To this day, those simple six words still speak to me when I am evaluating many aspects of my life whether it be in my personal life or my professional life. Her words were not meant to be judgmental or directive, but simply to give me another perspective and mentor me as I was only 15 months into my career. To this day, this woman is still a mentor who I stop by and see on a regular basis to help me with personal and work challenges. Knowing I have an unbiased champion in my corner makes me more confident in the choices I make. Fun fact: We met at an ISPE event when I was in college all those years ago.
January is National Mentoring Month in the USA. People all around are sharing stories of how they have had a positive impact on others lives and offering opportunities for you to get involved in a local mentor program in your community, company, or industry organization.
This is very timely for Women In Pharma® at ISPE since our main focus this year, under the leadership of Jeannine Hilmer, is Mentoring! Within the Women In Pharma® initiative we are going to start and host at least 20 mentor circles in 2020 around the world.
- What is a mentor circle? The Women in Pharma Mentor Circle Program promotes growing relationships and career development. Formal mentor circles last 1 year and a toolkit is provided to facilitate the process.
- How often do they meet? A Mentor Circle is a group of about 10 people (female and male) and will meet 4-6 times per year.
- Why would I want to join one of these? Mentoring provides the mentor with the ability to share their experiences, practice public speaking, engage in thoughtful conversations while the mentee can feel safe and open to discuss workplace or personal challenges in their lives. This is a win-win situation for the mentor or the mentee.
SAS Success Factors data states that by being a mentee you may:
- Receive higher compensation
- Receive a greater number of promotions
- Feel more satisfied with their career
- Feel more committed to their career
- Are more likely to believe that they will advance in their career
If you are looking to gain support and increase your executive presence, a mentor circle could be right for you.
If you are looking for unbiased and judgement free advice, a mentor circle could be right for you.
If you are just looking, looking for something, but you are not quite certain, but you know a group of motivated high performing people may be able to help, a mentor circle could be right for you.
We are always looking for people to participate, lead a mentor circle, or just be a volunteer and help facilitate the program.
If you are interested in joining our Women In Pharma® International mentoring committee at ISPE or becoming a mentee within your local chapter, please reach out to Women in Pharma®.
Women in Pharma® at ISPE provides women in the pharmaceutical industry a forum for connecting and collaborating on technical and career advancement topics. Women in Pharma’s inclusive community leverages a network of mentors, role models, and resources across all levels to foster balanced professional success.
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Help support the ISPE Women in Pharma® reach their goal of $25,000 in 2020 for the ISPE Foundation to support students and young professionals to travel to meetings and engage more participation from emerging markets around the world. Contact Women in Pharma® for more information on donation opportunities.
Tomorrow there is our first Women in Pharma® event of 2020. Taking place Friday January 31 at the 2020 ISPE Facilities of the Future conference is a breakfast session on Proactive Career Design. If you are in the area or at the conference, please stop by.
Our next International Women in Pharma® event at ISPE is at the 2020 ISPE Aseptic Conference March 3, in Bethesda, MD.
Thank you for taking the time to read and if you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to reach out to me as well through the Women in Pharma® ISPE Community of Practice or on LinkedIn.
