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From: <>
Subject: Re: [APG] Mentoring
Date: Wed, 27 Feb 2008 23:54:36 -0600
References: <646214.9901.qm@web83308.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To: <646214.9901.qm@web83308.mail.sp1.yahoo.com>


Tami wrote:
> If there were a place to sign up for mentoring, I would have my name on
> the list. But I don't figure I'll hold my breath until someone approaches
> me first.
>most professionals seem busy with their own work, and my road remains long
>and lonely, save for the conference meetings and social events.



Tami, you mentioned that you had begun to lecture. Continue that. Write up
your research and submit it to journals. Attend an institute, where classes
are small and you can be a big fish in a small pond--rather than the one
person amid one or two thousand, as in the conference venues. At institutes,
where you're in the same class all week, in addition to the in-depth
education, you'll have a chance to shine not only to your teachers but also
to fellow students (who are quite likely to include leaders in the field,
because they, too, sit in the student chairs to continue learning). Attend
the one-day APG-PMC, even if you can't stay for the full conference.
Volunteering administratively is wonderful. Societies could not live without
volunteers. But to find someone to mentor you professionally, you'll stand a
much better chance if you look for ways to demonstrate your knowledge and
skill as a researcher.

I know many people who mentor many others; but most of those I know, as
Craig put it with his usual candor, initiate the offer of mentorship
themselves, when they see talent that impresses them. Most of us have also
tried saying "yes, of course" to those who seek us out, but the odds of a
good match are exceedingly small. Even then, the first step is finding out
the mentee's areas of expertise and skill level and mindset--all of which
*does* take a great deal of time that those "busy professionals" might not
have. That is why those in search of a mentor stand a much better chance of
being approached, by someone who is a good fit for them, if they demonstrate
their skill and their mindset through publications, lectures, professional
discussions in a small-group setting, or substantive contributions to lists
like this one.

Good luck, Tami. Continue to flower, and the bees will come to help you
pollinate. :)

Elizabeth

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