Mentors are important people in the workplace and they can act as a type of advisor or coach to you, especially if you are young in your career. They can support you through work challenges, and be a listening ear as an unbiased outsider in a situation. They may help you meet new people at your company, or open doors for you to others in your field. They should be someone who you can learn from and who you can trust.
When looking for a mentor, you want to look for someone who has similar or complementary knowledge and expertise. You also want to be sure they have similar values as you, and will give you honest and direct feedback. Another important point to consider is if they have the time and interest in being your mentor.
Take some time to think about those who are a few to several years ahead of you in their career and if you want to take similar steps in your work. Consider people whose work or research you’re interested in or admire. Think of someone who you’d be happy to collaborate with and learn from in a long-term relationship. As Matt D’Angelo at Business News Daily shares with us, “Anyone looking for a mentor should keep these three things in mind:
- Define what you want out of your career and what you need to learn to get there.
- Approach a mentor relationship as if it’s a business friendship – be casual and friendly, and try not to ask weird questions like, “Will you be my mentor?”
- Start with your own professional network. We often already have mentors who provide advice in various ways, and all it takes is a little effort from us to grow that connection into an ongoing relationship.”
For further reading on finding a mentor, please take a look at these articles:
https://hbr.org/2021/03/whats-the-right-way-to-find-a-mentor
https://www.npr.org/2019/10/25/773158390/how-to-find-a-mentor-and-make-it-work
https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6248-how-to-find-mentor.html
