Describe a time when you mentored someone at work.
I enjoy working as a mentor and learning from mentors. I am currently mentoring a senior manager within my department. He has an interest in the enterprise network group that I lead and asked if I would be willing to work with him as a mentor. My teams manage mission-critical network engineering issues on a daily basis and he is working to trust his intuition and experience. My mentee and I spend time talking through the various scenarios that come up and the process I use for making intelligent decisions when data is limited and time is of the essence. We also discuss various situations he encounters while leading his teams and ways he can improve his leadership skills.
I have really enjoyed working with him over the past year and I have learned a lot myself. He has very strong analytical skills and he has suggested several process improvements that have had a positive impact on my teams. I am open and discuss my failures in addition to my successes as each of these topics offers valuable learning opportunities. Our skills and talents are very complementary, and I appreciate out time together. Overall, I enjoy mentoring and I look forward to working with mentors at MIT and serving as a mentor to anyone who might benefit from what I have to offer.
I frequently ask my clients to elaborate on their approach to mentoring others. Their answers provide a lot of useful data that helps me develop their professional brand.
The admissions committee asks the candidates they interview for similar reasons. They want to know how you approach leadership and service to others. They want to know if you are willing to teach and give back even if your job duties do not explicitly require it. Your response helps them to develop a more holistic impression of who you are as a professional and the value you will be able to offer others at MIT Sloan if you are accepted into the MBA program.
You have likely mentored more than one individual throughout your career. Select a story that represents you in your best light as a mentor, or a story that is the most relevant to your current area of expertise. Regardless of the story you tell, be sure to include the following:
- The goals of your mentee
- A description of what you discussed during your time together
- What you learned
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