What a Director of Programs at Minds Matter wishes they had known before entering the education industry
Shalin, a Director of Programs, emphasizes the crucial need for "balance and boundaries" in a demanding role, warning against burnout despite strong emotional investment in the mission. The importance of seeking mentorship throughout one's career, not just early on, is also highlighted as invaluable for navigating challenges and celebrating successes.
Work-Life Balance, Mentorship, Stress Management, Career Navigation, Leadership
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Shalin Craig
Director of Programs
Minds Matter Southern California
University of California, Berkeley, 2015
N/A
Ethnic & Related Studies
Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Education
Scholarship Recipient, Worked 20+ Hours in School, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Maintaining a work-life balance is crucial for long-term success and preventing burnout. It's important to set boundaries and prioritize self-care to ensure sustainability in a demanding career.
2. Seeking mentorship throughout your career, not just early on, is invaluable for navigating challenges, making career transitions, and gaining valuable insights and support from experienced professionals.
3. Don't hesitate to actively seek mentorship from individuals whose work you admire. Mentorship is beneficial at all career stages, offering guidance during challenges and validation of your achievements. Be direct in expressing your interest in mentorship opportunities.
Transcript
What have you learned about this role that you wish someone would have told you before you entered the industry?
A couple of things. First is the importance of balance and boundaries. It's really easy to stretch yourself too thin, especially when you have a personal connection or an emotional investment in the values and mission of the organization you're working for.
At the same time, it's more important to have a sustainable workload than to continue to stress yourself too thin. Even if, in the short term, you may seem like you're making more impact by doing that, in the long term, if you can only do that for a year or two and then you're burned out, you're actually doing the community a disservice.
You've got to take care of yourself, take breaks, and ask for help. Own it when you can't show up 100% all the time, because it's not realistic for everyone to be at 100% constantly.
Secondly, I wish I had sought mentorship earlier in my career. I think there wasn't a lot of emphasis on that in my work environments, and it just wasn't top of mind. The further I got along in my career, the more I realized all these questions were coming up for me, or I was feeling like I was thinking about changing directions or moving to a new role.
In those moments, it's so helpful to have a mentor or multiple mentors that you can talk to, outside of your immediate colleagues. Mentorship isn't just for young people; it's important for adults too, especially as we navigate new careers, career changes, challenges, or even successes.
Mentors aren't only there to help you through challenges. Having a mentor is also really helpful in validating the work that you do and providing you with more opportunities.
So, I would definitely say seek mentorship. It's okay to be explicit about that. If you meet someone whose work you're inspired by and really respect, just approach them and see if they're open to it.