A mentor is someone who can help shape your career by offering guidance, encouragement and the right nudge at the right time and help you avoid costly mistakes while unlocking your potential, so selecting the right person can be a key step in your professional growth.  

To select a mentor who can truly help you advance professionally, it’s important to start with self-examination to identify your goals.

Are you looking for help with:

• Career guidance?
• Developing leadership skills?
• Technical expertise?
• Managing work-life balance?

Knowing your goals helps you identify someone whose experience aligns with your path. In seeking out a mentor, look for someone who has:

• Experience and expertise: They have navigated the path you are on.
• Values alignment: Their ethics, communication style and approach resonate with you.
• Good listening skills: They ask questions and let you reflect.
• Willingness to share: They are open about their own failures and successes.
• Time and commitment: They are willing to invest in the relationship.

Most likely, you’ll find these people at your workplace or organization, professional associations or networks, alumni networks and community- or faith-based organizations.

A mentoring relationship can develop organically over time through trust and mutual respect but can start with something as simple as a chat over coffee or some other meeting where you ask questions about their career path or get their feedback on a project or idea.

To build the relationship gradually, be sure to show appreciation, follow through on their advice or feedback and respect their time – don’t ask for too much too soon.

The best mentors don’t give you the answers – they ask the right questions. Selecting a mentor is not about finding someone to map out your life but rather someone who helps you think more clearly and act more confidently.

The right mentor can make all the difference.