How does one find a mentor?

samreichstein·Dec 14, 2021

Posted in:Advice

Hi there!

This time of year is usually one filled with taking a step back and re-evaluating what comes next. As someone who has found herself in this mindset, I recently asked myself, "How does one find a mentor?"

I have a therapist, someone who listens and helps me make sense of what's on my mind, however a mentor is not a therapist.

I have trustworthy people in my life I can go to with questions, but this is mostly family or close friends. I guess what I'm asking is... how does one find a mentor? And if you have one, where and how did you find yours?

Ruthie89·Dec 15, 2021

I have mentors and I mentor college students, so here is a perspective from both sides. With my mentors, who are all 10-15 years my senior, I have looked at, “What can I learn from them that will help guide me?” And in return, I look at what I can offer them. For instance, my three main mentors all wanted tips about using social media, and they wanted to meet people in my network (once you are at their level, you tend to interact with the same people all the time). Then, in mentoring students, I look at, “Does this person have potential? Do they seem conscientious? Are they someone for whom I can be a reference down the road?” From my mentees, I hope I can learn things I might not otherwise pick up from my cohort or my mentors. Lately, for instance, my mentees have talked a lot about mental health and mindfulness.

maggiewolff·Dec 15, 2021

I have found them through: - My local city's Python meet-up group. They had a mentor/mentee board and I reached out to her. - Speed mentoring events held by my employer - Former boss/supervisor I also have a mentee who found me via a mutual friend who know that we had similar backgrounds and introduced us. Other good sources are MeetUp groups, Alumni groups/directories, and online communities like Elpha, Women in Tech Slack, and other Slack/Discord communities related to tech or your niche. Some have formal "mentor" channels, some have random pairings (via the Donut bot) and you can get lucky, and in other cases just attending events (virtual or in-person) and reaching out to someone who has a background that you think fits your goal path.My approach is that I'm constantly networking and sometimes that has led to finding someone who I either thought would be a good mentor or just worth having a one-off chat about their experience so that I could learn a bit from them.