How To Look For A Mentor
A couple of days ago, one of my friends messaged me asking "How do you go about finding a mentor? Please teach me" There it was - the million dollar question. How do you find these great people? Honestly, it’s a legitimate concern. The first couple of months I started working, I was in search of the answer as well. I didn't know how to reach out. I didn't know what to do in certain situations. In fact, I wondered:
Who am I for them to be helping me?
Where do I even find them?
How do I know if we’ll click and have similar interests?
That's exactly the thing. You don't know. However, these “mentors” were in your shoes not so long ago and understand where you come from. Here are the steps I took to reach out:
Firstly, I didn't limit myself to finding only one mentor. You’re not looking for a lifetime partner, you’re looking for a few people that can help guide you in your career
I leveraged the fact that I work at such a big company and there’s enormous talent within reach. The fact that there are huge finance, engineering, sales, and marketing departments is awesome. It's as easy as going to your internal directory, doing an advanced search based on who you are looking for and pinging them.
example: I was really curious about giving a talk in a conference so I found an individual that works at my company and messaged him:
"Hi, I'm _____, in this ____ role and started working __ months ago. I saw that you spoke at ___events and watched some of them. I'm interested in learning more about how you were able to accomplish that. Would love to schedule a quick 30 minute chat to learn more"
Just a short message like that introduces yourself, shows that you've done research and most importantly - expresses that you are curious and eager to learn! (they love that!!!)
We are living in the day and age in life where 99.99% of all our communications are through some form of technology. I've spoken to one real person in the last two weeks and that was when I was ordering Chipotle. So here are some social media tactics I've used:
LinkedIn Mentorship - There's a section on your profile where you can opt in to find mentors. You can enter in details about which field you want the mentors to be in and which location. I've used this multiple times and spoken to a couple of outstanding people in various different companies and roles.
example: Just like above, I sent an introductory message to someone I matched with. I checked out his profile and noticed he previously worked for my company and switched roles to become a director of engineering at another. He replied within 5 hours, told me to think about my goals so that he could help me best, scheduled a lunch session and spoke about our careers over a meal. It was amazing. And I got to see their campus!
side note: I realize that not all LinkedIn profiles have the mentorship section. However, it doesn't matter. Even if you don't, you can still connect with someone, follow them, and reach out with a simple message. Just remember to do your research.
Instagram/Facebook/Twitter - Remember that peers can be mentors too. Just DM them and ask. I see my peers doing things I could never do - some are professional gymnasts, some are pro cooks, and some trade stocks on a daily. In fact today I was catching up with one of my friends who works in finance after 2 years. During the call he taught me so much about what Stocks, ETF, and Bonds are. He even suggested a course from Yale on Coursera. I would've never known any of this if I hadn’t reached out.
Use your current network! Assuming you don’t live in a cave, you have a network of your own involving friends, family, and past co-workers. If you are thinking about pursuing a career in the film industry, reach out to your friends' aunt's cousin! Talk to your friend and learn from them about what she’s heard about her aunt’s cousin. If you are still interested, just ask to be introduced. The best way to reach out is simply by expressing interest in things you are interested in.
An invaluable thing I've done is to make a list of skills I want to improve upon. It’s difficult reaching out to someone and asking to learn when you yourself don’t know what you’re looking to learn. When I meet with senior managers and directors, I ask about leadership. When I meet with engineers, I ask about design configurations. When I meet with people that have switched multiple jobs or stayed in one role for 20+ years, I ask them how they plan their career. This brings me to my next point.
Genuinely be curious. If you just want a mentor for the sake of having a mentor then what’s the point? Show your true interest and don’t try to fake it.
Lastly, if the conversations go well and you've found what you are looking for - that is so AWESOME!! I'm so happy for you because it is hard to find the right mentor. Continue that relationship, meet bi-weekly, meet monthly or just check up on each other every 3-4 months. Just be sure to stay in touch because if you can learn so much from one conversation, imagine how much knowledge they can shed through multiple. And hey, if things don't go well, then there's that. You don't owe that person anything and neither do they. So smile, say bye, remain connected on social media, and move onto the next person.
