Mentorship drives the ship
Back in my days of playing baseball I had a coach that would always say, “You want to go to the moon? Talk to an astronaut!”. This is a quote that always stuck with me and its lesson has come up many times throughout my career.
What the quote is supposed to mean is that if you want to do something the best way to learn how is by asking someone who has already done it. Which, in my mind, boils down to mentorship. Having good mentors is probably one of the biggest cheat codes to progressing quickly in life. From the lessons to the friendship, a good mentor can change your life, giving you everything from confidence to opportunities.
Throughout your life you will come across many types of mentor figures. Some who you have officially deemed a mentor, whether it be through work, a club, or some other means. Others will be unofficial mentors, people you can spend time around and look up to. In this article I want to outline a few different things related to finding mentors, using their time efficiently, and making the most out of that relationship.
Where do the mentors hide?
Take a second to think about the people in your life. Are there people you look up to and have been there for you, ready to offer advice or an open ear? Then you probably already have a mentor or two, whether official or unofficial.
My mother always used to say, “People are in your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime” and I think this very much applies to mentors as well. Throughout your life you will have many different mentors, some for a lifetime,and others will come in during times in your life you need them (a reason).
One method for finding mentors is to look around you. Look at your work, your school, and any clubs or meetups you attend. Are there people you look up to and think are pretty cool? Is there a way you could put some more effort into that relationship? Great! That’s a quick path to finding some mentors. Find some time to grab coffee or set up a monthly video chat. When asking people for these kinds of things, it is always important to show gratitude and be upfront about why you admire them. Everyone likes to be complimented and to feel helpful.
I have been very lucky to have some great people in my life who have given me mentorship throughout my dropout journey. One thing I would often do once I had built a relationship with a mentor figure was to solidify it and ask the person if they would be my mentor. This makes it real and shows your intention. People also enjoy young professionals trying to get out there and progress in their careers so it will often be pretty well received. I want to preface that I usually had an existing relationship with these people and haven’t really ever gone around asking random people that have never talked to me to be my mentor.
Don’t waste a mentor's time!
Once you solidify that relationship of mentor/mentee, you must be intentional with it. Don’t expect them to put much effort into the whole arrangement. You need to be courteous of their schedule and time.
It is important to prepare for your meetings or conversations. Don’t just show up and expect them to teach you things. Mentors are there to give insight, share stories and lend an ear. Mentors are not there to create a curriculum, figure out your needs, and teach you. Showing up to a mentorship conversation unprepared is another form of wasting your mentor's time. Don’t do that!
Although most conversations are pretty dependent on the situation, here are a few things to think about when preparing for a mentorship conversation:
- Questions related to how they approached situations similar to the one you are currently in.
- Questions about places to source resources for specific skills or roles.
- Career thoughts/ideas you would like someone else to add input on
- More specific questions. Stay away from super abstract questions. Use examples from your life.
- Stories or experiences you would like to hear about from the mentor's life
- “How’d you go from working in marketing to engineering?”
Don’t waste your own time
As I spoke a little bit about in the above section, it is important to be intentional about receiving mentorship. It sounds cheesy, but it really is a “you get out of it what you put into it” situation. Know what you are looking for in the advice or stories. How can you ideate on the experience they had to use it as a lesson for what you are going through?
One great way of learning and improving in the real world is the monkey see, monkey do method. Actions often speak louder than words and advice is no exception. Watch how your mentors, and people like them, act.
- How do they approach problems in their work?
- How do they carry themselves?
- What skills do they deem important?
I’m sure everyone has heard that not all advice is good, and that is true. You shouldn’t blindly be taking advice from anyone, not even your mentors, only you really know all the nuances of the situation and what you want. That is why oftentimes, hearing the stories and observing action is how you get the best advice. This is a strong argument for why it is great to look for opportunities to work alongside these mentor figures. As I spoke a bit about in the advice when looking for your first job article here, working alongside your mentors and people you admire can be a huge learning opportunity. A lot of it boils down to being able to observe and watch how your mentors take action.
Checkout MDD’s Mentorship Form
As someone blessed with great mentors who changed my life, I feel strongly about giving others the same experience. We are in the process of building out a network of great mentors looking to give back. So fill out the form and whether it be from me or someone else in the network, we will try our best to get you some mentorship!