By Khin Sint

Harjeet Kaur, CHRP, is the HR manager at ContainerWorld Forwarding Services Inc. Kaur joined BC HRMA four years ago and participated in the Professional Mentoring Program as a mentee. She has been giving back to the program as a mentor for three consecutive years. Kaur is no stranger to the HR world. She started her career at ContainerWorld Forwarding Services Inc. when it was just a startup company with two employees. Now the company had grown to over 300 employees and Kaur’s role was instrumental to its growth.

You are a very busy professional. What made you decide to volunteer your time as a mentor for the BC HRMA Professional Mentoring Program?
There were several reasons that prompted me to become a mentor:

• First, I have been HR for a while now and feel that I have sufficient HR knowledge to become a mentor
• Secondly, it was part of my desire to become more involved in BC HRMA
• Thirdly and most importantly I think, the mentor/mentee program is an excellent education forum for both parties.

How would you describe your experience as a mentor?
I have had successes and some disappointments.  Let’s talk successes first – I think I have tried to help each of my mentors with their need for education and growth.  Some were eager for knowledge and I was pleased to be able to provide. Others wanted more tips on resume writing, job search and preparing for interviews. Where required I was able to push them into taking a more active role in registering and preparing for their exams.  This program satisfied their knowledge hunger and assisted in their job search.  Others needed a push to explore other opportunities.

The disappointments were those who did not have time to become more actively involved in the program – mostly due to work pressures which is understandable as situations change from the time they register to actually participating in the program.

Throughout your career, did you have any mentors? If so, how did they impact your professional growth?
I have had a few mentors including three from BC HRMA.  I have used my various mentor’s strengths and applied those strengths to develop my own personality (culture) and behavior.

A mentor-mentee relationship is a two-way relationship. As a mentor, what did you learn or gain from your mentee?
Patience, understanding and a different perspective to HR matters.

What are the three tips that you would give to this year’s mentors to foster a successful mentor-mentee relationship?
1. Make the time. You had committed yourself to this program, so make the time to meet up with your mentees

2. Develop a strong goal for the program.  The goal of the program should include some development skills.  For example a goal can be to develop a policy program on a specific area e.g. Health and Safety Policy, Training Policy, WorkSafe RTW programs

3. Guide, not perform, the work for the mentee.  Direct your mentee to areas they can research for themselves.  For example, instead of finding a mentee a job, direct them to the various sources (e.g. job posting, social media, and roundtables) they can explore to assist with their job search.  In a case of a project, direct them to the various sources they can tap on to put the project together.

Applications for BC HRMA’s 2012 Professional Mentoring Program are accepted until October 15, 2011. Apply now!