By Amy Kyllo
Staff Writer, Editor, Star Publications
Sauk Centre, MN
There is one thing that took me from being green and underqualified for my role to enjoying my work and performing at an acceptable level: mentorship. If you are a boss and want to have happy employees, put new employees with a work mentor/buddy who will help them grow and will look out for them.
When I began as a staff writer and reporter 2.5 years ago, I was straight out of college with a degree in public relations, which was related but not a perfect fit for what I was hired to do. Knowing this, my company immediately put me with a professional writing coach who had written for newspapers for longer than I had been alive. I worked in tandem with this writing mentor for the next 18 months.
It was because of her that my first year went well and I enjoyed my work. I cannot stress enough how important it was to my success and job satisfaction. Motivated employees appreciate investment.
Her mentorship role changed as I grew in experience, but training never stopped. We would meet in person every month or two and discuss what I was working on, struggling with, and my goals.
With her help and encouragement, regular goal setting became part of life. A piece of notebook paper taped on my desk in front of my computer listed what I was working on. We chose goals from the patterns I saw from checking my edits and what she had noticed.
One of the copy editors also took me under her wing, keeping an eye out for recurring issues in my work and patiently explaining to me why my writing was changed in copy editing. She also would call me up and teach me things she saw I did not understand.
With their close mentorship and their above and beyond in investment in me, that year and a half was a time of lots of growth. They helped me gain competency, and when my mentors took other roles elsewhere, I was ready to take on a portion of their responsibilities.
I have worked to begin new mentorships at the company, but I confess that I have slipped personally in my goal setting. When I took on more responsibility, it took a few months to learn how to swim, much less set professional goals. Since then it has been hard to know where to start again.
I still have a few goals. I am working on using better quotes within my stories. Overall, another goal has been to create a reputation of excellence within the community where my work is respected and where the community feels increasing trust in me to tell their stories well. Finally, my work mentor has been encouraging me to have healthier timing in how and when I accomplish my work as a remote employee.
To takeaway: if you are an employer, give your new and/or young employees a professional mentor. Pay them to have coffee and talk through their goals and weaknesses. Their growth and job satisfaction will create a return on investment. If you are wondering about specifics of what this looked like and what I gained, feel free to reach out, I would be happy to share more.
Secondly, set goals. If you are an employee, getting better at your work benefits your company and is a value that you take with you, no matter what. Working towards something brings enjoyment to the present and rewards to tomorrow.
Amy
Staff Writer, Editor, Star Publications
Sauk Centre, MN
There is one thing that took me from being green and underqualified for my role to enjoying my work and performing at an acceptable level: mentorship. If you are a boss and want to have happy employees, put new employees with a work mentor/buddy who will help them grow and will look out for them.
When I began as a staff writer and reporter 2.5 years ago, I was straight out of college with a degree in public relations, which was related but not a perfect fit for what I was hired to do. Knowing this, my company immediately put me with a professional writing coach who had written for newspapers for longer than I had been alive. I worked in tandem with this writing mentor for the next 18 months.
It was because of her that my first year went well and I enjoyed my work. I cannot stress enough how important it was to my success and job satisfaction. Motivated employees appreciate investment.
Her mentorship role changed as I grew in experience, but training never stopped. We would meet in person every month or two and discuss what I was working on, struggling with, and my goals.
With her help and encouragement, regular goal setting became part of life. A piece of notebook paper taped on my desk in front of my computer listed what I was working on. We chose goals from the patterns I saw from checking my edits and what she had noticed.
One of the copy editors also took me under her wing, keeping an eye out for recurring issues in my work and patiently explaining to me why my writing was changed in copy editing. She also would call me up and teach me things she saw I did not understand.
With their close mentorship and their above and beyond in investment in me, that year and a half was a time of lots of growth. They helped me gain competency, and when my mentors took other roles elsewhere, I was ready to take on a portion of their responsibilities.
I have worked to begin new mentorships at the company, but I confess that I have slipped personally in my goal setting. When I took on more responsibility, it took a few months to learn how to swim, much less set professional goals. Since then it has been hard to know where to start again.
I still have a few goals. I am working on using better quotes within my stories. Overall, another goal has been to create a reputation of excellence within the community where my work is respected and where the community feels increasing trust in me to tell their stories well. Finally, my work mentor has been encouraging me to have healthier timing in how and when I accomplish my work as a remote employee.
To takeaway: if you are an employer, give your new and/or young employees a professional mentor. Pay them to have coffee and talk through their goals and weaknesses. Their growth and job satisfaction will create a return on investment. If you are wondering about specifics of what this looked like and what I gained, feel free to reach out, I would be happy to share more.
Secondly, set goals. If you are an employee, getting better at your work benefits your company and is a value that you take with you, no matter what. Working towards something brings enjoyment to the present and rewards to tomorrow.
Amy