Mentorship Matters: Finding and Being a Great Mentee
OVERVIEW OF GREAT MENTORSHIPS
A successful mentorship can change the trajectory of your career and your life.
Great mentorships are a two-way street. Mentors make a commitment to guide and support a mentee with empathy, knowledge, and experience to accelerate their career growth. Mentees make a commitment to pro-actively engage in the mentorship, ask and answer substantive questions, actively listen, synthesize, and act.
It’s imperative that both are emotionally available and present with each other. The value of mentorships has become so prevalent, that many companies and some organizations use mentoring software. Additionally, organizations often offer opportunities for mentees and mentors. Networking at organizations like NYWICI, volunteer activities, alumni groups, etc. are a great way to meet prospects for a mutually successful mentorship relationship.
“Great mentor relationships are when both parties show up to teach and both parties show up to learn.” — Simon Sinek, “What Mentorship Really Means”, Sept 10, 2021
FINDING A GREAT MENTOR
To find a great mentor, mentees must begin by looking inward to reflect with authenticity and ask themselves: What do I need in a mentor? What do I want in a mentor? What do I want to get out of this mentorship? Are the types of experience and strengths of a mentor most important to me? Would I benefit most from a mentor who specifically relates to the type of work I’m doing or want to be doing? Is a broader scope of experience going to be more helpful in my overall career growth?
Finding a great mentor who you’ll feel comfortable opening up to about professional issues that concern you involves shared values and trust in each other. Being an active listener and genuinely interested in how and why you’ve reached certain conclusions, your mentor may challenge your thought process to expand your thinking and encourage you to consider alternatives. When you share your goals, ambitions, hopes, and dreams, a great mentor not only cares about your future, but also your journey to overcome obstacles, potholes, pivots, and inspires you to uncover opportunities.
However, this can only occur when you’re transparent about your triumphs and failures, challenges and mistakes, strengths and weaknesses. Ask your mentor about her own experience in those areas as well and embrace each other’s responses. You may find new ways to approach similar situations or collaborate and come up with new ideas and strategies. Occasionally changing the dynamics of your mentorship can expose different sides of each of you that relate to other areas of your life and career. Great mentors guide you and listen carefully, then help you find answers on your own.
“A mentor is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.”
— Oprah Winfrey, Aug 21, 2024
BEING A GREAT MENTEE
Being a great mentee is as important as being a great mentor. Work together to set realistic guidelines, expectations, and objectives for the mentorship, be cognizant of the expertise and experiences each of you has. Talk about your career goals! Be clear about how you both want to communicate and the type of feedback you want and need.
A great mentee is curious, eager to learn, prepares ahead of time, and follows through. As a mentee, it’s your responsibility to participate fully in the mentorship relationship and absorb all you can. This is your chance to ask inciteful questions.
It’s okay to be unsure about being vulnerable, to talk about your fears and insecurities. If you’re anxious and nervous and need clarity, that’s okay too. Remember you’re in a safe space to open up to someone who has a vested interest in you and your success. Chances are your mentor has experienced some of these feelings too.
A few suggestions:
- Have a positive attitude and be open to discovering possibilities that exist today and may exist in the future.
- Be upbeat, energizing, enthusiastic, and always deliver quality work.
- Work hard, maintain integrity, and find ways to proactively move forward.
- Be kind, patient, reliable, and appreciative – your mentor is a volunteer who’s been hard at work all day, yet wants this mentorship to be a great experience for you.
- Take time to laugh together at the absurdities that present themselves at work.
- Share your successes, big and small, so you can both revel in your achievements and celebrate you.
- Ask about your mentor’s professional interests. Are there are ways to support her.
- Optimize your mentorship relationship and find the joy that evolves.
“Live in the moment, this experience has the chance to change your life.”
Sarah Hull, former Peace Corps mentee, Women of Peace Corps, March 20, 2024
GREAT INSIGHTS & RESOURCES PROVE MENTORSHIP MATTERS
- 10-Year Mentee and now friend: “A cornerstone of mentorship is being human and authentic. The foundation of a fruitful mentorship is the mutual appreciation of each other’s essential qualities and values.” By Bonnie Ma (01/26/2025)
- Mentee Toolkit: 10 Tips For Mentees, National Institutes of Health, 2009,https://hr.nih.gov/sites/default/files/public/documents/working-nih/mentoring/pdf/tips-mentees.pdf
– Mentoring Complete, Subscribe To The Mentoring Complete Newsletter, April 16, 2024, https://www.mentoringcomplete.com/
IT’S A WRAP
Over the last ten years, I’ve mentored 6 people. Four are former NYU students, one is the daughter of a friend, one is a from an organization where I volunteer. Everyone shares some similarities and a lot of unique qualities and experiences. Each one has had a very different career path. It’s been a privilege and a joy to mentor each one.
Written by Randy Penn, NYWICI Member and RJP Strategic Solutions, Principal Consultant
