You’ve probably heard that finding the perfect mentor is imperative for your success, but why is mentorship so important? How can you find the perfect mentor? And how can you also become the perfect mentor yourself?

The art of mentoring is of utmost importance and can be used in every facet of life. Rona Borre, CEO and Founder of Instant Alliance, a Chicago-based staffing agency, has written 10 pieces of advice on how to perfect this art.

WHY IS MENTORSHIP IMPORTANT?

Mentors can save you a lot of time, money and energy invested in the wrong things. People, in general, operate well when they have accountability, which is what a mentor does. It’s also important to have someone to challenge you to push you further than you thought possible yourself.

HOW TO FIND THE PERFECT MENTOR?

Someone who can see the “potential you” versus the “current you” is the perfect mentor. The perfect mentor is someone who has already traveled down the specific path that you want to go on. It’s good to have several mentors in other fields to give you a bigger perspective, but it’s crucial to have a mentor in your exact same field who can lead and guide you.

HOW TO BECOME THE PERFECT MENTOR?

It’s just as important to have a mentor as it is to be one. You can learn so much from your mentee through the questions they ask to further your own career as you continue to encourage each other.

RONA’S MENTORING TIPS

Rona shares that her strongest mentoring successes have been helping others that come prepared to work. You should pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses and be prepared to put forth specific topics in which you need assistance, for this guarantees that no time will be wasted!

Together, Rona and her mentee are able to dive right in and problem solve, bringing about a positive experience right from the start. Rona prepares a concise agenda for meetings with her mentees, as this process allows them to track their progress and stay focused on their goals. Her process has a “team” mentality, allowing for greater success.

While Rona fields many questions from her mentees, she loves to share her own past lessons, whether positive or negative, as these are learning experiences. Often, being a mentor has given her the opportunity to learn from her mentee, too! Mentoring keeps Rona mentally challenged and, often times, she is able to take away a new perspective on life and mentoring.

3 WAYS TO SEEK A MENTOR

1. Attend industry events and introduce yourself to people you respect and admire and get their contact information.
2. Describe the guidance you are seeking to your network asking for introductions to people connected to your area of interest. LinkedIn is a great source to make corporate connections.
3. Research professionals who are doing interesting things in your industry and reach out to them.

5 REASONS TO BE A MENTOR

1. You can learn from your mentee.
2. Helping other others succeed is a way of giving back.
3. Watching your mentee achieve their goals and helping them lay out a foundation to achieve success is fulfilling.
4. You stay relevant.
5. In the end, you have a new professional and sometimes personal relationship.

Known as “The Chicago Tech Connector,” Rona Borre is a pro at networking and building relationships. Her ability to earn and maintain the trust of her clients led her to start strategic staffing firm Instant Alliance in 2001. Over the last 18 years, Instant Alliance has grown into one of Chicago’s most trusted sources for tech and finance talent. Well-known names like Walgreens, Allstate and McDonald’s trust Rona and her team to “get the job done.”