One of my most memorable work experiences was during a summer at a camp in Missouri. I worked in the main office with three other girls my age and our boss, Jenny. Jenny quickly became a strong influence for my work and she taught me both about work related tips as well as good general life lessons. She became a mentor for me in the workplace that I could go to for any question and she constantly offered up advice to help me succeed. We both benefited from the relationship because I was gaining knowledge, and she was gaining and more effective employee. She protected me when I faced hard challenges with people outside the company and also helped me to form relationships within the office. I still keep in touch with Jenny and know that I will always be able to go to her for future connections or just good advice.
-Alison
Work relationships are undoubtedly important, as they often determine one’s happiness, career success (Uzzi & Dunlap) and work satisfaction (Roy), among other things. Of course, as with any relationship, there are positive and negative forms. On one end, my current employer, Todd Crannell, president and founder of Q2 Sports and Entertainment, is probably my biggest career mentor. As we learned in class, mentoring is “the process of forming and maintaining developmental relationships between a mentor and a junior person.” Without a doubt, Todd and I have formed (and continue) this relationship. As a successful sports agent, he is the perfect person to help guide me in my career aspirations. Todd has taken time out of his schedule for the past 3+ months to speak to me nearly every day, and help me on different projects related to the sports and entertainment industry. Unfortunately, there is also the other side of work relationships. The first one that comes to my mind is my relationship with a coworker of mine at the 3M Championship last summer. Because we didn’t see eye to eye on most things, and frankly didn’t get along, my work satisfaction was drastically effected for the worst. Fortunately, it was just a summer internship, and we were able to eventually set aside our differences for a short period of time. Had this been a long-term relationship, however, there might have been more of an issue.
-Tom
This summer, my mentor at my boutique investment banking internship in New York City was a third-year associate named Zach. Zach was a senior member of my fraternity when I was a freshman, so we were familiar. He had gotten wind from a senior that I was closer with that I was looking for a banking job in New York City and called me one day during my junior year to see if I was interested. I was, so he set up an interview with the boss, which I performed well in, so I got the offer and decided to intern there at Livingston Securities. Zach also helped me find an apartment in the New York City and was very helpful in my transition to the Big Apple, a place I had never been before.
At work, he definitely acted like a mentor to me. During my first week, he took time out of his day to take me out to lunch (and pay) while he explained how the company does business. He introduced me to the senior members of the team and also briefed me within the first week about their personalities and backgrounds, as well as what they like to see out the interns and what type of work is most effective and presentable to them. Zach also took the time to explain what we were specifically looking for in the companies we sought to acquire private placement capital for, so that I could narrow my focus. He forwarded me much of the work he did as an intern when he was still at Wake Forest while he gave me lessons on his computer covering various programs that the company used, all for my knowledge of the company operates.
Throughout the summer, I forwarded all of my work to Zach and he would regularly pull me aside quickly to review it and point out what was good, what was bad, and what would catch the attention of the bosses; oftentimes he even gave me a great idea and took no credit for it when I included it in my work. What was most helpful was definitely his pointers on what the bosses were looking for, as I always tried to stand out among the other interns, though he often gave similar tips to them. Zach was a great mentor for me this summer at Livingston Securities and I would hope many people would be fortunate enough to find a mentor like Zach in their organizations.
-Mike
An aspect of work the work environment that will never change are the relationships formed and the bonds that strengthen between co-workers and even business-business relationships. It is important to treat these relationships with respect and integrity in order to gain the trust and respect of your co-workers. Strong relationships mean that people want to work harder for you and will give you their best effort. One of the strongest forms of relationships in a work environment is the mentor relationship.
Two valuable mentors in my life both work for SECCA (Southeastern Center for Contemporary Arts) in Winston-Salem. I have been interning for SECCA on and off the past semester in order to gain knowledge of a larger art institute. Michael and Kristin immediately took me under their wing noticing that I was an ambitious business minded student with a broad knowledge of art, but lacked understanding of the more current and contemporary art world. I believe Michael and Kristin were successful mentors because of their age. Being in their late twenties I could relate easier to them and was able to communicate in a more lighthearted yet serious manner. Through their mentoring I was introduced to several artists and successful art enthusiasts, learned how to archive art exhibitions and learned the ins and outs of the museum business that I may not have learned with someone I could not have communicated with so easily, respected and knew that I had their respect as well.
-William
No comments:
Post a Comment