Questions to Ask Your Mentor
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you need different types of mentors. However, building that kind of relationship can take time. If you’ve identified someone you’d like as a mentor, or if you’ve been assigned one through work/a program, how do you get the conversation flowing?
Here are some questions to ask your mentors, existing or potential, next time you’re able to speak with them.
Career/History
· What’s your educational background?
· Why did you choose your current position?
· How have you evaluated your professional opportunities throughout your career?
· What kind of work do you hope to be doing in 5 years? 10?
Your Career
· What skills/experiences would you be looking to have in my role if you were in my shoes?
· (If applicable) How do you think I’m currently doing in my role?
· I’m looking to do X,Y,Z in the next few years. What do you think I could be doing now to get there?
· I’m about to transition from X to Y, how would you prepare?
General Advice
· What books/podcasts/newsletters would you recommend I start consuming?
· If you could go back in time to my age/career stage, what advice would you give yourself?
· How did you pick your specialty?
Going Deeper
· Is there anything you regret doing/not doing earlier in your career?
· What’s the biggest career transition you had, and how did you manage and/or prepare for it?
· What’s been the most challenging aspect of your current role?
· How did you choose between being an individual contributor or in leadership?
· I’m really struggling with X at work right now, how would you approach that?
· I think I made a mistake by doing Y. How would you suggest I recover from that?
Nuts and Bolts
· Would you be open to staying in touch?
· If so, how often should we be in contact?
· What’s the best way to reach out to you? (Email, text, phonecall, IM, LinkedIn messaging)
At the end of every convo…
· Thank you for your time!