yes to both questions 8 & 9, i think it can come from either way (formal program, or natural relationships) and it's important to be open to either. T

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10 yes to both questions 8 & 9, i think it can come from either way (formal program, or natural relationships) and it's important to be open to either. Targeted mentoring can be very powerful. Having a mentor and/or advocate can be extremely helpful. People need to realize and be reminded that you'll only get as much benefit as you put into it. My mentoring experience is invaluable as a mentee coming out of school. It gave me someone to talk to for advice and led to opportunities that I may not have been aware of. Any relationships formal and informal are important in a person's career. Someone to call when you have a weird question or concern about something in a project. Always great to get another perspective.

11 Mentoring is a great way to build tomorrow's leaders and wonderful way to give back to the industry. Often I think I learn as much as the people I have mentored. It helps us to keep up with and understand the new/younger view points and ideas. Both being a mentor and a mentee are invaluable. Although mentorship may not last a lifetime with a single person, the relationship serves its purpose for a certain period of time depending on needs/goals. While a designer, I mentored students on two separate occassions. In the last three years since I've moved to the owner/developer/project manager role, I have found that it's more challenging to find opportunities to have a mentor who is in a senior position to me and also a woman in this industry. I joined CREW Boston to hopefully find someone local. My firm has no senior female leadership. There is a need for senior women in our industry to partner with emerging or mid-level professionals. #9 was not really a yes or no question for me. I feel that formal mentoring can be positive for both the mentor and the mentee. However, I think informal networks established organically are equally if not more important. There are those that "go it alone" for the most part also by their nature. One key aspect of the mentor is to act as an advocate for the mentee in gaining access to the right spectrum of experiences within their company or industry. I think having one 'formal' mentor can limit your outlook... it's better to have several relationships that you can leverage as a resource throughout your career... I think this leads to a more well-rounded individual that has formed a unique career path.

12 Women and minorities often haven't had the family connections or the easy social introductions that can lead to informal mentoring relationships. Formal mentoring programs can reach them when an informal network fails. Mentoring whether formal or informal establishes a bond between experienced and less experienced employees in my office every day. I have see the positive role it plays in developing young talent in our office and feel it is essential in any architectural work environment. Mentoring is quite important in career direction as there is constant change occurring and actually helps mentor and person being mentored grow with the current changes as well as the basics.