You are motivated, inspired, and aspiring for a particular goal in life. You know about someone who has been there done it, you wonder what was their spark and what made them get to where you are stretching to reach. You now have the opportunity to approach them but you just wonder how do you do it and how do you not mess it all up. Sit back while I explore with you these 7 top tips on how to approach a mentor in your aspiring career goal.
YOUR GOAL STARTS HERE
Do not spoil it. You need to have a strategic plan in place which aligns with your aspiring goal. Look at it this way, meeting someone who has done it before is also part of the goal, your aim is to be able to get the pointers from your mentor which would guide you to your destination. So grab on the idea and keep it all goal-oriented.
TIME AND TIMING
This may sound too professional depending on what career goal you are pushing for, but trust me usage of time can be applied in formal and informal situations.
You can set a time to meet your mentor or if your mentor sets a time to meet or communicate, make sure you keep to it.
Timing is everything. You could ask your mentor questions like, ‘when are your most free times to communicate?’ With this, you would know when to message and when not to.
Some mentors are extremely busy and would find you a bother if in the middle of closing a deal or a big meeting you are just messaging and asking “How are you, Have you eating, How is your day going?” I mean come on now.
If that mentor is not your friend on that level, this approach would be a badge to their personal life.
DO NOT GET CARRIED AWAY
Your mentor may be your long inspired idol whom you may have been wanting to just get a mere response from, but remember your goal here is not a mere response but a deep mentorship.
Overexcitement could kill your mentor’s drive, It could also go both ways depending on how you approach it.
Just play it cool and don’t get carried away by all the excitement, that you forget to deliver the message which you were meant to deliver.
Very importantly, do not set too many high expectations. This could block you from absorbing the small details which may be vital to your mentorship.
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NARROW IT DOWN
No busy person has time to be listening to a long boring east to a west long story that is tangential to any crucial topic at hand.
When you have built an initial rapport with your mentor, go straight to the points about the things you need mentorship on, and how you think they are the best person to do it for you.
Remember to draw references and similarities to their related projects to yours.
STAY IN LANE
Do not divert the attention and topic to an unrelated subject, stay away from trigger topics like religion and politics. Or tailoring your whole other problems.
Again this could work both ways where your mentor might pick interest on the diverted topic if it’s interesting enough.
Or your mentor might just see you as a waste of time who is trying to suck on the opportunity at hand.
So in other to avoid this, be straightforward at the beginning about your mentorship intentions and what you require of your mentor.
WORK ON YOURSELF
Most mentors would be willing to mentor someone who is eager and hungry for what they want and willing to work on it.
The reward of every mentor is to see that their mentee has done well for themselves with the tool they provided them from mentorship.
You need to work on yourself. Be open to criticism from your mentor and be zealous to work on applying new things you have learned to your career in the quest to help you grow.
BRING YOURSELF FORWARD
This might be the best approach. You need to sell yourself by letting your mentor know what is it you have been trying to achieve and what work you have done so far.
Show signs of eagerness that would convince your mentor that you are willing to take your career goal to the next level.
For example; If you are trying to get a mentorship from a writer, you need to be able to present to them what written works you have done before.
It doesn’t have to be a published written work, It could be a written work on an exercise book or your phone.
By presenting this to your mentor you bring yourself forward and set yourself apart as someone who has started off but just needs a little push to run.
I hope you have enjoyed this article today. How would you approach a mentor in your aspiring career goal? Drop a comment below and let me know.
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