My Career Mentor & Me: Placing Myself and Staying on the Right Career Pathway

By Dr. Michael V Mulligan

Helping Young Professionals Chart & Stay on the Right Career Path

“Dr. Mulligan’s book is a significant contribution to higher education and the work place. Students in college and recent college graduates at work can identify and obtain a Career Mentor connected either to the college, their employer or family and use The Route 5 Career Pathway Plan in this book to help them chart and stay on the right career path”.
Dr. William V. Muse,
Past President of the University of Akron, President of Auburn University,
and Chancellor of East Carolina University.
Dr. Mulligan wrote My Career Mentor & Me to provide a process that the Career Mentor can use to help the young professional, mentee, chart the right career path, prepare for and obtain targeted positions, be the best in their positions and manage a successful and rewarding career journey.
Dr. Mulligan divided this manual into four sections. The first section of the book defines a mentor and discusses The Triangle Mentoring Team concept. The first mentor is the Family Support Mentor (helps find Career Mentor and provides support). The second mentor is the Career Mentor (college advisor, college alum, company manager or?). The third is the Specialty Mentor who provides information and help in completing tasks.
The second section describes the three stages of the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Process that the Career Mentor and mentee will execute.
The third section asks the Career Mentor and mentee to execute the three stages of the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Process. The first stage calls for developing a working relationship. The second stage asks the Career Mentor and mentee to develop the Route 5 Career Pathway Plan. The third stage asks the mentee to complete tasks to meet the growth objectives of the Career Pathway Plan.
The fourth section asks the mentee to review their Route 5 Career Pathway Plan with the Family Support Mentor, make necessary changes and then work with the Career Mentor to meet the growth objectives of the Plan.
Over 12 self assessments are in the book plus a partnership contract for the Career Mentor and mentee to sign.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Dec 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781532060526

Dr. Michael V Mulligan

Dr. Mulligan has spent much of his career and life helping people find direction in their lives as well as new jobs. He prepared for his career by obtaining a Ph.D. in counseling from the University of Georgia, an M.A. in counseling and student personnel work in higher education from Michigan State University and a B.A. in liberal arts from Alma College. Dr. Mulligan presently directs and owns Mulligan Associates, Inc., a 34 year career and talent management consulting firm that has helped over 10,000 individuals with career direction and finding new positions. This has included CEOs, Presidents, Chief Level Officers, partners from consulting firms, senior executives, managers, professionals, nonexempt workers and college students majoring in different subjects from various colleges and universities across the United States. Dr. Mulligan has served as a fellow manager with the International Career Certification Institute. The Institute certifies people in the career management consulting field. Fellow Managers assist in checking out the credentials and experience of those applying for certification. Dr. Mulligan wrote an article What it Takes to Be an Effective Career Consultant and it has been a guide for the industry for the last 20 years. Prior to starting Mulligan & Associates Inc., Dr. Mulligan worked as Management Development Director for Century 21 of Northern Illinois. He and the six consultants that reported to him worked with over 400 owners and 700 office managers of Century 21 franchises to help them develop plans, hire the right people and grow the business. Before Century 21, Dr. Mulligan was the Regional Director for the American College Testing Program servicing state departments, high schools and colleges in five mid western states. He worked closely with educators teaching them how to use ACT score reports and data to help students grow, select the right major and career and graduate from college. Prior to ACT, Dr. Mulligan worked as Director of Orientation and Assistant Director of Admissions at the University of Georgia. He coordinated 150 student/parent orientation sessions, met with over 30 high school and community college students weekly to help them decide if the University of Georgia was right for them and gave over 500 college night speeches. He also served as the Chairman of the Georgia High School/ College Articulation Committee for three years. This committee established the state-wide college night programs and other programs to help high school students make post-secondary plans. Before the University of Georgia, Dr. Mulligan served as a counselor in the counseling center at Georgia Tech. He worked with over 200 students helping them decide on a college major and how to stay in and graduate from college. This also included helping students with personal issues which impacted their staying or leaving school.

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Copyright © 2018 Dr. Michael V. Mulligan.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

For additional copies, please write or call:

Dr. Mike Mulligan

Mulligan & Associates

1600 Golf Road-Suite 1200

Rolling Meadows, Illinois 60008

mike @mulligan1983.com

iUniverse

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Bloomington, IN 47403

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-6051-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-6052-6 (e)

iUniverse rev. date:   12/04/2018

Something to Remember

"I am my career and

my career is me and

I have a choice of what

my career can be."

Dr. Michael V. Mulligan

Copyright ©–Mulligan 2018

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Jerry Donahue for his thoughts in creating this manual. Jerry has been an active member of the Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers (MACE) and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). He served as Assistant Director of Career Services at the Medill School of Journalism Career Center at Northwestern University, Director of Career Services and Coordinator of Employer Relations at St. Norbert College, Director of Career Placement Services at Indiana University and Career Consultant in the Engineering Career Resource Center, College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Jerry provided a lot of good information on what colleges and employers are doing in regard to mentoring young professionals today.

I would like to thank Keith North for his input. Keith has worked at Mulligan and Associates for over 25 years helping over 2,000 people of all ages with career planning and finding employment. He and his wife Linda have three children. They both know how important it is for a young professional to have a Career Mentor, Family Support Mentor and Specialty Mentors to help them be on the right career path not only during their 20s but throughout their life. Earlier, Keith worked in business and was an administrator in School District 214 in Illinois, the leader in career pathway education today.

I would like to thank my wife Suzanne who supported me in writing this book. Suzanne and I have two daughters and we both know parents today spend a lot of money to send their children to college. No one can argue about the importance of a post high school education but you do want the college degree to be a good return on your investment. The PEW Research Center produced a study May 5, 2017 and said 15% of Millennials between 25 and 35 years of age live at home today with their parents. The factors creating this situation included lack of success in the labor market, cost of living by self and debt.

If you the parent decide not to serve as a Career Mentor to your young adult, you can serve in the role of a Family Support Mentor as outlined in this book and assist in finding someone to be the Career Mentor. We recommend someone associated with the college, your son or daughter’s manager or supervisor at work, an older sibling or member/ friend of the family or a professional colleague to be the Career Mentor. You can also call our firm Mulligan & Associates. We have a special career program for young professionals.

We hope you, the young professional, find the right Career Mentor and use the information in this book to help you chart and stay on the right career path. The work place today is challenging and calls for much decision making. We recommend you work with a Career Mentor executing the Route 5 Career Pathway Plan until you decide to retire.

Michael V. Mulligan Ph.D. and Author

www.mulliganassoc.com

847 981-5725

Introduct

ion

Executing the Route 5 Career Pathway Plan and Placing Myself on the Right Career

Path

Did you know?

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed 66 percent of high school graduates go on to some form of post secondary education within two years of high school graduation.

• The 2018 ACT Composite Report revealed that of 2,090,000 taking the ACT four tests, 1,546,000 or 75% needed to be tutored in at least one of the four academic areas.

• The National Student Clearinghouse reported that 60,5% of those attending a public four year college and 62.5% at a private nonprofit college graduate in six years,

• The average student debt for four years of college in 2018 was $35,100.

• The Lumina Foundation in 2015 reported 40% of Americans have finished at least an Associate of Arts degree.

• Twenty seven percent of college graduates will go into a career related major.

• Many college graduates will be zigzagging from job to job in their 20’s trying to figure out which career field they should enter. The job market changes fast today.

• Thousands of individuals lose their jobs every month and don’t know what to do next.

• Most individuals will change positions six to 10 times and careers two or three times.

• Once you enter a career field and stay in it for awhile, it is more difficult to move to a similar position in a different industry because they say you lack industry experience.

• Today’s employee most likely will not receive a pension like their grandparents. They will have 401Ks and need to know how to invest their money so they can retire

• It’s more difficult to find employment 58 and older unless you have a special skill.

This information points to one fact. To compete in today’s job market, you must be ready. How prepared are you to put yourself on the right career path, obtain positions and enjoy your work?

• Did you have a high school plan that will prepare you for a career, college and life?

• Did you have an undergraduate college plan that prepared or is preparing you for a targeted industry, work sector, functional area and career positions?

• Did you have a graduate/professional school plan that prepared or is preparing you for a targeted work sector, industry, functional area and career positions?

• As someone in the work place, what is your plan to put and keep yourself on the right career path until retirement?

This book, My Career Mentor and ME, was written as a guide to help you and your Career Mentor place and keep yourself on the right career path. Planning is a process by which you can become what you want to become. It is the rational determination of where you are today, where you want to be tomorrow and how and when you are going to get there. We recommend you find and team up with a Career Mentor today and start planning your 40 to 50 year career journey. If you do not plan, you might end up where you do not want to be some day (broke and working until you are 85 years of age).

Introduction to Four Sect

ions

In Section One, we will define mentoring and describe how a Triangle Mentoring Team (Career Mentor, Family Support Mentor and Specialist Mentors) can help you chart your career path, obtain new positions, be the best in your field and have a successful career journey.

In Section Two, you will learn the three stages of the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Process:

Stage One- Building a trusting, performance facilitating and helping relationship.

Stage Two- Developing the Route 5 Career Pathway Plan

Stage Three- Executing and Meeting the Route 5 Career Pathway Plan

In Section Three, you will implement the three stages of the One-On-One Process.

In Stage One, you and your Career Mentor will learn about each other and start building a trusting, performance facilitation and helping relationship.

In Stage Two, you will to fill out the Route 5 Career Pathway Survey to identify the yearly tasks you need to complete to meet each of the five career growth objectives which are:

• Charting Your Career/Position - Identifying the tasks to help you chart your career path (industry, work sector, functional area and positions).

• Preparing for Your Targeted Career/Position - Identifying the tasks that will prepare you for your chosen career target (industry, work sector, functional area and positions).

• Placing Yourself in Your Targeted Career/Position - Identifying the tasks that will help you excel in your present position and be hired for your next targeted position.

• Advancing Your Career/Position - Identifying the tasks that will help you advance your career so you reach your ultimate career position target.

• Gaining Fulfillment from Your Career/Position – Identifying tasks that will help you enjoy your work and obtain the work rewards you desire.

In Stage Three, you complete the tasks you identified as necessary to meet your five career growth objectives. You will implement The Task Expert Process which asks you and your Career Mentor to indicate the tasks you can do alone and where you need more information or coaching. Your Career Mentor can then assist you in completing the tasks you cannot do alone or help you find a Specialty Mentor that can help you become an expert in completing the identified tasks. You can add tasks that you think should be listed under each career module.

We call this process career development.

In Section Four, we will ask you to finalize your Route 5 Career Pathway Plan, reviewing what you learned, completing additional tasks and then placing yourself on the right career path (work sector, industry, functional area and positions). You should present your Route 5 Career Pathway Plan to your Family Support Mentor(s) each year. He/she needs to know where you want to go on your career journey, how you plan to get there and the cost. You should view your career plan as if you were establishing a business where there is a return on the investment. The Family Support Mentor(s) offers financial and emotional support so you want to keep them up to date. They are your biggest fans.

Michael V. Mulligan Ph.D. CMF

MY CAREER

MENTOR

&

ME

(Four Sections)

Section One- Creating a Triangle Mentoring Team

Section Two- Reviewing the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Process

Section Three- Executing the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Process

• Build a Trusting, Performance Facilitation and Helping Relationship

• Develop The Route 5 Career Pathway Plan- Objectives & Tasks

• Complete Tasks Using Task Expert Process to Meet Objectives

Section Four- Developing, Presenting and Executing Your Route 5 Career Pathway Plan

Copyright ©–Mulligan 2018

Table of Contents

Section One - Defining Mentoring, Creating the Triangle Mentoring Team and Describing the Roles of the Family Support Mentor, Career Mentor and Specialist Mentor

Section Two - Reviewing the Three Stages of the One-On-One Performance Facilitation & Helping Process

➢   Stage One - Build a Trusting, Performance Facilitating and Helping Relationship

➢   Stage Two - Create Your Route 5 Career Pathway Plan- Objectives and Tasks

➢   Stage Three - Meet Plan ( Objectives) by Using The Task Expert Process

Section Three - Execute All Three Stages of the One-On-One Process

➢   Stage One - Mentee and Career Mentor will share information about each other

➢   Stage Two - Fill Out Route 5 Career Pathway Survey checking off the tasks you need to complete to meet each of the Five Career Growth Objectives

➢   Stage Three - Work with Career Mentor to complete the tasks you checked off on the Route 5 Career Pathway Survey to meet Five Career Growth Objectives

•   Chart Your Career/Position - Complete the tasks you checked off on the Route 5 Survey of this module in Stage Two

•   Prepare for Career/Position - Complete the tasks you checked off on the Route 5 Career pathway Survey of this module in Stage Two.

•   Place Yourself in Career/Position - Complete the tasks you checked off on the Route 5 Survey of this module in Stage Two

•   Advance Your Career/Position - Complete the tasks you checked off on the Route 5 Career Pathway Survey of this module in Stage Two

•   Enjoy Career/Position - Complete the tasks you checked off on the Route 5 Survey of this module in Stage Two

Section Four - Review information about self, finish tasks, develop your Route 5 Pathway Plan, present Plan to your Family Support Mentor(s)and then execute it

Career Mentor - Mentee Partnership Contract

Appendix

A.   Sample Chronological Resumes

B.   Sample Functional Resumes

C.   Sample Functional/Chronological Resumes

D.   Sample Marketing letters

E.   Sample Marketing Card

F.   Bibliography

G.   About the Author

Section One

Defining a Mentor, Creating the Triangle Mentoring Team

And Describing the Roles of the Team Members; Career Mentor,

Family Support Mentor and Specialist Mentor

Defining a Mentor

The term mentor was derived from ancient Greece, neither its meaning nor purpose has changed through the millennia. A mentor according to Merriam-Webster is a trusted counselor or guide. The role of a mentor is multifaceted, may be formal or informal and may change or evolve as the needs of the mentee change. A mentor can be a role model, coach, sounding board, voice of reason, emotional support, counselor and trusted resource. Depending on the mentee’s needs, a mentor:

• Shares knowledge and life experiences

• Provides guidance and advice

• Listens

• Inspires

• Offers encouragement

• Is genuinely interested in the mentees questions and concerns

• Is open and honest

• Explores different careers

• Discusses goal setting

• Advises on professional development

• Identifies resources

• Helps to develop leadership skills

• Provides insight into the existing organization culture

• Can provide exposure and visibility within an organization

• Reviews resumes and provides interview tips

• Coaches

• Supports

• May introduce to contacts

Mentors through time have guided, motivated, inspired and supported mentees. Mentoring has and still is a powerful personal and career development tool that can enable the mentee to achieve their life’s goals and aspirations. Oprah Winfrey states a mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.

We hear more and more about mentoring but no one discusses how a team of mentors can be more helpful than one. In this book, we discuss the importance of you creating a Triangle Mentoring Team. You then have a number of key people helping you chart your career path, obtain targeted positions, be the best at what you do and manage a successful career journey. You build a continuous support system. We developed the One-On-One Performance Facilitating and Helping Process with its three stages so you and your Career Mentor can work together to help you chart the right career path, obtain positions and enjoy your career journey.

Creating the Triangle Mentoring Team

There is no one as smart as all of us

Over the years, we have viewed a mentor as someone providing guidance and advice. You meet with a mentor to discuss a subject or situation to gain the mentor’s input. It is usually for one or several meetings depending on how often you have the need to talk.

Mentoring has become increasingly more important today. In fact, if smart, you should create a Triangle Mentoring Team that will be your support group in helping you chart the right career path, perform at a high level, obtain new positions and manage a successful career journey. We have identified three types of mentors to be included in your triangle. They include the Family Support Mentor, a Career Mentor and Specialty Mentors.

The Family Support Mentor is usually your Mom, Dad, Grandparent or older sibling who:

• Can be your Career Mentor if open minded or help you find a Career Mentor

• Can give you a place to live with meals, a bed and some spending money until you can be financially on your own. Over 20 % of Americans live in multi-generation housing because of college debt, being underemployed and unemployed

• Can help you become a self manager

• Can teach you how to win and adjust to defeat

• Can teach human relation skills- how to work with people, especially those you don’t like

• Can help you build a positive image of yourself

• Can help you identify your talent and develop it

• Can help you build a strong high school and college resume (grades, test scores, community activity, student activities, honors/achievements, internships/ part time work)

• Can push you to do your best and adjust to failure

• Can help you identify and honor your personal values

• Can teach you to budget your money, help around the house, keep a clean room and cook

• Can make rules and discipline you when you don’t go along with the rules

• Can teach you how to interact with and treat people

• Can identify Specialty Mentors who help you build a network and when needed

• Can critique and help you improve your Route 5 Career Pathway Plan you developed with your Career Mentor and finance all or part of the plan.

The Career Mentor is the person who will work with you for four or more years to help you place yourself on the right career path, be the best in your positions and obtain targeted positions that keep you on the right career path. The person who fills this role could be:

• A college counselor/advisor or major professor

• A parent, grandparent, older sibling or aunt/uncle

• An alum of your high school, college or fraternity/sorority, major area of study

• A parent of your high school, college,fraternity/sorority or friends of family

• A special friend of the family or someone from local Rotary or Lions Club

• A career consultant like at Mulligan & Associates or a professional colleague

• A manager/ supervisor at your company who wants you to excel in your position and be identified as the best in your field and the department best in its functional area.

There are some people who say a manager or supervisor should not be the Career Mentor because he/ she usually focuses more on achieving the objectives of the department than the career development of his/her direct reports. This does not make sense because the team unit that has the best performers will have a better chance of meeting team unit objectives and making the team unit and its members best in their functional area. Managers who move up the career ladder in their present or another company usually take their best performers with them. If this is the case, why wouldn’t a manager want to develop his/her direct reports into best at what they do?

I wrote a book called Excelling as a Team Leader. You can buy it at www.mulliganassoc.com . The book suggests a company establish the mission of Being Best in Our Field and then execute the Triangle Team Leadership Model which asks the company, divisions, departments and employees to set and meet Best in Our Field Objectives. Challenge is the motivator.

Managers and supervisors need to operate as a Career Mentor. They can implement the three stages of the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Model focusing on:

• Building a trusting, performance facilitation and helping relationship

• Asking each direct report to help the department meet its Best in Field objectives by setting individual objectives and completing tasks that make all and the dept. the best.

• The Career Mentor and report/mentee implementing the Task Expert Process. The tasks are identified that need to be completed to meet five career growth objectives and department objectives. Specialty Mentors are identified that can help the mentee perform the tasks the Career Mentor cannot teach them.

The process helps the report/mentee become an expert at their position or Best in Their Field. The Career Mentor and mentee/direct report can add new tasks in the future to help the mentee/report grow, take on more responsibilities and prepare for the next targeted position.

We will discuss the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Model in Section Two.

The idea of a direct report meeting with someone else in the company as a Career Mentor would make a manager paranoid unless they were identified as a Specialty Mentor. The manager should help select the Specialty Mentors with his/her mentee to be part of the teaching team..

The Specialist Mentor is someone who provides information, teaches the mentee how to perform a special task and helps the mentee develop a network. Specialist Mentors might include:

• A teacher, professor, On the Job Trainer, HR person or professional colleague.

• A high school guidance/college counselor or librarian

• An upper classmen in college or a person at work that orients you to your surroundings.

• A career consultant in the college career center or a professional career consultant

• A banker to help you establish a debit card account and budget your money

• A doctor. lawyer, therapist, financial planner and money manager

• Someone in a special industry, functional area or job where you can learn what they do

• Human resource people, contingency recruiters, retained recruiters, employment agent

• Minister or Priest

• Technical person

Section Two

Review the Three Stages of the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Model

We will discuss the three stages of the One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Model and the three helping communication skills.

Overview of One-On-One Performance Facilitation and Helping Model

Stage One-Building a Trusting, Performance Facilitating and Helping Relationship

Stage Two- Developing the Route 5 Career Pathway Plan

Stage Three- Implementing the Task Expert Process to Meet Route 5

Reviewing the Three Helping Communication Skills

Copyright ©–Mulligan 2018

Understanding the Three Stages of the

One-On-One Performance Facilitation/Helping Communications Process

We will discuss the three stages of the Model and how they relate to each other and then review the three communication skills which are key to helping people