Should I get a mentor to help develop my career in security?
One popular and effective way to gain guidance, support, and insight is to have a mentor. A mentor is an experienced, knowledgeable expert – probably in the same field as yours, or the one you want to break into – whom you meet regularly for help with one or more career objectives.
Expert advice
Greg Meek: The goals I suggest focusing on with your mentor are self-and professional improvement and further recognition of skills leading to enhanced opportunities. A mentor provides a sounding board for new ideas and is an adviser when a specific project presents itself and a little support is sought. Sometimes, depending on your relationship, a little moral support at times, too.
Mentoring doesn’t have to be a formal sit down and record process. I have also found it valuable to have a role model: someone you see working in a role you want to be doing, and are doing it very well.
On large-scale jobs where the leader or trainer is addressing the entire team, delivering the briefing, I would look at that person and see myself doing it, and critique their method to absorb the good points and add my own thoughts of improvement. I’ve had some fantastic colleagues who are well-renowned in the industry, champions of industry (you know who you are).
They only encourage and offer up their support and provide an excellent example to model elements of yourself on. I met them through recommendation and referral and with that came great work opportunities. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know? I don’t agree. It’s having the right people who know what you know.
Sarah Austerberry: Not everybody will have the time to volunteer within their sector, but we can start small – mentoring a new member of staff , sharing your thoughts on a security article you have read or a workshop you have attended, so that colleagues can benefit from them. These are simple yet effective ways that you can give back to encourage others in our industry.
Ray Marskell: Find that ear you can trust and use as a sounding board to seek advice and guidance. My experience of the security sector is that the support is out there in one form or another. I have two mentors, one outside the security sector and one inside the industry. I often reach out for views on navigating challenges that might come my way. Someone who is good at listening and from whom you can seek advice. The ever-constant is change, which needs thought and discussion before action.
