Please mentor me!

By the end of my first week at work, I had totally forgotten everything that my varsity textbooks had taught me. All those pages were insignificant to what I had consumed in a week. What was I thinking? Now I know that I was not thinking at all.

This is when the mentoring part became vital. I needed someone in my corner to believe in my potential and push me in the right direction so I could "see the light". Without that buddy system, my job was harder, my tasks were obstacles and the things I came into the industry to learn were not in my reach.

Below are four top reasons why entry level workers are screaming: "Please mentor me!"

1. I have no idea what time management is: At varsity you are given a week to create a media list for your beautiful press release and another week to write the press release. The office is like the military; everything is done faster, harder and orders come from way above and you have to implement within a stipulated time.

2. Media are just not biting the angle we tried to sell: This is a struggle for all entry level workers, especially in PR, because varsity does not teach you media relations. You need to suddenly know how to deal with different personalities, you need to know how to tailor your pitch for different media and you need to secure coverage in an existing publication read nationally. Note: you 'need to'.

3. COB, TBC and TAX are all abbreviations that I do not understand: The first deadline I missed was all because of abbreviations used in the industry or company that I just did not know. My mentor needed me to have an updated media list by COB and that flushed me right out of wonderland forever. COB was meaningless in the whole email and all I focussed on was producing the best media list, but it got to my mentor late, so it all went to waste.

4. I have a need to impress and be seen: All 'new' team members want to be valued by the big bosses and senior colleagues. There is no way the shine of an entry level worker will be seen if there is no mentor showing it off and making sure that relevant tasks are executed. The difference between keeping a member in the team and getting a new one is by seeing their potential. Potential beats experience any day.
   

Not all companies are the same. Some just do not have the time to mentor people to harness their strengths and explore their weaknesses. And sometimes there is no buddy system that you can latch on to to help you learn and hold on to the right ropes. My advice: if all fails, get going and be in a space that will challenge you but also assist you in achieving your goals.