued that relationship afterwards. In an ideal world you have at least ongoing mentors at any one time, if not more, and I’d split them up as such: 1. The “project mentor”. An on-project mentor who you can look to for guidance with direct client matters that require specific project context. This may be your immediate manager, or the client partner etc. depending on your seniority, size of team and so on. 2. A “firm mentor” - an internal mentor separate from your project. Someone you can go to for advice about development opportunities, pushing for promotion, any issues you may have internally at the firm etc or any conflicts you have with mentor 1. Someone who has the relevant firm context but is not personally invested in your current project performance so they can give legitimate, objective advice within the firm’s contextual and political considerations. 3. A “career mentor”. Someone who is at another firm **or* someone far enough removed from you in your own firm (e.g a director/partner of another vertical unit so they are not directly invested in you, if you’re an M or below) and can give more generic, objective advice when considering things like exit opportunities, switching firms, general life decisions that affect your career etc. The best way to develop these relationships is by keeping the best people close and managing and cultivating the relationship. My career mentor started off as a project mentor. He served me very well providing extremely valuable advice, and we kept up the relationship as a firm mentor until he left the firm. I currently have 3-4 “firm mentors” and 2 “project mentors”, as well my career mentor, and I use them all for different concerns or discussions. Some are better placed to help me navigate the firm’s performance & promotion expectations so I can achieve fast-track career progression, others are better placed to discuss specific opportunities and imo multiple opinions are almost always more informative than just one.
Usually, in some companies there is a mentorship program for every employee. If this program is not available you can find someone from the outside to help you. I don’t know whether my expertise will be good for you or not, so i can give you 1-2 consultations free of charges. Pm if interested.