Wednesday, March 16, 2011

entertainment industry coach question 741: Am I too old for a mentor?

His question went into a little more detail that may be helpful to many of you:
I'm 52 years old. I know a few cameramen whom I think would welcome speak with me. Am I too old to ask them to mentor me? I don't want them to think I don't know what I'm doing!

The answer is: No, as long as you have more to learn, you're never too old. The question is, what are you asking for. You want to be really clear:

1. What does the mentorship entail? (business advice & guidance? Craft advice? Shadowing?)

2. You want to set a time frame, so the mentor is clear that this isn't endless ( 3 conversations, 3 set visits, etc)

3. Explain why you've chosen him/her over all other people. It's prestigious to be asked to be a mentor. Let the people whom you're asking know, where you are, where you want to be, and what you want to learn from them in order to reach your goals.

Preparation + Professionalism never = don't know what I'm doing

Last tip, when seeking mentors, go after at least 5 at a time. The reasoning behind this is: if the first 4 say no, but the 5th one says YES, screw the rest! (was that harsh?) To heck with the rest! But you never would have gotten to the yes, if you started with the 1st, got a no, and got discouraged.


1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm 60 years old and have mentors younger and older. Mentoring is about sharing experiences and advice. The older i get the more I'm mentoring, and the more I seek mentors.
Jeffrey R. Clark

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