To make the most of the mentorship experience, you need to establish a clear working relationship that benefits both of you. I find it very beneficial to invest enough time to find the right mentor. Anything but a right match will result in endless hours wasted. So, how do you find the right mentor? More importantly, what are the benefits of mentorship?
I will answer both of these questions in this article. So, without taking too much of your time, let's start.
How Do You Benefit by Finding the Right Mentor?
Before I tell you how to find the right mentor, let's look at how you benefit from one. A mentor is a person who is usually older and more experienced than you. In a company setting, a mentor is an executive that trains you to take over a department, or even the company itself. Plenty of Fortune 500 companies have mentorship programs that benefit the company overall. One way for a company to train department managers and C-suit executives is through an internal mentorship program.
These programs are so beneficial, that 70% of Fortune 500 companies have them. A successful internal mentorship program encourages a healthy culture within the company. Working in an environment where the more senior employees help the younger and less experienced ones, results in better outcomes.
Any sort of mentorship is worthless if the mentor and mentee don't work with one another. As such, you must find the right mentor to help you excel in your career. Some of the benefits of finding the right mentor include:
- A healthy working relationship that increases the mentee's self-confidence.
- Establishing long-term growth and learning.
- Ability to improve professional skills.
- Receiving feedback and improving on areas where the mentee lacks.
These benefits are crucial when looking to grow your career. In addition to that, the right mentor is a close friend that guides and advises you.
How To Find the Right Mentor?
Now that you understand some of the benefits of finding a mentor for your career, let's see how to find the right one. One of the biggest reasons why you need to find the right mentor is that it directly impacts your career and personal growth.
Understand the Role of a Mentor
Before you search for the right mentor, you need to understand their role. A mentor is a person that guides you throughout your career. Your mentor will offer first-hand advice and act as a cheerleader. Mentors help you navigate challenges and provide a different perspective to unique situations. Since a mentor has already been where you are, they can impact your career in many ways.
Naturally, the right mentor will establish a long-term relationship with you. Mentors do this through a myriad of forms, such as peer or group coaching. But if you truly desire to excel at your career, I recommend you find a mentor that is interested and focused on only you.
Set Clear Goals and Expectations
A mentor will help you achieve your goals. But to do that, you need to set goals and expectations first. No doubt you'll be lacking in some areas. Together, you and your mentor will establish clear goals come up with a plan to achieve them.
But don't expect them to do all the work. If a mentor isn't convinced by your lack of enthusiasm or hunger for success, they won't bother wasting their time. Naturally, one sign of success is having expectations and goals to follow. So, the right mentor will help you overcome challenges by helping you excel at specific areas of work.
Approach Them by Writing an Awesome Email
There are a few ways to find mentors that can help you excel in your career. One way is through networking. You can do this online or "offline." Networking isn't difficult, but it does require some work. You'll need to attend plenty of online events, trade shows, and networking events to find a mentor.
Once you set your eyes on the mentor of your choice, it’s time to take the next step: approach your mentor. Unless you happen to have a killer CV that would spike the interest of a potential mentor, you'll be the one to do the approach. So, how do you do that? Well, you can be informal, or formal. While you could get in touch through social media, I honestly don't recommend this approach. What I would do is write an awesome email where you describe who you are, what you want, and why you're going to be a great mentee.
On my Becoming Great podcast, I speak about how to find the right mentor by writing the perfect email. With plenty of more ways to find the right mentor, the way you approach them is key. While the goal is to "sell", you don't want to make the email all about yourself.
Mentors are successful individuals that seek to share their wealth of knowledge with others. A good mentor can have anyone as a mentee, so make sure to stand out. Acknowledge that they might not have the time or interest to be your mentor. Be respectful, and they might show interest because of that.
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