BENEFITS
OF BEING A MENTOR
Make
a Positive Impact. Working with a protege allows mentors the
opportunity to make a positive contribution to the professional development
of less experienced employees. It’s a win/win situation that will
enhance both the individuals involved and the organization to which they
belong.
Shape
the Future. By volunteering to serve as a mentor, you are
helping to shape the future of the Public Health Service. Your suggestions
and ideas will have a lasting and broad impact when shared with a protege.
Refine
Interpersonal Skills. Mentors will be challenged to develop
their own interpersonal skills while working with proteges. Skills
such as communication, employee motivation, and human relations will be
enhanced. Those with experience as a mentor will be more valuable
to their organizations.
Set
Goals. By helping another employee establish and achieve meaningful
and challenging goals, mentors themselves will learn anew the skills and
value of effective goal setting techniques.
Personal
Contact. Mentors relate on a personal level in what is sometimes
a large and impersonal organization. Mentors add valuable personal
contributions that serve to enrich the work environment of their fellow
employees.
Gain
Career Perspective. Mentors will gain perspective on their
own goals and performance. Mentors will also be able to measure their
own achievements and contributions made to their organization.
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OBJECTIVES
OF THE ENGINEER MENTORING PROGRAM
• To provide engineers
with positive role models.
• To offer career
guidance and provide information on career tracks within PHS.
• To assist proteges
in setting goals to meet career objectives.
• Serve as an
information source regarding health care and other employee benefits.
• To encourage
networking and camaraderie within the PHS.
• To increase
Engineer/Architect career satisfaction and retention in the PHS.
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CONSIDERATIONS
IN SELECTING MENTORS
A mentor should
be either (1) a senior-ranking commissioned officer in the grade of O-5,
O-6 or above, or (2) a senior-ranking civil servant in the grade of GS-12,
GS-13 or above. The mentor should have eight years of PHS program
experience. They will be selected from a pool of volunteers, with
a premium placed upon broad knowledge of the culture and workings of the
Commissioned Corps or Civil Service personnel system generally, and the
Engineer/Architect category specifically. Potential mentors with less than
eight years of PHS experience, but broad experience in engineering will
be considered as mentors on a case-by-case basis by the Program Coordinator.
A subcategory
of Mentor-Protege Team Advisors will be established, these officers
not being assigned specific protegees, but being tapped for their viewpoints
derived from great length and breadth of service, i.e. mentors for mentors
on an as needed basis.
Selection
of Mentors:
-
Mentor candidates
must have eight years of PHS program experience (Commissioned Corps or
Civil Service) and have volunteered for the program.
-
Solicitation for
participation will be made via a Mentoring Program announcement, distributed
through a variety of sources. (e.g. PHS Engineer Category Web Page, Office
of the Chief Engineer Report, Commissioned Corps Bulletin, agency-level
e-mail announcements).
-
Information on strong
potential mentoring candidates will be solicited from the Chief Professional
Officer and various program directors. Those identified will be lobbied
for participation.
-
Mentors must be familiar
(or become familiar) with career tracks and opportunities within their
programs.
-
Mentors should have
a minimum of two years experience within their current program.
-
Mentors should be
one rank/grade (preferably two) senior to protege.
-
Mentors should be
from all PHS engineering programs and be knowledgeable of their program's
operations and career opportunities.
- Mentors should be
in the same OPDIV/agency as the protege.
- Mentors should be
in the same personnel system as the protege (i.e., Commissioned Officer
mentor matched with a Commissioned Officer protege).
- Mentors should be
in the same specialty as the protege (i.e., Civil engineer mentor matched
with a Civil engineer protege).
- Mentors should have
developed interpersonal skills (listening, communication, time-management).
- Mentors should be
from diverse backgrounds in re: gender, ethnicity, career track, and OPDIV/agency.
The pool of Mentors should reflect the diversity of the engineering category.
- Mentors should not
be in the protege 's chain of command or at least not be the COER/Performance
Plan rater or reviewer for the protege.
- Mentors should have
sufficient time to dedicate to the Mentoring Program and be enthusiastic
in their approach to nurturing and teaching the protege.
- Potential mentors
with multiple programmatic experience should be identified and encouraged
to participate.
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RESPONSIBILITIES
OF BEING A MENTOR
Initiate
Contact. The Mentor initiates contact with his/her protege.
During the first phone call or meeting, the mentor and protege should jointly
discuss their expectations of the mentoring relationship. Together
they should decide how often to meet, the normal length of each meeting,
and the most convenient locations for these meetings.
Be
Candid. Your responsibility to your protege is to provide
an honest and objective look at their situation. In assessing their
approach to a problem, give them your opinion of both the technical and
personnel/political ramifications.
Share
Your Professional Experiences. Describe your specific projects
and responsibilities, including the technical and political aspects that
you deal with on a day-to-day basis. Use personal experiences to
enhance discussions of engineering career opportunities and advancement.
Guide
Your Protege in Career Development. Help your protege identify
and achieve appropriate career development milestones.
Be
a Resource. Assist your protege in joining professional societies
and organizations. Make introductions to contacts within your informal
network. Help him/her to understand the OPDIV and “the system”.
Be
Available. While it may not always be possible to meet your
protege on a regular basis, the telephone and e-mail can help to keep the
relationship going during hectic times. Other ways to keep in touch
may include: have breakfast or coffee, attend a seminar or society meeting,
tour your workplace or other facilities, and attend EPAC events.
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WHAT
TO TALK ABOUT WITH YOUR PROTEGE
For
your Commissioned Corps protege
• History of the
Commissioned Corps
• Engineering
in the PHS- Chief Engineer and EPAC
• PHS Uniform
and Military Protocol
• Commissioned
Corps Readiness Force
• Professional
Organizations/Programs
• Health Care
– Active Duty and Dependents
• Billet Description
• Official Personnel
File and the Promotion Process
• Curriculum
Vitae or Resume
• Professional
Licensure/Registration
• Career Progression
and Development – Locating the next Assignment
• Resources:
Who, What, Where
For
your Civil Service protege
• Engineering
in the PHS - Chief Engineer and EPAC
• Professional
Organizations/Programs
• Health Care
Plans and Benefits
• Position Descriptions
• Resume and
SF-171/OF-612
• KSA’s (Knowledges,
Skills and Abilities) and Selective Factors
• Professional
Licensure/Registration
• Performance
Criteria and Career Advancement
• New Positions
Listings
• Resources:
Who, What, Where
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CAREER
DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES
Career
Initiation – recent entry into profession
• Initial on
the job training
• Post graduate
internship
• Post graduate
apprenticeship/Engineering Intern
• Basic Techniques
and skills development
Early
Career – 3 to 8 years in the profession
• Exposure and
training needed to fine tune skills
• Appropriate
level of projects and assignments
• Exposure to
outside professional organizations
• Professional
registration
Mid-Career
– 8 to 20 years in profession
• Development
of managerial and leadership skills
• Fine-tuning
of administrative abilities
• Involvement
in outside professional organizations
• Initiate new
methods/approaches to solve problems
• Continue training
to maintain skills
Advanced
Career – 20 years and beyond in profession
• Providing direction
on many topics/areas
• Proven administrative/technical
reputation
• Associated
with federal, private and professional organizations
• Well published
in areas of expertise
• Continue training
to maintain skills
Change
in Career – Considering a change in professional field
• Evaluation
of Early, Mid, and Advanced Career milestones related to current situation
• Method/strategy
for approaching milestones to achieve change
• Realistic and
deliberate milestones and actions to achieve change
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USEFUL
RESOURCE DOCUMENTS
• EPAC Engineer’s
Handbook
• EPAC PHS Engineer
Opportunities Handbook
• Curriculum
Vitae, resume, or SF-171/OF-612
• Office of Personnel
Management Position Classification Standards (GS-0800 Series)
• Individual
Development Plan
http://dcp.psc.gov
http://www.usphsengineers.org/Mentoring/mentorinfo.htm
http://www.usphs.gov/
** Items needed
primarily by Commissioned Officers
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