Depending on what you want out of the relationship, it doesn’t even necessarily need to be someone working in the same sector as you – it could be someone you want to learn from as a role model for reasons other than the specific skills you use in your day-to-day job.

A good mentor will take you out of your comfort zone, encouraging you to build upon your strengths, address any weaknesses, and stretch yourself in order to improve your skills and experience, and get ahead in your career.

You may wish a mentor at various different parts of your own career development to help you progress in a variety of areas.  It need not be the same mentor each time – indeed you may find better support in having a variety of mentors at different stages of your career who can support you to develop your goals at that point.

What to look for in a mentor

• Be clear what you want: Is it help to hone a particular skillset that you are after? Are you looking to develop your experience in a new or related field? Are you changing careers? Are you wanting advice on a specific project? How much support (i.e. contact time) do you need? Are you keen to meet regularly in person or will online be good for you? Get the practicalities of the arrangement straight in your own head from the outset, so you know exactly whom and what you are looking for in a mentor.
• Find someone you want to be like: Approach the kind of person you aspire to be similar to in the future and who has the perceived strengths that can help you in those areas where you feel you have weaknesses.
• Equally, if not more important, find someone you like: A good mentoring relationship is a very personal thing, which works best if there is good chemistry between you. Do you respond well to a hard task-master, or do you need a more sensitive soul to guide you? Do you click with serious types, or are you happier listening to people who are a bit more relaxed? The clues to the kind of person you are dealing with will be there when you have your first proper conversation, so just make sure you listen to your instincts. While you cannot necessarily choose your boss, you can choose your mentor!

How to find and approach a mentor

When you have decided whom you want to approach, based on the questions and guidance above, a strategy for making contact might look something like this:
Email to ask for an informal chat.  It is important to get a sense of the mentor’s career path up until now, and whether it feels like you are going to get along.
 
Once you know you are keen to enlist the mentor’s help, ask how he or she would feel about formalising as a mentor-mentee relationship.  You could suggest a monthly check-in meeting, for example, but remember there are no hard and fast rules and be understanding and appreciate that the mentor will have many demands on their time.
You need to be proactive in making the best use of your mentor – they will not do the legwork for you.


Finally…

Remember that while mentors can offer you invaluable advice and perspective, a mentor is not there to make your choices for you. A good mentor will leave you feeling empowered, encouraging you to take full responsibility for your own career decisions and the consequences that come with them. The rest of your working life is up to you. Good luck!

Find a Mentor