Starting from the beginning.
Having a mentor or sponsor is arguably one of the most important factors in being successful in really any field. I personally would not have found myself where I am now had I not had the influence of many great mentors at nearly every point of my education and career. But given the importance of mentors, the biggest struggle is finding one that works for you and keeping them as a mentor.
Note: I use mentorship and sponsorship interchangeably and I feel that they are really gradations of the same thing. Sorry to the semantic police.
Finding a mentor is much like all relationships: it takes the right “fit” and a little bit of invested time, and unfortunately those with higher level social skills often have an easier time than those that are a bit more shy. But do not fret; there is someone for everyone.
The first step in finding a mentor really starts with YOU and will start with some introspective review. Yeah, you can just spin around and hope that the perfect mentor finds you but that involves luck, and I don’t know about you but I don’t like to leave things to chance. I think that it is best to write down or at least give deep thought to a few things and make a battle plan.
What do you want from your mentor?
This is the most important question to ask yourself. There are many different kinds of mentors, some that will help you with your career, those that will help you emotionally, those that will help you academically, those that will use their wisdom to guide you to the next step, those that are people to bounce ideas off of, etc. It is important to ask yourself what your needs are, what questions you want to ask, and what experiences you are looking for. Often mentors can help with research, learning opportunities, shadowing experiences, and internships. It is important for them to know what your goals are. A mentor can fulfill one, many, or all of your mentorship needs, but it is okay if you have different mentors that help you in different ways.
Share your goals, wants, and desires with your mentor.
They cannot read your mind; let them know your interests and goals. Armed with that information they will be better able to direct you to where you need to go and what you should be doing. Often this is the best way to get a mentor to share their wisdom.
Mentorship is a relationship.
I think that it is not surprising that many of my best mentors have been people that I “clicked” with. They should be someone that you trust and respect, that you feel has your back. It is okay to not continue working with a mentor if the relationship is not working. Also remember that relationships take time. You will have to “keep in touch” with your mentor. Often I will update a mentor on my progress academically, send them a research article I think that they would like, or simply check in. The time frame for this will vary depending on the person but this will help build the relationship. Remember often these will be the people that are writing your letters of recommendation so it behooves you to make sure they know you as a person.
Remember that mentorship is a two way street.
Mentors are mentors because they too get something out of the relationship. They are investing their time in YOU, often out of altruism or something that they enjoy doing, but also as a way of fostering a relationship in which you will grow into strong colleagues for the future. They may be looking for like-minded people with the goal of shaping the future as they see best.
Now I know what I want, but where do I fine a mentor?
This will be different in every field but I find that those in teaching and training types of positions are often those that are ready and willing to take on mentees. In my experiences many of my mentors were found through other mentors that knew, someone else that had an interest that was similar to my own. Some mentors have been people that are peers or even those that are only slightly ahead of me in training that were willing to share with me their experiences. These can all grow into very fruitful mentorships and collaborations.
Recap
- Think about what you want from a mentor
- Get to know your mentor and let them know your goals and motivations
- Mentorship is a relationship that takes investment and a bit of compatibility.
- Mentorship can come from anywhere. Opportunities may be right in front of you.