Mentoring for career development

Korean J Med Educ 2017 Jun; 29(2): 117-119. https://doi.org/10.3946/kjme.2017.59 eISSN: 2005-7288 C The Korean Society of Medical Education. All rights reserved. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/3.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Many mentoring programs are aimed at assisting participants with career management but just how can a mentor help? This article gives some activities to assist with career development conversations. Career management involves assessing the current situation and making informed decisions about the future. It requires reflection (thoughtful assessment of yourself and your situation) and action (deliberate movement toward selected goals). You can do this alone; however, a trusted confidante who can skilfully listen and question, may elicit insights that may otherwise remain unavailable. A mentor’s own experience may add perspective, can offer an opinion, and may provide extra information and access to resources. Finally, a mentor means not having to “go it alone” on the career journey.