Crochet and Mentors- The Professional Difference

Having a mentor and being a mentor are the connections that can create an everlasting friendship as well as enhance the careers of all parties involved. You find this relation in formal situations and arrangements and informal ones, a successful relation is one in which both parties have a mutual respect for one another. 

Crochet Guild of America offers a mentorship program, which matches new crochet professionals with established professionals to help enhance the crochet industry, while ensuring that professional ethics and standards are practiced and encouraged. It is these professional approaches that help to bring crochet from a hobby to a career.

A new professional can expect their mentor to offer practical advice from their personal experiences; they can expect constructive criticism, and someone willing to point them in the right direction. Mentors will not be teaching, they will not be giving their work away, they will not be opening every door for a new professional; they will be showing them where the doors are and explaining how to turn the handle.

A mentor can expect that the new professional is serious about the endeavor, and willing to put in the work necessary to make their goals a reality. A mentor can expect that the new professional is finding answers for themselves as well as asking questions; they can also expect that the new professional has respect for and consideration of their schedule and work, as they are not an answer book simply a guide.

To obtain a mentor with CGOA, you must complete an AssociateProfessional Application; which requires that you have already began attempting to work in the industry. After completing the Associate Professional level (working in the industry for 2 years), you can complete the Professional Application and be eligible to pass your knowledge and guidance forward to new professionals as a mentor.