Last week we outlined several crucial career stages where solid mentoring can mean the difference between success and failure. Clearly for all you badasses out there, the former is preferable to the latter.
Mentoring has previously been defined as ‘the process in which a more experienced person, serving as a role model, teaches, sponsors, encourages, counsels and befriends a less skilled or less experienced person of the purpose of promoting the latter’s professional and/or personal development. Mentoring functions are carried out within the context of an on-going, supportive relationship between the mentor and mentee.’1
Therefore, finding a suitable mentor that supports your development is critical for cashing in on the benefits afforded by a strong mentor-mentee relationship.
On a practical level then, how do you identify a mentor that can provide you with expert guidance for your current situation?
Here I outline four critical questions that you should ask yourself when searching for a potential mentor. Answering these questions will help identify whether or not you’ll be able to strike up a fruitful mentor-mentee relationship:
Question 1. What experience do they have?
Clearly they’ll have to possess the necessary skills in order to help you.
Generic skills inherent of all good mentors include the ability to listen, to ask competent questions and to be tough on accountability (yet empathetic to your situation at the same time). They also need to possess specific skills relevant to your own requirements depending on where you are in your career.
You need to identify an individual who has the correct experience and understanding of the work culture you are in, to support you with where you’re at and where you’re trying to reach.
For this reason you ideally need to plan out what you’re searching for, have a rough idea of how long you expect it will take to achieve it and also and idea of what the process is. This will help you to find the right mentor to help you accomplish these goals.
Question 2. What qualifications do they have?
This is a no-brainer.
Once you have a firm understanding of what you require from a mentor, it should be clear what qualifications this advisor should have in order to support your objective(s).
Question 3. Are they interested in you?
Is the potential mentor interested in you and your aspirations?
It is essential the answer to this question is yes. If it’s not they won’t be able to offer valuable support and if it’s maybe, there’s a potential they won’t be able to offer you valuable support. Either way the chances are the mentoring won’t be effective.
Ultimately if they don’t ‘get you’ and what it is you are aiming to achieve, they’ll be unable to get you to where you want to be.
Question 4. Do you feel comfortable around this person?
The importance of this answer is sometimes overlooked at the expense of fulfilling the other three questions. However, it’s critically important that the answer to this question is also a positive one.
The mentor-mentee relationship by nature can involve sharing information of sometimes a personal nature, especially on the part of the mentee.
If you do not feel comfortable enough to disclose all necessary information required for your optimal career progression, chances are the relationship will not be as productive as it could otherwise be.
Approaching a potential mentor
Once your goals are clearly mapped out at any particular stage in your career, keep your eyes open for those individuals that can help you with specific objectives.
When first approaching a potential mentor try do it face-to-face, be clear with your aims for the mentorship, make sure they are clear that you wish to learn from their experience, not be tutored and importantly if you get the impression they’re not 100% committed to the idea – back off. Pressurising someone to help you will not work out well in the long run.
Finally, if no one in your network fits the bill at any given time, you could always consider paying for a career coach to help provide you with an unbiased perspective on your own situation.‘Till next time, remember to stay focussed on your goals and keep learning how to be a badass in your biomed career.
In the meantime, follow us on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/biomedbadass/) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/Biomed_Badass) for regular up-dates on academic career tips.
Reference
1Alred, G and Garvey, B. The mentoring pocketbook. 3rd edition. Alresford: Management Pocketbooks Ltd., 2010.