For those with some years of experience under their belt it's sometimes easy to forget the particular challenges that face those starting out. Those first roles in HR aren't simply about putting knowledge acquired during uni or training into practice, but rather of setting the groundwork for a challenging and rewarding career path. But with HR becoming such a vast and diverse profession, how is an inexperienced practitioner to know what steps and roles will form the direction that will ultimately prove the most satisfying?

"If only I'd known that when I was setting out!'' It's something you hear all the time, so it's perhaps not surprising that savvy HR professionals recognize the need to align with an experienced mentor.

While most team leaders will be expected to foster improved technical and behavioural skills, a good HR mentor will offer so much more. He or she will be someone to provide that critical, honest and sometimes confronting feedback to increase self awareness. They can suggest ways to be more involved in activities that broaden HR industry networks. They can also be a shoulder to lean on through those early HR career glitches - whether by providing an impartial/independent view on professional conflicts or advice through to securing that elusive work-life balance.

Finding a mentor - make it happen!
A small number of companies recognise the competitive advantage of a structured mentoring programme in attracting the best and brightest of new HR talent. This is one strategy to ensure that raw talent is given the best chance to make the transformation into high calibre HR professionals of the future.

What do HR professionals who work for companies don't offer formal mentoring programs do? 
At a recent seminar organized by The Next Step's early career specialists, The Next Gen, two senior HR professionals suggested that securing a mentor in the absence of a structured programme doesn't need to be a daunting task. Noel Pearse, former Director of HR for a number of global FMCG companies and current NSW President of AHRI and Jacky Smithwick, Director of Human Resources for GE Money explained that using industry networks was the best approach.

Both Jacky and Noel had experience a great deal of success in working with career mentors that they had met through their industry contacts. Failing having the industry exposure or contacts they suggested that an external mentoring program such as the one run by the professions peak body, AHRI was an ideal way to source a mentor.

So what do you look for in a prospective mentor? 
Some of the important considerations outlined by Jacky and Noel in their presentations were:

• The mentor must have the right level of experience to challenge and stretch you;
• The mentor must be reasonably available;
• You must be able to trust the mentor to keep your confidence;
• You must have a strong empathy or connection with the mentor - they don't need to be your best friend but they do need to be someone who is reasonably 'on your wavelength'.

Take the lead
"Know your goals and set them high enough so you feel a real sense of achievement once you reach them"

To get the most out of a mentoring relationship, Jacky emphasised the importance of taking accountability for the mentoring agenda. "You need to come prepared with a clear understanding of your development needs so that your mentor can provide insight and guidance to help you achieve the desired goal".

Put another way, the mentor doesn't 'make it happen', but rather their role is in helping their charge make it happen for themselves!

Other issues to consider:
Confidentiality. Discuss the boundaries of the relationship early on and recognize that some aspects of the guidance you need, may have to be drawn from other sources. 
Internal or external mentor? Using a mentor outside of your organization may open the way for a more transparent relationship and lower the prospect of sensitive discussion points being 'off bounds'. An external mentor may also be in a better position to offer true 'whole of career' guidance and support.
Mentors who are unavailable to you. The best HR practitioner isn't necessarily the best mentor - particularly if they seem to spend half their life on a plane. Find someone who is reasonably accessible to you.
Be open to new ideas! Mentors may suggest solutions that are outside of your comfort zone. If your mentor isn't challenging you then he or she probably isn't doing their job!

HR mentors can be a really valuable contributor to the development of any HR professionals career and should be at the forefront of any strategy to improve and develop HR capability... so don't leave home without one.

Craig Mason is the Director of the Sydney office of The Next Step, a specialst consulting practice in the human resources market. For more information call _61 2 8256 2500 or to let HC know about your new appointment e-mail: instep@keymedia.com.au