Terrell asked a good question in response to yesterday’s post. 

She mentions that in college she got “assigned” a mentor and he was “horrible.”  Hence, the first rule of snagging a mentor: Find (& cultivate) people who want to help you.  I.e., people who are into you. 

How to find or get found?  Some ideas: 

First and foremost, be such an overachiever that you will attract attention.  Mentors, like all humans, want to be associated with winners.

Identify the leaders in your field.  Ask them to be your mentors.  Do this in a crisp, smart, professional way (phone, letter, email–your choice).  Have a list of specific questions ready in case they say, “Well, what do you want to know?”  If they decline, be polite and grateful.  Then ask for recommendations for other possible mentors!  (Don’t forget to write a thank you note.)

Check out these other possible sources of mentors:  relatives, friends of your family, former bosses, former professors, neighbors, and people you meet through professional associations, networking groups, clubs, church, whatever.

In case you haven’t realized this already, you should be putting yourself “out there.”  Attend meetings of your profession or trade.  Be a regular at networking functions.  Join civic clubs.  Get active in local government.  You don’t have to do all these things.  Pick the stuff you’re interested in.

In case you haven’t realized this already, keep in mind that finding good mentors (just like finding good jobs) requires persistence.

When a potential mentor gives you advice, try to take it.  If you absolutely don’t agree with this advice, at least make a show of considering, even attempting, it.  Mentors have needs too.  Make them feel you will be worth their time!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 9:09 am and is filed under career advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.