Mentorship can play a huge role in anyone’s life. It doesn’t matter if it’s your life, career, or business that needs improvement. There are people who are in the best position to help you overcome difficult situations. When someone decides to mentor you, they are going to cause a huge impact on your life.
A mentor may be what you need to reach the next level. They hold their mentees accountable and make sure they keep growing. Mentors seek to change your mindset and teach you vital skills that helped them get to where they are. They are a must-have for anyone trying to achieve success.
How Can A Mentor Help You?
There are so many reasons why you should have a mentor. If you’re looking to improve your skills, you should get an experienced person to teach you. Mentors can help you develop important personal and professional skills.
When you are experiencing stagnation in your business or career, a mentor can provide a new perspective. They will be able to see the bigger picture and help you weather the storm. Mentors help to solve problems so you can move ahead.
Although mistakes are inevitable, a mentor can help you avoid lots of them. They will provide useful insight and show you the right decisions to make. With a mentor, you’re guaranteed to achieve success quicker.
How Can You Find a Mentor?
Before you find a mentor, you need to know what you are really looking for. They have to be experienced, passionate, and willing to impart their knowledge. Not everyone is fit to become a mentor, so you have to choose carefully. Here are some ideas to help you find the right mentor:
- Check Your Network
There are some experts within your network that can mentor you. It’s very easy to recognize those who you would like to learn from. They are people that have achieved the exact type of goals that you’ve set for yourself. A prospective mentor is someone who you really look up to.
You can also start by making a list of experts in your field, niche, or industry. Then, ask for their contact details in industry groups or ask some of your friends. All you have to do is reach out to these prospective mentors and find out what it would take for them to mentor you.
- Join Mentorship Platforms
If you make a simple Google search, you’ll find tons of mentorship platforms to join. It has literally become easy to find a mentor online. Some platforms cater to a specific industry while others are quite diverse. It just depends on what you need mentoring sessions for.
Most mentorship platforms allow you to browse through their community of experts and reach out to those that you prefer. While some others let you post requests and receive messages from numerous mentors. On the platforms, mentors can set weekly, monthly, and yearly prices.
- Attend Industry Meetups
You need to be more intentional about expanding your network. That’s more reason why you should attend industry meetups such as conferences, tradeshows, and networking events. There are so many people with whom you can build valuable relationships.
You’d be surprised at the number of potential mentors that you can find at meetups. Finding a mentor at an event is as simple as walking up to someone and asking to connect with them. Once they give you their contact information, you’ll nurture the relationship from there.
- Check Social Media
Social media can help you find the right mentor. First, you need to decide on the social media platforms that are most used in your industry. The best platforms are usually Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram. Next, you’ll search for mentors by using the related keywords and hashtags.
When you find professionals within your industry, you should follow them or send them friend requests. Then, you’ll start to build the connection over time. When you read their posts, make sure to engage and leave thoughtful comments. After some time, you will ask if they can mentor you.
5 Tips To Help You Find A Good Mentor
There are a few things to keep in mind when trying to find a mentor. You need to be patient and be willing to build relationships first. No matter how you choose to find a mentor, here are some tips to help you make the right choice.
- Build Relationships First
You can’t just approach somebody you admire and ask them to be your mentor. There’s a huge possibility of them rejecting you. No one wants to mentor anyone who hasn’t tried to make a connection upfront. Make sure to build a rapport with potential mentors before reaching out to them.
- Keep An Open Mind
When trying to find a mentor online, you need to be open-minded. You shouldn’t discriminate based on age, gender, nationality, or even religious beliefs. The most important thing is the knowledge, skills, and experience that you will benefit from. It really doesn’t matter if you’re older or younger than your mentor.
- Don’t rush the process
It might take a very long time before someone accepts to become your mentor. There are various reasons why someone may refuse to help you. It’s either they are too busy or they are simply not interested in mentoring anyone. However, you shouldn’t take their rejection to heart. You have to be patient and continue to build relationships.
- Look for skills and expertise
Mentorship is all about learning new things and improving certain aspects of your life. So you need to find someone who has the skills and knowledge that you lack. Make sure their strengths lie within areas where your weaknesses are. Your mentor should help you learn new skills and improve your current skills.
- Set Goals For Yourself
There’s no point in seeking mentorship if you haven’t set any goals yet. Nobody wants to help a confused person who doesn’t know the type of outcome he wants. You need to define your goals and write them down. Then, you can work on finding someone who can help you achieve those goals.
Conclusion
Mentorship is necessary if you want to get ahead in life. No matter your level of expertise, there’s always something new to learn. The above tips should help you find the right mentor. However, you should know that mentorship doesn’t always come free. Some mentors may ask you to pay for their time while others might tell you to buy their course or provide some sort of service.