 |
Getting Started with Ingage
To Become a Protégé
- Step 1: Find a mentor by first choosing your area for development. Next select the topic.
- Step 2: Review each mentor's profile and select the one who can assist you in reaching your goal(s).
- Step 3: Complete the Protégé profile.
- Step 4: Pay for your services.
- Step 5: Your mentor will contact you within 48 hours to schedule your first meeting.
Click to Find a Mentor »
To Become a Mentor:
- Step 1: Review the benefits of becoming an Ingage Mentor and the job description.
- Step 2: Download an employee application, complete it and fax it back to Ingage.
- Step 3: Complete the Mentor Profile. Upload a Cover Letter and your resume or curriculum vitae.
- Step 4: Submit your information.
- Step 5: Ingage will call you to confirm we have received your paperwork and to schedule an interview.
Click to Become a Mentor »
More information to help you get started:
What can a mentor do for me?
A mentor can:
- Help you to make strategic decisions about your business, for example, deciding to add another location, purchase new technology, joint venture, outsource to an international vendor, or bring in a consultant.
- Give you ideas for new techniques and approaches, for example, sales and marketing strategies, supervisory and management strategies, or financial strategies that give you the edge you need as a manager, executive, or business owner.
- Review your work or projects, and give you some guidance and advice about how you can improve it, for example, a presentation to your executives, a new program you're developing, a new marketing strategy, etc.
- Help you to identify practices and methods to do something more efficiently or effectively, for example operational procedures and process flows, retention and recruitment programs, etc.
- Get honest and constructive feedback about your personal skill areas that may need fine tuning or improvement.
- Be a sounding board to bounce ideas off of.
- Prepare you for executive-level positions or help you to advance to the next level in your field.
- Help you to think creatively, strategically or entrepreneurially.
- Help you with your communication, public speaking, leadership, and supervisory skills.
- Help you to work through your career goals or determine new career goals.
- Help you to figure out how to balance your work and family.
With the guidance, support and assistance of a mentor, you can learn or fine tune skills and techniques, and obtain tricks-of-the-trade that would otherwise take years to learn. Working one-on-one with an experienced business professional who is many levels above you, and an established expert in their field, can help to shorten your learning curve, and give you the advantage you need to get that promotion, negotiate and close that deal, gain a competitive advantage, give you the confidence and assurance to take the next step, or just help you to be happier and more satisfied in life.
I didn't think that you have to pay for a mentor. Aren't there unpaid mentoring options?
Most of us are familiar with informal mentoring relationships where you ask someone to be your mentor, and he or she volunteers their time to help you. In this case, you don't have to pay anything to the mentor. Informal mentoring relationships are a viable option for individuals who have a well established network of very successful professionals that they can tap into.
In these situations, an informal mentoring relationship can be easy to establish by asking the person if they will mentor you, and calling them when an issue arises. Meetings over coffee or lunch where they can share with you their experiences, or give you advice about an issue you may be facing can provide some valuable insight that you wouldn't be able to get from a book, seminar, or conference.
Mentoring opportunities are also available when an employer sponsors the program.
Why should I pay for a mentor?
For some individuals, finding a seasoned professional of the highest caliber, asking them to be your mentor, and calling them to meet you when you need their help is a difficult and uncomfortable task. Many people do not have access to these high level professionals, and asking them to help you, taking away time from their busy schedules, is hard to do.
Participating in a paid, formal program removes any hesitancy that you might be interrupting or inconveniencing your mentor, and allows you the freedom to contact your mentor at any time. You can feel comfortable knowing that the mentor has been trained to make every meeting productive, and that you will receive one-on-one attention focused specifically on your goals.
A formal mentoring program also has a beginning and an end date. Oftentimes in an informal mentoring relationship, mentors and protégés are often hesitant to commit to the relationship because of a concern that the relationship will never end, or it will be difficult to end. A formal mentoring program removes any obligation to one another to continue the relationship once the program has ended, especially if the relationship has not been ideal. It allows both individuals to understand their commitment to each other and be completely focused on the goals of the program.
What service does Ingage provide?
Ingage takes away the discomfort and anxiety of having to find a mentor yourself. In addition, Ingage ensures that you gain as much, if not more, of the benefits and advantages that a mentor provides.
Specifically, our services include:
- Finding high caliber mentors who have a passion to share their skills, knowledge and experiences with others; that are trusting, honest, and respectful; and maintain complete confidentiality about the information you discuss.
- Training and preparing our mentors to follow a formal mentoring process that helps you to clearly identify and define your goals, and assists you to achieve them within the program timeframe.
- Providing online scheduling and meeting tools to help track your meetings and discussions with your mentor.
- Providing mentoring resources to help you to build productive and stable mentoring relationships.
- Providing a Mentor-Protégé Relations Specialist to assist you in working out disagreements or problems that need a third party to facilitate.
- Providing access to a network of mentors, so you can expand your professional network.
When should I consider getting a mentor?
Here are some examples of stages in your career when a mentor can help give you the boost you need to succeed and get ahead.
- When you have started in a new position and you are expected to hit the ground running.
- When you have taken on new role or responsibility, or started in a new industry where you have little experience, but need to gain the skills and experience quickly.
- When you want a personal assessment to determine your strengths and weaknesses, and what areas you should be working on to maximize your potential.
- When you are striving for a promotion or a new position, and need to know what skills and experiences will help you to get there quickly.
- When you need the support and reassurance to validate your thought processes, strategies, and plans so that you can be confident to move forward.
- When you're struggling with certain skills and performance areas and you want to improve without others knowing your weaknesses.
- When you are at a plateau in your career and you want options and assistance to help you get past it.
What's the difference between informal verus formal mentoring?
Informal Mentoring
- Goals are unspecified.
- Outcomes are unknown.
- Access to the mentor is limited depending on how busy the mentor is.
- The relationship has an unspecified duration.
- No training or support to either the mentor or protégé about how to build productive relationships or manage communication breakdowns.
- Meetings are sometimes productive, often social.
Formal Mentoring
- Goals are clearly defined.
- Outcomes are measured.
- Mentor is completely dedicated to the protégé's needs.
- Training and support are provided to both mentor and protégé throughout the program.
- There's a specified mentoring duration.
- Meetings are scheduled to keep on track, and are productive and effective.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
