Mentorship can boost your career. But it is important to prepare for it to get maximum from it. Here are the 5 tips for mentees on how to prepare for the mentorship.<\/p>\n
Before you start, define a goal that you want to achieve. Don\u2019t think that your mentor will formulate the goal for you or understand what\u2019s best for you. Getting a mentor is not a silver bullet.<\/span><\/p>\n If you have a \u201cI\u2019m lost, help me to understand what to do\u201d request to your mentor, you have way fewer chances to find the right mentor and be successful in this mentorship. You need to do your homework and make your request or goal specific.<\/span><\/p>\n A request \u201cI\u2019m lost, help me to understand what to do. I did some research and I have a theory that the data analyst role is a great start for me. I have the following plan, but I’m not sure how realistic it is\u201d. This goal is more specific, that\u2019s why you have more chances to find the right mentor with the set of skills you need and get real help from your mentor.<\/span><\/p>\n I had a case where my mentee had a request \u201cI need help with finding my first product management job\u201d. When I started asking questions I realized that the mentee didn\u2019t google anything about the process of finding a product management job. This is not the best way to build long-term relations with the mentor. Do your homework, research, and ask specific questions. Don\u2019t ask a mentor the general questions you can google in 10 seconds. Do your research, identify your blind spot, ask for help.<\/span><\/p>\n You need to dedicate time to mentoring, homework, and preparation for each session. Understand how much time you can dedicate on a weekly basis, how much time you need to dedicate to meet your goals. You will need dedicated time each week to be able to make progress. Dedicating 3 hours weekly is much better than 12 hours once a month.<\/span><\/p>\n Plan time, so you can process information, reflect, take notes after the session and send it to the mentor as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sometimes people start mentorship and realize that they don\u2019t have enough time for it. It could be frustrating for both mentee and mentor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Choosing the right mentor is super important. You can be lucky and get a Vice President as a mentor, but if your goal is to start your career, then VP is not the best mentor profile. Probably, a person who recently started a career in this area (1-3 years ago) will be a better mentor profile.<\/span><\/p>\n Each mentor has limitations, you need to be prepared for them. Nobody is perfect. Don\u2019t get frustrated, if your mentor cannot cover all the questions you have.<\/span><\/p>\n If you have a multi-step complicated plan and cannot find the perfect mentor, then you may consider having a separate mentor for each step.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It is hard to be reviewed, it is hard to receive feedback. Be honest and don\u2019t try to hide issues. Your mentor is here to help, so be honest. There is no shame in lack of knowledge or experience, it\u2019s ok to make mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n Try not to be defensive. Your mentor wishes you the best and is eager to help. You just need to be ready to receive this help.<\/span><\/p>\n Try to be open-minded and don\u2019t reject the proposed solution right away, even if you have already tried it. Maybe the solution is good, but the implementation wasn\u2019t right last time. Listen first, try to understand the point, then share your story and ask for your opinion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Just listening quietly is not the best strategy. Mentoring is a two-way street. It is not a lecture. Ask questions, brainstorm ideas. Be an active participant. And remember that you are responsible for taking actions, follow-ups, etc.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you don\u2019t understand something, ask, don\u2019t be afraid to look stupid. If you need help, say so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Don’t feel stressed about the mentorship. Your mentor invests time and energy in your relationships, that’s why the mentor is super interested in your success. And good luck in your upcoming mentorship!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mentorship can boost your career. But it is important to prepare for it to get maximum from it. Here are the 5 tips for mentees on how to prepare for the mentorship. Research, define a goal Before you start, define a goal that you want to achieve. Don\u2019t think that your mentor will formulate the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13667,"featured_media":8850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,178,158,181,160,175,161,157,162,176,179,194,177,163,165,172,166,207,202,196,168,167,213,195,170,182,198,164,180,174,171,169,1,159,173],"tags":[354,353],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13667"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8851"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8859,"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8851\/revisions\/8859"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ditech.media\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Dedicate time<\/span><\/h1>\n
Define a mentor\u2019s profile<\/span><\/h1>\n
Be open-minded, honest, and ready for feedback<\/span><\/h1>\n
Be proactive<\/span><\/h1>\n