TA Talk Tank

It certainly is. We know most Talent Acquisition professionals who make a career of recruiting are willing to pay it forward when asked. All of us at various times in our career want to pick the brains of company leaders, other recruiters, technology services professionals about how they got there and what they like about it. We set T3 up to make it easy for you to reach out AND to be the one others reach out to. The only cost is to consider paying it forward to someone else.

Well, that is a great question. We had lots of suggestions and liked the ‘TA’ part of TAlk TAnk. Maybe we’ll find something that is better and rename it but we didn’t want to leave people feeling that it was a formal mentoring program when it is simply asking a volunteer for a virtual coffee to pick their brain for 30-60 minutes about jobs, careers and life as a recruiter in general. How about “Mentor Lite”? 

The definition of mentor is definitely a problem because it means too many things and we don’t want to imply a long term relationship as essential to the program.

What we do want is to connect two people in the moment based on what is keeping the mentee up at night right now. The virtual conversation might solve the issue or serve to encourage more conversations… but not necessarily with the same ‘mentor’. So on this platform, a mentor is a recruiting professional willing to be a ‘momentary advisor’ to peers and colleagues.

You should have four qualities to be a ‘momentary advisor’ for TAlk TAnk:

A passion for recruiting. A compulsion to always try and improve. The critical thinking skills of a student who is always questioning. And be someone willing to share your story unconditionally. 

You should notice there isn’t anything in the above that relates to years of experience or role in our industry. Some of that can be found in the mentor profiles to help a mentee choose who to reach out to but everyone needs to be willing and able to pay it forward with what they have. We are all both mentees and mentors in the scheme of things

After exploring a few conversations on this platform you might come to the conclusion that a formal mentoring program is important and we recommend you look first in your company. If coaching is not an employer benefit, we encourage you to Google “Career Coaching Associations” and do a bit of research to find the right platform and individual. Keep in mind that in the United States there aren’t any legal requirements for hanging a coaching/mentoring shingle. Always do in-depth interviews before committing.

1. Be responsive.
   Not everyone is comfortable reaching out for advice.
   Respond quickly and positively about having a virtual coffee and being willing to listen and share what you can from your own experience.
2. Focus on specific challenges and how you see them from your experience.
   You are advising not counseling unless that is part of your training. Being open and honest is something we all can do.
3. Encourage action.
   Indicate you care and are interested to learn about outcomes. Be open to future communications but note they are not required.
4. Keep us apprised of your experience.
   Let us (CXR Foundation) know if the experience is not as it was set up to be… positive conversations with peers and colleagues about work, careers and life as it is impacted by work and careers. And, if it was a great experience we would like to know as well. 

1. Review the Mentor Profiles.
   What is relevant to what is keeping you up at night about your work, career or how life fits into it? Every one of the mentors is committed to a virtual coffee and for 30-60 minutes you can pick their brain. They will be open and transparent with you about their experience.
2. Give them a bit of advance warning.
   You don’t have to write a story before your meeting but, a heads up that you’d like to talk about a project, or a job, or career options or how to build a workaround for something in life while doing a job would be helpful.
3. Take two actions.
   Share with your mentor what your takeaway is either at the end of the conversation or shortly thereafter and what you are intending to do. When you’ve done what you learned – whether that’s in a day, a week, a month or a year – thank the mentor, share the experience, and either ask for another talk, or find another mentor, or profile yourself as a mentor to pay it forward for someone else.
   Remember the only satisfaction a person who pays it forward has is learning it made a difference for someone else – so stay in touch.
4. Keep us apprised of your experience.
   Let us (CXR Foundation) know if the experience is not as it was set up to be… positive conversations with peers and colleagues about work, careers and life as it is impacted by work and careers. And, if it was a great experience we would like to know as well.