Guest Commentator: Shakarr Hawkins, Construction Project Manager, Wawa, Inc. @Wawa
Why should young professionals pursue mentor relationships?
Young professionals should pursue mentor relationships because it can positively impact their professional and personal life. While I have always had mentors at various stages of life, by joining the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia’s Pay It Forward program, I was paired with my first professional mentor that gave me great guidance along my professional path. I believe that networking always has its perks, but by forming a mentor relationship, it gives both parties a better opportunity to get to know each other and learn what is needed or wanted.
Some short-term things I learned from the program are how to step out of my comfort zone and invite people to have a conversation with me. With COVID-19 and an increase in working from home, most people have been relying on Zoom and Microsoft Teams to connect. It was how I connected with my mentor every few weeks and I also connected with mentees that were in similar paths as me. Although meeting face-to-face would always be ideal, being able to connect virtually via video-chat has been a better way for me to connect instead of just email. I have also learned to take a different approach to networking. Instead of asking people “what can you do for me?” or vice-versa, I believe it is much more beneficial to get to know people, their interests, and their professional abilities. A connection will then be formed more organically and that networking relationship will change from feeling like you have to help someone as a responsibility to genuinely wanting to help them in any way possible.
The greatest thing I learned from my mentor, Sean Hand, was how to give myself time for the goals I am working on. Sean helped me understand that instead of looking at the end goal, I should look at the smaller steps that are necessary to help me get there. Since then, I have felt more motivated as I was able to accomplish smaller goals that will eventually get me to where I want to be. I started giving myself monthly goals and “homework” that was very manageable, but would keep me energized and excited. I believe a mentor relationship can be beneficial to young professionals, or any professional, in various stages in life and career. Every day is a new opportunity to learn and grow, and with the right mentor-mentee pairing, the opportunities are endless.
Through our talent and workforce initiatives, the Chamber is working to leverage the region’s assets to make Greater Philadelphia the new national model to learn, apprentice, and work in the jobs of the future.
Pay It Forward is a mentoring engagement program that pairs young professionals with executives from Chamber member companies. Pairings are made based on personal and professional goals and interests, competencies, experience, and expectations.
