The Entertainment Career Connection has about 25 years of experience in the topic of “mentoring.” And we get a lot of questions about how our mentors do their jobs. There are many thoughts on the topic. Webster’s dictionary defines a mentor as:
Main Entry:
1men·tor
Pronunciation:
\ˈmen-ˌtȯr, -tər\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Latin, from Greek Mentōr
Date:
1616
1capitalized : a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus' son Telemachus2 a: a trusted counselor or guide b: tutor, coach — men·tor·ship \-ˌship\ noun
1men·tor
Pronunciation:
\ˈmen-ˌtȯr, -tər\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Latin, from Greek Mentōr
Date:
1616
1capitalized : a friend of Odysseus entrusted with the education of Odysseus' son Telemachus2 a: a trusted counselor or guide b: tutor, coach — men·tor·ship \-ˌship\ noun
Here are ten myths and some of our observations about today’s contemporary trends in mentoring. Wether you want to learn to be a film producer, or need to learn how to be a recording artist, or arte interested in a career in radio, learning from an entertainment Connection mentor is the way to really learn.
1) You do not need to be a Yogi to be a mentor. It is possibly the most frequent method of sharing knowledge in our global society, and anyone with the experience to be a powerful learning influence can be a mentor today.
2) Effective mentoring means that both parties perceive benefits. The best mentors are not necessarily people who set out to be mentors. One-on-one, face-to-face mentoring is now easier today thanks to modern technology - it can can even be via telephone, fax or email.
3) Mentoring requires commitment of time that few professionals can afford. NOT TRUE> Mentoring is simply helping someone learn while you are on the job. The reality is that it can increase on-the-job performance for the mentor along with learning, and gives career opportunities for the person being trained.
4) If someone is mentoring a student, there is no loss of productivity because mentoring actually improves productivity -- through better communication, clarity of goals, commitment, and planning, not to mention attention to the student.
5) Age is not a factor for mentors, because technology, innovation, and other learned skills (such as the Internet marketing) happen so fast today that sometimes mentors end up being the young mentoring older folks.
6) Young people who have bad attitudes can't learn by a mentor. NOT TRUE. Most young people often view an older mentor guide with respect, so they listen to them and learn.
7) Today’s changing economy and globalization means that learning increases job stability during crisis and change management.
8) When provided with a vision and purpose combined with skill training and support, adults were more likely to volunteer as a mentor.
3) Mentoring requires commitment of time that few professionals can afford. NOT TRUE> Mentoring is simply helping someone learn while you are on the job. The reality is that it can increase on-the-job performance for the mentor along with learning, and gives career opportunities for the person being trained.
4) If someone is mentoring a student, there is no loss of productivity because mentoring actually improves productivity -- through better communication, clarity of goals, commitment, and planning, not to mention attention to the student.
5) Age is not a factor for mentors, because technology, innovation, and other learned skills (such as the Internet marketing) happen so fast today that sometimes mentors end up being the young mentoring older folks.
6) Young people who have bad attitudes can't learn by a mentor. NOT TRUE. Most young people often view an older mentor guide with respect, so they listen to them and learn.
7) Today’s changing economy and globalization means that learning increases job stability during crisis and change management.
8) When provided with a vision and purpose combined with skill training and support, adults were more likely to volunteer as a mentor.
9) Students do not learn as much in a classroom - they learn more while experiencing the job.
10) Mentoring is becomming the most economical, productive and successful form of teaching today.
At the Entertainment Career Connection mentors share their experiences. The Film Connection's Film School takes you out of the classroom and onto real film sets where you'll learn by doing stuff while you learn, one-on-one with your mentor, who is a working professional in the area of film you want to study. No other film school comes close to succeeding like this.
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