Having someone with more experience than you have guide you through any aspect of your life is truly rare and essential. Mentors are people who teach, support, advice, and guide their mentees (which happens to be you in this case) to grow and develop professionally. In this article, I will be showing you how to find a mentor.
How to find a mentor
Finding a mentor is much harder than most people expect it to be. Mentorship doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Some are better off as mentees than mentors. Due to this fact, it takes more time to find a good mentor who will positively impact and transform your life into a better place.
Be clear on what you are looking for in a mentor
The primary step in finding a mentor is identifying the qualities you are searching for in a mentor. You can’t go on a wild goose chase after a mentor without knowing what you want in the person.
The critical feature anyone should be looking for in a mentor should be ‘patience.’ Having a mentor who isn’t patient would ruin the mentorship along the line.
Other essential qualities you should look out for in a mentor are the ability to impact knowledge, empathy, the willingness to invest time in your professional development, knowledge of your expertise, and the ability to offer honest feedback on your performance when necessary.
If your mentor checks all these boxes, I think you’ve found the right person for the job.
Find a mentor within your social network
The best place to find a mentor is within your social network. Your social network happens to be the best place because 90% of your social network are more likely to share similar career interest and skills.
If you are someone with solid social networking skills, then you are more likely to find a mentor faster than other mentees. Since you are likely still in contact with your former colleagues, bosses and experts in your field, you could easily reach out to someone among them and ask for their time to mentor you. Even if they aren’t available to take up the responsibility, they would recommend you to someone with high professional experience who can.
Related: Who is a career coach and what do they do?
Utilize Social Media
Social Media has so many advantages in today’s world. Utilizing social media to get a mentor is a great way to start your mentorship journey.
There are various social media apps where you can source great professionals who may be willing to mentor you. One of the best apps I will be recommending is LinkedIn. Mind you; you can use all other social media apps to find a mentor too. However, I am singling out LinkedIn because it’s easier to get valuable connections tailored to your professional needs for development.
LinkedIn is the social media world of professionals. You can easily reach out to top dogs in your industry and humbly ask them to be your mentor. Those who are willing to do so will gladly take up the responsibility.
There are no limits to the power of social media.
Expand your professional network
Expanding your network as a professional is essential. Knowing and interacting with more people in your industry isn’t bad. The more people you interact with, the more opportunities you are likely to come across.
Attending conferences, seminars, webinars, trade fairs, and business events are ways to get a good mentor. At these types of events, you are more likely to meet highly experienced professionals who can guide you through the process of becoming a pro in your business.
So do well to source these events online and network your way to career success.
