I have a pro tip for you right off the bat.

THE quickest way to save yourself a significant amount of heartache and stress, is to find yourself a career mentor ASAP!

You’ll want to find someone who is innovative, successful, and genuinely cares about the success of yourself and others.

Think of it like this, when I grow, you grow, and vice versa.

I admit, when I started my acting career and even my podcast, Always Acting Up, I was clueless. Yeah, I “researched” but I truly believed if I had a mentor guiding me in the right direction, my journey would have been a lot different.

So, I’m going to take this opportunity to really dig into that deep burning question, what is a mentor/mentorship meaning, WHY you need career guidance AND how to potentially find a mentorship program that’s right for YOU.

What exactly is a meaning of a career mentor?

I could not be more grateful for the opportunity to interview mentor expert, actress Michelle Simone Miller, host of the podcast “Mentors on the Mic” to get all the deets on mentorship.

I have ALWAYS felt one of the biggest shortcomings in my career is lack of career guidance.

So, what is the meaning of a mentor? A mentor is someone who can guide, inspire, shape, answer questions and give you advice. Often they can help you make suggestions on how to navigate your career path. It’s likely someone who is already in the field paving a way for themselves. Even better if they have experience being a mentee themselves.

It’s great to have family and friends to motivate you, but ideally, you want career mentor who has “been there, done that”. They have first hand knowledge of your career, and should be able to guide you much better than someone who thinks they know your career.

*Note* a mentor is NOT a career coach.

Check out this interview below where Michelle tells us all about mentorship, the meaning, how to find one, etc!

The IMPORTANCE of finding career MENTORSHIP

Ugh, see that photo I posted in the first paragraph? That was one of the photos from my very first headshot session. It’s not even a head shot! Yes, there were some actual 8×10 actor head shots in the mix, but WHY were we even taking photos that looked like they came straight from a high school portrait session? WHY?

Oh, I know why, because I had NO idea what I was doing at the beginning of my career. This is a topic I talk about a lot on my podcast. #neededaMENTOR

I knew that I needed to get some actor head shots, but I didn’t know what they were suppose to look like.

It actually took me several years afterwards to realize there were some specifications for getting actor head shots. Ha, who knew :/

Here’s a quick guide to help you avoid the same mistakes on your next photoshoot

To my defense, the internet hadn’t quite exploded yet, and so I relied on the “guidance” of my peers.

In other words, people who kind of sort of knew what they were doing, but weren’t quite as experienced as a mentor.

I spent YEARS and probably THOUSANDS of dollars at this point, doing what I thought was best as opposed to finding proper career guidance.

HEAR ME when I say this…find yourself a career mentor, ASAP.

HOW to find a career mentor.

One of my biggest take away from Michelle’s podcast, was to start with who you know first. There are plenty of people who are willing to lend their voice and offer career advice if you just ask. Once you get that first YES, it will be much easier to get the second one.

There will be plenty of NO’s, but if your case is strong enough, you WILL get that yes. Set your expectations at the right level though. It may be a little bit more difficult to get a YES from someone who is at the top of their field then from someone who is a few steps ahead of you. That’s who you’ll want to target first.

Do as much research on your own as you can. If your career mentor is successful, its likely that they’re busy people. Be sure to be specific in your questions and make sure you value their time.

Also, don’t skip out on good ole google. There are TONS of mentorship programs floating around, you just have to find them. Try typing out a few keywords + mentorship programs and see what pops up. You’re only a few clicks away towards a clear career path.

🙂

Obviously, it’s been a TON of trial and error for me, but this is a HUGE difference in images. Imagine if I had photos like this the first time!

Conclusion on mentorship

I think its fair to say that getting a career mentor right away is one of the best ways to navigate your career. Someone who is experienced in your field or who you admire for their business savvy will go a long way.

Finding someone to guide you in the right direction will save you a boat load of time and energy. You may even be able to skip a few steps if you follow direction well.

All in favor of skipping lines, say “I”!

Take a little bit of time, research well, and don’t be scared to ask for some advice! I’ve never really met anyone who has straight up said NO before. If that’s the case, move on and try the next possible mentor! Good luck!

Make sure to check out and SUBSCRIBE to my podcast, Always Acting Up found on ALL podcasting platforms AND YouTube.