Ploymint

The mentor/apprentice relationship is one that dates back to antiquity. The ripened old minds of the day were always tasked with sowing the seeds of knowledge in the day’s youth.

This relationship has evolved throughout the generations, but never as much as it has with millennials. Career mentoring for millennials involves multiple mentors, connection through social media, and a reciprocal exchange of knowledge.

Millennials are Open to Multiple Mentors

One way millennials have changed the mentor/apprentice relationship is that we don’t believe in exclusivity. We will acquire as many mentors as we need in order to progress towards our goals.

In my previous article on career mentors, I mention how I have two; one who is a content marketer and one who is a career coach. Don’t limit yourself to just one mentor. Career mentoring for millennials involves getting advice from as many sources as possible and deciding which is the best to follow.

Career Mentoring for Millennials Involves Social Media

Platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn have revolutionized networking. Gone are the days when you had to join a professional association and attend in-person networking events. You can just as easily network with potential mentors in a LinkedIn group specific to your industry.

The content marketer I have as a mentor is a relationship that was fostered entirely through LinkedIn. I also have never actually met her face-to-face. She’s located in Houston, so we do all of our communication through LinkedIn or e-mail. The point? The modern mentor is only a couple of clicks away, and they could live anywhere in the world. Use that to your advantage.

Reverse Mentorship

The biggest difference between modern mentoring and traditional mentoring is that millennials have plenty of skills to teach their mentors.

Take social media for example. Of course there are those who are savvy with social media in every generation, but millennials were the generation who came of age on social media. Our AIM profiles were where we displayed our identity. Then it was Myspace. Then Facebook. This obsessive social media use in our wonder years has made navigating and using social media platforms second nature.

As “new” social media like Snapchat, Periscope, Vine, and Blab continue to grow, millennials can use their native expertise in social media to educate their mentors on best practices. The mentors can then come up with a way their company can use these platforms to grow their business. I’d be willing to bet that a hefty percentage of the companies with top social media strategies have a millennial running their campaigns.

At the end of the day, the goal of career mentoring for millennials is the same as generations past, and that is to pass important knowledge from one generation to the next. Although the methods may have changed for millennials, that goal remains unchanged.

Do you think the characteristics of career mentoring for millennials will remain the same for generation Z when they enter the workforce and seek a mentor? Let’s continue the conversation on Twitter.