"The Mentoring Kickoff Breakfast on April 19, 2014 was a success. After the breakfast and registration, the presentation of the Mentoring Program was very informative with a punchline of "I Can" over "IQ". The well-planned format was well received and was aligned to the goal of the Mentoring Program. Attendees introduced themselves and their information was written on the posters matching their geographical location and area of interest. The attendees gathered with those individuals matching their own criteria and obtained more information. One instance that stood out was someone who recently passed the PMP exam and wanted to be mentored for becoming a confident project manager. He became a mentor himself to several attendees who wanted to take and pass the PMP exam.

By the end of the meeting, some participants had paired up in mentor/mentee relationships and all participants benefited from the exchange of information and connections established during the meeting."

-Jaime Truong, 2014 Mentee

What I gained from being a Mentor

"First, I have a deeper understanding of my PM career. I know exactly where I can contribute to the profession, what I didn't know I knew in terms of my experience, and what I want to do next.  Second, I had to spend time being introspective about prior work situations, and using my own mistakes to create a new approach to resolving similar situations in the future. By being a mentor I also learned I can help the mentee a lot by formulating the right questions, not only sharing opinions and experiences.

Lastly, there is tremendous satisfaction in knowing that someone needs what I have.  I believe this is the case regardless of the number of years the mentor has been in the profession, or whether he or she  is studying to take the PMP exam or has been certified for years.  Thank you for the opportunity."

-Jairo Ospina, 2013 Mentor

"I started two mentoring relationships under the auspices of the PMI-LA Mentoring Program. Helping mentees grow and achieve their goals is fulfilling and fun. There is discovery on both sides and the mutual respect, appreciation and developing friendships enhance my life with meaning and purpose."

-Barbara Thurston, 2013 Mentor

"I am happy to have had the opportunity to meet you [2013 Mentoring Program Director] last year. You've done an excellent job with the PMI-LA Mentoring Program, a program I've greatly benefited from. Thank you for connecting me with Holly, she provided me with some good insight regarding Health IT. I have registered for this year's program and as mentioned on the survey you sent out last year, I not only look forward to having a new mentor but I can also function as a mentor if needed. I look forward to working with you through the chapter this year."

-Asad Iqbal, 2013 Mentee

"In my business, Entertainment, there is no mentor structure available, it’s every man/woman for themselves! There is rarely proper training available and you can often find yourself surrounded by people who still have a lot to learn, and with a poor support network.

But in these troubled times, the mentor support is particularly valuable – career & business groups are good but you never meet people face to face; whereas the mentor relationship is a great one-on-one way to understand business & career problems/issues better. The one to one point of view to & from a mentor is enlightening & valuable, especially in this age of 'hurried communication,' high demands and frantic multi-tasking!

Business & moral support is not something easily found among peers, friends or family.

Thank You!! I hope to keep in touch with all the great people committed to this cause!"

-Darci Oltman, 2010 Mentee

"I found the program to be very useful...My initial thoughts of the program were that we were going to be studying for the PMP examination, however, it developed into meaningful discussions and exchanges not only about PMP but about work and life."

-2010 Program Participant

"Beth Smith has been a life saver for me when I began my job transition 3 weeks ago. I was in a lull and confused. I had finished my mentoring relationship with Siva successfully and then Beth mentored me and helped me to revise my resume even though my resume was already reviewed by the outplacement company. Beth dedicated herself to helping me by referring her personal friends and job leads to me. I felt I was heading into a crash and Beth, out of nowhere, mentored me and worked around the clock for days until I moved past the initial drag. Without the PMI mentoring program, I would not have been able to be nurtured and uplifted by Beth. So many thanks to Shirley, Michael, and Kerry!"

-Jerry Wang, 2010 Mentor & Mentee

"We discussed project management and its application in real projects, the different PMO set ups and PMO objectives.

We also discussed career enhancement goals. We discussed the challenges at work and identified ways in which issue data can be collected and presented to senior management resulting in process improvement and change management.  It was also identified that managing by SCRUM would also assist Stephen in achieving project goals and managing change better. Stephen was able to convince his management to sponsor him for SCRUM training and he became a SCRUM Master during the mentorship. I was also able to connect him with two senior project managers as he is interested in progressing to a PgMP. One of these project managers was able to connect him to a PgMP qualified Program Manager.

These open discussions helped me too as I was able to see that similar issues and politics exist in all corporations and that discussing them helps one take a fresh look and identify new ways of handling them.

I think Stephen also benefited from our discussions and was able to better identify his career path. I encouraged him to become a Project Management mentor and Program Management mentee...I think Stephen will become an important contributor to PMI and I am glad that I was able to encourage and guide him in his career path while learning many new dimensions myself. I will definitely continue with the mentorship program and will encourage others to also participate.

I would also like to say that the program was very well managed and there was lots of support for it too."

-Kamlesh Kaur, 2010 Mentor

"I was very fortunate to meet Kamlesh who proved to be an excellent mentor. While she lived quite far from me, she was flexible enough to meet me every other Sunday nearer to where I lived. During our first meeting, she was good with setting up expectations and we had a great relationship throughout the program.

I was able to learn from Kamlesh's experiences and guidance to complete the Certified ScrumMaster program. In addition, she aptly utilized the existing PMI network to introduce me to members in the O.C. PMI group, including a PgMP, that further enhanced the mentorship experience.

I would recommend any PM interested in the mentorship program to have Kamlesh mentor them as she is an excellent mentor.  I would also recommend the program to a PM interested in enhancing his/her career based on my experiences.

Kudos also go to Shirley, Kerry, and the rest of the team for organizing and leading this program which is a great benefit to the PMI-LA members.

If possible, I would definitely like to be involved next time the mentorship program occurs, as a mentee and potential mentor."

-Stephen Yoon, 2010 Mentee

Ready to get involved? Use Mentoring Program Sign-Up Form to get in touch with us.