How to Get a Good Mentor

In the old days, people did not spend years on the job market seeking out a way to break into the job they want. Many young adults would figure out a way how to get a good mentor and serve as their apprentice for a number of years before finally being ready to take on a business of their own. The system is tried and true and has proven to be an effective way of learning and beginning a career field.

Today, young adults no longer aspire to be shoemakers or blacksmiths but the mentor-apprentice system remains as promising today as it did before, especially in this economy. Just think how many more college graduates would still have their jobs if their education came in the form of working in the field rather than out of textbooks in college courses. The skills and the wealth of knowledge are so much greater if you are instantly exposed to the real world job that you are trying to attain.

A good mentor, particularly in the entertainment industry, would provide a much more thorough education that is geared towards the real world and will obviously come in much more handy than that chapter about the pioneers of radio in the coursework. To work in the field, an education in modern tools and techniques, which are constantly evolving, is essential. Learning from doing rather than listening is another important aspect of learning.

A good mentor will also give you access to professionals in the industry that are your key to the job bank in the entertainment field in your city or even elsewhere. Simply working in the number of years in a select industry will give you a wealth of knowledge and expertise and by apprenticing for a good mentor will give you access to everything that they have picked up over years of working.

Now that you know what one does, you may be wondering, how to get a good mentor? A good mentor does not mean that they are very famous or successful, a show producer for a cable station can be as valuable a mentor as a primetime network show host. A sound editor at a local station can be as valuable a mentor as the producer of the Howard Stern show. In other words, you need not go out looking for the most successful person willing to talk to you, although it would not hurt.

Instead, you should focus your mentor search on finding someone who has the type of job that you want in the industry that you want. This person should have as much experience as possible and be as open and helpful as a complete stranger can get. You can typically contact these people through their work e-mails, running into one at an event, or attending a convention for that industry or profession.

If you are wondering how to get a good mentor, look no further than Entertainment Connection which sets up people pursuing a career in entertainment with a mentor that has been working in the field and will help train you and find you a job over the course of the program.