Mentors serve as a guide to help people to advance their careers. They encourage people to accomplish their goals, but the hardest thing to do is to ask somebody to be a mentor in the first place. It can make you feel very nervous to ask somebody you’ve never met to mentor you and look after your career.
It’s not that they will be responsible for your career, but that they will be a part of helping you to develop professionally. Entrepreneurs such as David Spector, ThirdLove may serve as an inspiration to you. Understanding how you can get a mentor is going to help you to ask the right questions to the right people to ensure that you are influenced in the right way. Here are some of the things that you need to know before you ask somebody to be a mentor for you.
- Invite them to a meeting. Meeting a mentor in person can help you to establish a report from the beginning. You need to have a two-way conversation where you discuss what you want from them, what you need from them, and what you expect from this professional relationship. Once you have that, you can get started and ensure that you have the best mentor for you. If you already know who your potential mentor is going to be, reach out to them via email or however you would normally communicate with them, and explain that you are looking for a mentor to guide you and help you. Reaching out early via email is going to be a smart decision.
- Be descriptive in your goals. If you want somebody to agree to be your mentor, then you have to be descriptive about why you need them in the first place. There have to be specific reasons out there that are measurable and actionable so that you can put your goals on the right path. Being specific about what you want will help your mentor determine whether or not they have the expertise and advice to mentor you effectively. If you’re planning to change careers, highlight how they have made similar changes in the past and that’s why you find them inspirational.
- Talk about what you want. Last place? Is it to further your goals in your career, to improve your leadership skills, or is it just to get some inspiration from somebody in the field that you want to be in? No matter what you do, you need to explain your preferred mentoring setup and ensure that you have a rough draft of a program to show that you are willing to follow their direction. Bring with you the questions you want to be answered along the way, the goals you want to attain, and how often you’d like to meet. All of this information is going to help your mentor determine whether or not they can help.
- Show your value. More than just having a mentor, you need to be valuable as a mentee. Your mentor has to get something out of this arrangement as much as you do, as it’s going to help them to develop as well.