How To Find the Perfect Mentor for Professional Success
Perhaps you're starting a new career, or you're taking your business to a new and unfamiliar territory. Having the extra guidance within the industry from experienced professionals can help you through this unprecedented next step. If you watch, listen and learn, you'll have access to priceless insight.
That's why professional mentorship is so important. People often see the value in mentors, but rarely does that convert to finding a mentor. Mentors provide irreplaceable knowledge and insight from years of personal experience, failures, and successes for people willing to listen and learn. Mentor-mentee relationships are invaluable. Here are a few things to take into consideration when on the search for the perfect mentor.
1. Have Clear and Defined Goals
To find a mentor suited for your professional journey, you'll need to figure out what you're aiming to achieve in your career. For example, if you were looking to obtain a partnership in a law firm, the most practical decision would be finding a mentor who holds a similar position. As such, perform some self-reflection. Where do you see yourself in a few years? What the ultimate career for you?
Choosing a mentor based on your career goals from the start will help avoid wasting time both for you and your mentor.
2. Use All Your Resources to Reach Out
There are many ways to connect with potential mentors. You can reach out directly through email to those in the industry or ask someone you know if they know anyone who could be a potential mentor.
Better yet, with the popularity of social media, you can use sources like LinkedIn to reach out to people as well. You can easily search up the industry and occupation you're looking for and send a friendly request to connect and chat. It may take a few requests to find someone willing to become your mentor. With so much access, it comes down to who's right for you.
3. Forming a Relationship
Of course, you'll want to set up a meeting with your mentor to get to know a little more about them. Be genuine, show gratitude but also straightforward about what your career goals are. Additionally, have an open discussion about what the relationship will look like. For example, how much time are they willing to put in? Can you do random check-ins for advice, or will it run by a schedule? Forming these boundaries will provide clarity to the arrangement.
4. Stay Consistent
Whatever arrangement you have set up with your mentor, make sure you abide by them. If you've agreed on monthly meetings, come prepared to each meeting with questions and inquiries. The key is to remain consistent and respectful when checking in with your mentor.
Mentors can be crucial to your success. Better yet, it can lead to a life-long professional relationship, something that is irreplaceable. With their past experiences and knowledge of the industry, mentors can provide critical insight that you won't find anywhere else.
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ProDev Growth