People often attribute their fame and fortune to a wide range of factors – hard work, useful contacts, or a lucky break. But is there a common denominator behind their success?
Let’s look at some case studies and phrase the question differently. What do Richard Branson, Bill Gates and Stephen Spielberg have in common?
Ok, so they’re all male, tick. They all seem to earn vast sums of money, tick. Most would say that they are all hugely successful in business, whether it’s creating an airline, creating an IT revolution or creating a cinema hit. But… why?
Hmmm. Let’s try again. How about Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou and Lady Gaga? They’re all female, tick. They are well known for being extremely successful in their profession, tick. And… what? They’re all 5ft 8? Not quite.
But actually, if you look hard enough, there is a behind-the-scenes common denominator. It is… wait for it… drum roll… they all had, or still have, a mentor.
So you might be asking what is a mentor? Can I have one please?
A mentor is an experienced and trusted adviser, and here within Career Development Services we have been helping students get access to mentors for over 13 years. Our mentoring scheme matches you with a mentor from the industry you have an interest in.
To meet with a mentor, who works in the career that you are interested in, is a real opportunity to dig deep and find out if the career that you think you want is really what you want. You can ask your mentor questions, find out how they made their first career move and get feedback on your CV. The most valuable part is that this is a real person in a real job who wants to help you get where you want to go – bonus!
So whether you have set your sights on a career as a Management Consultant, Physiotherapist, Teacher, Barrister, HR Manager or Engineer – or even if you’re not quite sure where you’re going yet – why not get in touch and see if we can help.
If it’s good enough for Richard Branson…