Suggestion 3: Always ask. The most they can say is NO - but don’t be defensive when they do.

My mother always used to tell me this - and it was validated when I was a senior in high school. My grades were just under the A- line which identified the group that was required to take the National Merit Scholarship test while it was optional for others. Thanks to my mother, it was a test I did take. Only the class valedictorian and I had test scores giving us Letters of Commendation.

So you should always ask - for an informational interview, for help connecting you to a colleague of mine, for consideration for a job. You never know what the person will say - and it could be YES....

But don't be defensive if I do say No. It may not be the right time, the right place, the right skills fit, or the right person. Remember that there will be another opportunity.

Posted via email from suegriffey's posterous

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Mentor: Barbara Rawlins, Monitoring and Evaluation Team Leader, Maternal and Child Survival Program

Another feature of this blog is bringing you advice and perspectives from people who mentor, by answering 3 questions.
Here are Barbara Rawlins’ responses:
What are mentees looking for? · Career guidance · Technical advice · Moral support · Advice on how to negotiate politically-sensitive or controversial situation
What 1 piece of advice do you give every mentee you work with? Figure out what they want to do (in the long term) and what steps they can take to get there
Why are you interested in mentoring? To support younger colleagues, especially women, to help attain their career goals

2017 – Sue’s Year in Review

The last time I did a Year in Review was at the end of 2014. (See Sue's Year in Review, http://www.suementors.com/2014/12/sues-year-in-review.html.)
It was one of my first real forays into better communications and dataviz – and I have learned more since then. It’s been helpful that so many evaluators and others are blogging about improvements in communicating our work and even offering free courses and YouTube videos.

The infographic shows what I’ve done and I’m so really happy that my blogging is back – and on the upswing! It’s been wonderful to be able to use my mentoring skills in so many different ways this year - and even to start working on a second journal article.
But doing the review also made me realize what it doesn’t show from 2017: -14 weeks of hospital and acute rehab weeks and 6 of rehab-on-the-mend weeks (including 1 missed-vacation-in-Florida week because I couldn’t fly) for hip-related care -30 days of vacation trips in Wisconsin, St. Thomas (during Hurricane Irma …

Guidance on Mentoring: What is Mentoring?

This brief guide focuses on defining different aspects of mentoring, whether for an individual or for a team, and includes selected reference resources. It is critical that the mentee and mentor both approach their interaction with the same understanding of the nature and scope of the advising that will be offered. This brief guide can serve as a reference for both parties in arriving at that mutual understanding.
Before delving into mentoring, it’s important to be aware that sometimes the terms “mentoring” and “coaching” are used interchangeably despite important differences between them. There are many resources on mentoring and coaching – and almost as many different definitions for each as well as the similarities and overlap between the two (such as shown in the articles on coaching in the resource list below).Also, most people agree that mentoring is NOT training although a mentor or coach may recommend that a mentee obtain additional training.
What is the nature of the mentoring…

Sue Mentors: Jobs, Careers, Lifework...

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