Opening Plenary: I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Starting Out: The Value of Mentorship
Professional development is critically important for early career professionals in the scholarly publishing, library, and vendor communities. It’s easy for people at the beginning of their careers to feel a little lost. What career paths are available? How do you navigate institutional or commercial structures to gain experience? What skills should somebody at the beginning of his or her career be looking to develop?
During this session attendees will learn about some of the challenges and opportunities surrounding personal career development. Mentorship, formal or informal, is a critical component of career development as a source of feedback and support, and helps mentors better understand and advocate for early career workers. Representatives from the publisher, librarian, vendor, and consultant communities will talk about the benefits of mentorship from both sides of the relationship. Mentorship programs from SSP and the STM association will be discussed, with information about how to get involved.
