Graduating college? Entering workforce? Find a mentor. It can help.

What if this happened to you?

You’re about to graduate from college and looking forward to your first career opportunity. You’re excited about finally getting the opportunity to put your years of education into practice. Unfortunately, your enthusiasm is not shared by prospective employers who view you and the hundred other applicants like you as all being the same:  you all have a degree but no experience. How valuable can you be?  You use the services of the college Placement Office but you’re just one of the many in line looking desperately for assistance in finding that first job.  Your resume looks like everyone else’s and the advice given to you at the Placement Office is given to every other graduate because you’re all in the same boat.

Welcome to your first lesson in career development in the School of Hard Knocks. Maybe you should have gone to Mentoring University.

Had you gone to Mentoring University, you probably wouldn’t have time to wait in line at the college Placement Office.  Besides, you got your resume done a long time ago because you and your mentor have been discussing this moment in your career for quite some time.  When you were interested in pursuing a degree in finance, you were smart enough to ask friends and relatives for names of people with whom you could network in your chosen field.  After a few detours, you finally found your mentor who took an eager interest in assisting you in preparing for this moment.

Throughout your academic career, your mentor has discussed various “real life” issues giving you valuable information and ideas to draw upon. Your mentor has even arranged for you to have a summer internship providing you with valuable experience for inclusion on your resume. Although your mentor does not have an opportunity for you at her company, she has put you in contact with colleagues and opening doors which have good potential.  Regardless of what happens, you know you’ll eventually secure a more meaningful job than many of your fellow students.  Aren’t you glad you thought of Mentor University early on?