The Value of a Mentor
- This was posted on July 31, 2010
When I was a junior in college, I had an internship at the university’s communication office. I had been hired to do graphic design work for the office, but my knowledge of the software was so limited that I preferred the other part of the job, which involved writing. Eventually I took over editing the weekly intra-campus newsletter, among other duties. I learned about pitching stories and writing news releases while dealing with the more mundane tasks: endlessly faxing news releases, organizing press clippings, and fetching coffee.
While these have been useful skills that I have taken with me to every job I’ve had since then, the most valuable part of the internship was the relationship I had with my boss. She was a gifted writer who had traveled widely. She combined her exacting editing skills with a sense of humor, warmth, and kindness. Even when she would mock being exasperated and mark up my text so it was unrecognizable, it was taken as friendly encouragement and a challenge to me to do better, which I did. She understood her job wasn’t to be my boss, but my mentor.
Not all bosses are like her and in the scope of my career she stands out as one of my favorites. If you are looking for cash for structured settlements, you might want to remember the importance of a good relationship. When it’s time to sell annuity payments, you want to find a buyer that you can trust to look out for you through the process.
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