Keep Mentoring, Even If It Looks Like No One Cares

Aug 18, 2014 business management

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I’ve had a lot of people come to me for various mentoring opportunities. They’ll ask for help, follow up once or twice, and then just disappear. I’m left wondering: Did I make a measurable impact on their lives?

One of my favorite requests has to do with resumes. I hire a number of technical people and I see a lot of resumes. When a person in my network is looking to get a new job, it’s not uncommon that they’ll send me their resume to review. I’ll give a bit of feedback, let them know my thoughts, and then move on. Sometimes, I’ll actually get the chance to see the resume after my feedback… sadly, more often than not, there’s almost no change.

I’m not saying I’m the oracle of knowledge when it comes to career development, but I think I have some useful feedback.

It just hurts to see it rejected or ignored. I think, why should I even continue?

But then, every once in a while something happens that keeps me going. It’s the one person that keeps in touch, takes even 1% of the feedback to heart, and improves their lives based off of some of the work I’ve done and the insight I’ve shared.

So, as a mentor, just keep working. There are always going to be people who don’t want to be helped or who aren’t ready. But, if you can make a positive affect on even 10% of the people you attempt to help, that’s 10% more people who you’ve saved untold time, money, and headaches. So, push aside the people who don’t seem to care, and keep doing what is right, and focus on those who you will help.