Mentors Matter: Books for the Mentor-less
By Kristin Holland • December 01, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
My blogs this year have been about finding real-life mentors. But what if you just can't find a suitable mentor at work or in your community? When you feel alone, and no human mentor is available, turn to books. They work for me. Just in time for the holidays or your next trip to the library, I looked at my irl and virtual bookshelves and found these jewels to share with you: The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer (how to ask for help) My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor…
Mentors Matter: Men-toring—When Your Mentor is A Man
By Kristin Holland • November 21, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Many of my most influential law firm mentors have been men. My experience is not unusual. Even though women comprise almost half of the associates at firms, 83% of equity partners and 96% of the managing partners of the 200 largest law firms are men. These dismal statistics mean that, for the foreseeable future, the pool of partner-level mentors is predominantly male. The good news is that many of the men you work with have daughters, and they want their children to succeed in a workplace that welcomes them. They want you to succeed to help make that workplace a reality. They…
Mentors Matter: Experiences with Assigned Mentors
By Kristin Holland • October 15, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking
I walked into her office and sat down. She was my assigned mentor: the woman the firm told me to go talk to and learn from. The problem was that I didn't respect her and didn't want to become like her. The age difference was so great that I didn't think we had anything in common at all. I felt like the mandatory meeting was going to be a pointless waste of time. I was in my mid-20s and she was in her 40s or 50s or 60s. At 26, all of those other ages blended together for me and simply spelled…
Mentors Matter: Don’t Let Perfection Stop YOU from Mentoring
By Kristin Holland • September 04, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Mentoring and Networking
Mentorship is just a loose relationship in which one person is willing to help another by sharing her life experience, advice and encouragement. Why does it sometimes seem so hard to get the relationship going? I think it's because we are letting perfection be the enemy of the good. So this month, I'm writing to debunk that idea and make the case for imperfection. I'll cover common perfection myths, knock them down one by one, and encourage you to jump into mentorship. Whether you are avoiding the "the give" as a mentor or the "the ask" as a mentee, there is no…
Mentors Matter: Some of the Best Advice I’ve Received from Mentors
By Kristin Holland • July 18, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Mentoring and Networking
I've been practicing law for 18 years. In that time, I've externed for a Federal Bankruptcy Judge and worked at three different firms. I've read many articles on how to make it in a man's world, how to succeed in BigLaw, how to attain work life balance and how to be happy. Here are some of the best bits of wisdom I've accumulated from mentors over these almost two decades: (1) Hard working lawyers beat lazy lawyers 99% of the time. Here's the truth: preparation is probably more important than the highest I.Q. in most legal situations. If you are…
Mentors Matter: How to Say Goodbye (or Aloha) to Your Mentor
By Kristin Holland • June 12, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
I’m moving from Los Angeles to Hawaii. This is a dream come true for me. I’m excited and scared and thrilled and pretty much dumbstruck that it’s really happening. Despite all of my joy and amazement, telling my mentor at work this happy news was the hardest work phone call I’ve ever had to make. He had no idea that I was planning the move, because I didn’t tell him or ask for his advice. I had already made up my mind. My decision was based on many factors, and nothing he could have said to me would have changed…
Mentors Matter: Letting A Mentor Help You Find the Work You Love
By Kristin Holland • May 06, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
A good mentor can help you excel at something you already love. What do you love to do now? Maybe you love a good puzzle. You like to find solutions. Maybe you like to counsel people and guide them to better choices. Perhaps you like to write or do in-depth research to see how others have approached issues and apply it to the situation at hand. You could be an entrepreneur at heart, finding great satisfaction in executing ideas in the marketplace, and using your law degree to help businesses grow. All of these activities are part of the practice…
Mentors Matter: Mentors, Sponsors & Equal Pay.
By Kristin Holland • April 07, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
April 8, 2014 was Equal Pay Day. This date symbolizes how far into 2014 women must work to earn what men earned in 2013. There is some debate about the exact magnitude of the pay gap, but by any measure it is alive, well and impressive. According to the 2012 U.S. Census, women who work full time earn, on average, only 77 cents for every dollar men earn. The statistics are even worse for women of color. Over a working lifetime, the average woman has lost $431,000 in fair earnings. See https://www.aclu.org/blog/womens-rights/equal-pay-numbers. Congress is considering the Paycheck Fairness Act, an update to…
Mentors Matter: You Don’t Have To Use the M-Word.
By Kristin Holland • March 19, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
Even though it’s March, you don’t need to use the M-word to have a fruitful mentoring relationship with a trusted advisor. In January I explained that mentors can be in disguise, in February I tried to help you find a trusted advisor, and now in March my advice is that your mentors don’t need to accept a formal M title to play the role. Not everyone who mentors you needs to know that you think of them as a mentor. I am not advocating that you lie about your intentions, I’m just suggesting that the relationship can be full of…