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Feeling Lost In Your Career? How to Find A Mentor & Get Advice To Get Back On Track

12.02.2019 by admin // 2 Comments

Why you need a mentor at work. Importance of a mentor at work, how to find mentors, career mentor

You need a mentor at work to advance your career. Early in your career it’s even more important to have a mentor as you will encounter new situations and need advice on how to navigate them. For example, what do you do when you’re offered increased responsibilities within your team but no raise or promotion with it? What if you get a new manager and like the company but now want to switch teams? Having a mentor during these times will give you many advantages. A career mentor will give you advice and help you navigate situations so that you can advance your career. Here are tips on how to find a good mentor.

What Is A Career Mentor

A career mentor is someone who gives advice to a less experienced person, known as their mentee. They give time and sometimes suggest additional resources to help someone with their professional or personal life and goals. Mentors do not have to be at the same company but they should have general expertise relevant to whom they mentor.

Sometimes mentor and sponsor are used interchangeably, but are they the same? No. Sponsors and mentors play key but different roles when it comes to advancing your career. It’s important to get a sponsor in addition to having a mentor in order to advance your career. Stanford created a quick table that easily shows the differences between mentors and sponsors.

Understanding the Role of a Mentor

So, what does a mentor do? A mentor gives advice to their mentee. Usually, a mentor and a mentee will agree on what cadence they will meet. It may be an hour or 30 minutes once a month or bi-weekly. It’s up to a mentee to come prepared to the meeting. Otherwise, how will the mentor know what advice is needed? As the mentee, identify what you want help with (situations to navigate, career paths, a certain area you want to work on). The mentor then gives advice on this topic. The best mentors have navigated similar situations in the past and have tools to help you better understand the situation.

How Do You Get A Career Mentor

Relationships with a mentor can happen organically or inorganically. The most natural ones tend to develop organically, so how do you put yourself in a situation for this to happen?

Look At Your Professional Network To Identify A Mentor

First, assess your current network to identify a mentor. Who can be a mentor? Not all mentors need to be level(s) above you, but they do have to offer something you do not have. Usually this is expertise but they can also be a very well connected person or someone that is in the room when strategic decisions are being made. A good mentor can also be in a line of business or profession that you may want to get into in the future. Are there people in your network today that meet any of the above? If not, who do you know today that has those connections and can make an introduction?

Ask Your Manager To Assign You A Mentor

You can also reach out to your manager and express interest in getting a mentor. Your manager can then reach out to their network to help make it happen or help you get involved in any formal programs offered by your company. In order for an arranged mentorship relationship to be most successful share why you are interested in having a mentor and what you’re looking for in a mentor. Share something in particular you’d like to work on such as transitioning from an individual contributor to a manager, or if you’d like to work on a particular skill set for your current job. This will help your manager identify a better mentor for you and the mentorship will more likely be successful.

See Also: Advantages of Working for a Large Company as a Young Professional

How Do You Know if Someone is Your Mentor

Mentor relationships can start out formal and informal. In formal mentor relationships, you will have arranged your own mentor or assigned a mentor as part of a formal program. This program is usually run by your company but can be run by other professional organizations you are involved with outside of work. Mentor programs depend on how the organization implemented them. In some, they are very open and flexible and others will have specific topics and goals and a specific timeframe for the relationship.

Formal mentors can also be formed with a mentor or mentee specifically requesting a formal relationship. Either the mentor or mentee can reach out to the other and request to mentor the person or ask to be mentored. In formal relationships, expectations should be set in terms of what the mentee expects and what the mentor expects so that it’s not a waste of anyones time.

In informal mentor relationships you may never define that someone is a mentor / mentee. A mentor may observe a behavior and pull the mentee aside to give advice on how to improve in the future. A mentee may be at a crossroads for a career decision and requests advice from someone they trust.

See Also: 10 Pieces of Career Advice for Young Professionals

How to Ensure A Mentorship Is Successful

It’s a must for the mentor and mentee to agree on the rules of engagement – what you expect from each other and how often you should meet. Both people must trust each other and maintain confidentiality. What is said in your meetings does not leave those meetings.

No matter the origin or formality, it’s important for the mentee to set the meeting agenda. If your mentor suggests a book to read or an exercise to complete, do it and come back with what you learned during the next meeting. Here are more tips on a successful mentorship relationship.

Don’t forget, your mentor is volunteering their time to help you. While they likely don’t expect anything in return, it’s always good to show your appreciation. Remember to thank them for their time and consider getting them a gift once a year as a thank you. Here are a few gift ideas for mentors to show your appreciation.

Have you had a career mentor? What success did you see with your mentor relationship? What recommendations do you have for someone just starting a mentor relationship?

Categories // Career Tags // Advance Your Career, Corporate Benefits

Why Attend A Women’s Conference?

03.26.2019 by admin // 2 Comments

Why attend a Women's Conference, why attend a conference, women's conference, womans conference, benefits of attending a leadership conference

I’ve attended a few women’s professional development conferences in the past and have wondered, does anything really change after attending a women’s conference? It turns out, it does. Your odds of increasing your salary are higher and on average you’ll feel more optimistic about the future if you attend a women’s conference.

Professional Development Women’s Conference: What To Expect

There are many benefits of attending a leadership conference. I’ve attended both the Simmon’s Leadership Conference and the MA Conference for Women in the past. Both are absolutely amazing. I’ve attended in years when they’ve had speakers such as Michelle Obama, Billie Jean King and Tory Burch.

Main Stage Speakers

Every main stage speaker is so inspirational and you leave in awe of what they’ve accomplished. The dialogue tends to focus on the challenges they had to overcome and you leave feeling if they could overcome those obstacles you too can accomplish your goals.

Women’s Professional Development Breakout Sessions

The breakout sessions you attend give you more tangible knowledge on what to change to be more successful. One I participated in during the Boston Women’s Leadership Conference was about Ego in the Workplace, led by CY Wakeman, and it shared data on how drama in the workplace wastes over 800 hours/ year. Isn’t that crazy? Think of how much time you can get back by reducing this even by 10%.

Networking With Other Women

Throughout the women’s conference it’s also a great opportunity to network with other women. Typically, there are a lot of women from the companies that are sponsoring the program. If you’re trying to get your foot in the door at one of these companies it’s a great opportunity to network with the women that work there. Additionally, many companies have an employee referral program. If you make a strong enough connection, having that referral can increase your odds of landing that interview and will also help the referrer get a bonus.

Women’s Professional Development Conference Exhibit Floor

Women’s conferences usually have an exhibit floor which includes booths from the sponsorship companies, book signings and more. I really like the recent additions of professional photo opportunities for free. It’s important to have a professional photo for LinkedIn and it’s great the conference brings this directly to you. Usually it takes a few weeks for the photographer to email you the picture.

See Also: 10 Pieces of Career Advice for Young Professionals

Post Women’s Conference

After a women’s professional development conference, we usually bring back what we learned to our teams, sharing a few things we’ve vowed to do differently. But then fast forward a few weeks and things return to normal. That initial excitement has died down and it seems like not much has changed. Was all that time spent and money invested by your company thrown out the window? What does the data tell us about the impact Women’s Conferences make? It turns out there has been at least one study done on this, and positive outcomes were observed.

Study: Outcomes of Attending a Women’s Conference

Shawn Anchor wrote in the Harvard Business Review about a study he partner on of 2,600 women to observe financial outcomes and intellectual outcomes that occurred in the year after the women attended the conference. They also studied this for the research group and the control group to account for any changes in the larger economic landscape across the same time period.

They found that there were positive outcomes with only 5% of women in the control group receiving a pay increase of more than 10% compared with the 15% of women who attended the conference. Additionally 78% of women who attended the conference reported feeling “more optimistic about the future” and 71% of attendees said they “feel more connected to others” after attending.

Personal Outcome of Attending Women’s Conferences

Looking back, I have attended at least one leadership conference for women every year of my career, with possibly one exception. Every year after attending I have received a bonus. In the last 9 years I’ve also been promoted 4 times. What I learned by attending these conferences around negotiation, leadership attributes and networking definitely helped me get where I am today. I also learned about the importance of sponsors and how it’s not enough to have a mentor.

At the conference, it’s also nice to be around so many women in the same industry. Often at work I’m still one of only a few women. I also love running into ladies I’ve worked with in previous roles and staying connected with my network.

Personally, I haven’t taken a new job after reconnecting with my network at one of these conferences. While at a women’s conference though I learned of new job opportunities that I could apply for through running into a former colleague. These conferences also motivated me to start thinking bigger, including looking into how to invest in startups. I’m always excited to attend these conferences and I hope everyone that attends next week has an amazing experience!

See Also: Why You Need a Career Sponsor

Best Conferences for Women

There are a ton of great conferences for women globally! Here is a list I’ve compiled on the best conferences for women.

Have you ever attended a Women’s Conference? What results have you noticed for your career or you personally after attending?

Categories // Career Tags // Advance Your Career, Corporate Benefits, Events

5 Little Known Health Insurance Benefits

02.18.2019 by admin // 2 Comments

Peloton Insurance Reimbursement - one health insurance benefit is peloton fitness reimbursement, peloton health insurance

Sure you use your health insurance when you go to the doctor, but did you know some health insurance plans offer more? Health insurance benefits has now expanded to help you stay healthy before you actually get sick. This includes benefits like fitness reimbursements, acupuncture and more. Here are 5 little known benefits that your health insurance may offer.

Fitness Reimbursements

Certain health insurance plans offer a $300 fitness reimbursement per year. This is no longer limited to traditional gyms! The fitness reimbursement can include classes such as yoga and spin, fitness trackers, and core training equipment (including Peloton bikes & the subscription!). Check your plan to see what is covered before you spend money on a Peloton, FitBit, gym membership or other fitness related item. If you’re not sure what is covered, go to your fitness reimbursement plan provider. In your account, look for a fitness reimbursement account FAQ document. The fitness reimbursement account FAQ will clearly outline what is eligible and what is not eligible. Exercising regularly is a great way to stay healthier and avoid trips to the doctor as well.

Gym Discounts

In addition to fitness reimbursements, some health insurance companies and corporations have negotiated discounts directly with gyms and athletic clubs. These discounts are on top of the fitness reimbursement and help reduce the cost of going to the gym even further. If you aren’t sure if you are eligible for a discount at your local gym, ask them. Even if there is no discount available to you today, ask if they are open to discounts with local companies. There is always an opportunity to help your company negotiate the discount.

Acupuncture Coverage

Some health insurance plans have been expanded to include acupuncture. Acupuncture has been shown to improve your wellness. This includes reduced stress, reduced physical pain and improved allergy relief. My health insurance covers about 20 acupuncture treatments per year and I am charged only a co-pay of $50 / visit.

Dermatologist

Over the counter skin creams including anti-aging creams all claim great results at a high price point, but did you know that you could save money on skin care by going to a dermatologist? My dermatologist prescribed Retin-A which helps with skin aging and acne and with my insurance, the generic costs $8 and lasts about 3 months. Way cheaper than the $50+ per small tube of anti-aging cream at Sephora. In addition, we’ve found a skin care regimen that I stick to, saving money and eliminating the distracting ads on the latest skincare crazes. A dermatologist is considered a specialist, so standard co-pays apply.

Employee Assistance Program

Another benefit some health insurance plans offer is 24/7 access to unlimited phone consultations and eight free sessions per issue per year with EAP counselors. From there, some health insurance plan include in-network coverage where PPO members pay a $20 co-pay per visit.

BONUS: HSA / FSA Eligible Items

You know your doctors visits and prescriptions are eligible to be reimbursed by your HSA and FSA accounts, but did you know what else you can buy with these accounts? This is especially helpful if you have too much money to roll over in your FSA at the end of the year and you have to use it or lose it. Bandaids, Advil and sunscreen are examples of items that are not prescription but can be bought with FSA funds.

FSA store has a full list of FSA eligible items. They also note that medical face masks require a letter of medical necessity to be FSA eligible. Not all HSAs are the same, but here is a comprehensive list of HSA eligible items.

Additional HSA / FSA Eligible Items in the CARES Act

Did you know that the CARES Act passed in Spring 2020 in the United States expanded what you can use FSA and HSA funds? This act temporarily allows people to use FSA dollars to buy over the counter medications such as allergy relief drugs and pain relievers and feminine hygiene products. Take advantage soon though, right now this measure is only temporary!

What little known health insurance benefits have you found?

Peloton insurance reimbursement, peloton health insurance, peloton fitness reimbursement

Categories // Smart Spending Tags // Corporate Benefits, Saving Money Tips

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