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Jen A. Miller Consulting

Tag: advise

  • Looking for a Mentor?

    Looking for a Mentor?

    Start by reassessing your definition of  mentor.

    Mentor
    Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

    “I think I need a mentor.” How many of you have had that thought? It’s certainly a sticky idea that stays glued somewhere in the back of my mind, surfacing every so often in deep contemplation about my life and in conversations with girlfriends about the trajectory of our careers.

    I’ve read countless articles about the importance of finding a mentor particularly for young women. We’re told we need this person to serve as a sounding board, a connector, and our guide through difficult life and career choices. As someone who’s recently detonated her own career foundation and begun to rebuild a new, I have without a doubt bought into the popular opinion and resolved that I do in fact need a mentor. It’s a resolution that has found its way onto my 2014 vision board and has been pulling its way to the front of my thoughts more often.

    As any uber Type-A personally would, I’ve begun my quest for a mentor by doing my research and outlining a plan.  I wanted to know what types of mentors I should seek, what qualities they should embody, and how I should go about asking someone to take on this significant role.

    Most of my research lead me to the same place. Look for someone who is several ladder rungs up in your industry that is successful, well-connected, and embodies where you want to be in a few years.  Then I came across something different, an approach to mentoring that stood out from the rest and particularly piqued my interest. It is called peer mentoring. (more…)

  • How to Be a Thoughtful Single Girl Pt 2

    Bettering the Lives of the People You Encounter Each Day

    A few weeks ago we shared our simple tips for staying connected to your friends and family if you’ve made a move away from home.  While it’s important to keep these ties strong, we recognize that being a truly thoughtful single girl goes beyond remembering to send a birthday card or gifting souvenirs back home every few month.  True thoughtfulness is finding ways big and small in each day to let others know you care about them.

    We’ve been noticing a slew of articles getting posted recently directing advice to twenty-somethings. Most of this advice stems from the idea that those of us who fall into this category are too self-absorbed to realize what is going on in the world around us. Moreover, we often get criticized for being too self-promoting while lacking a reasonable awareness of what our true value and role is in society. If we’re honest with ourselves, many of these criticisms aren’t too far from the truth.

    So what does it take to separate ourselves from the rest of the twenty-somethings who “just don’t get it?”

    When we look at the types of women who we admire and aim to replicate, they are those who have found ways to improve the lives of others around them in their day to day life. They are the women who, despite how busy or hectic their lives get, are able to keep from being the center of their own universe.  This is what distinguishes them from those twenty-somethings under harsh criticism.

    In an attempt to help each other become more like these women we admire, we’ve drummed up round two of the discussion with 9 more tips on how to be a thoughtful single girl. This time, however, we’re focused on the ideas that help you better the lives of the people you encounter each day.

    (more…)