How to Find a Mentor: Best Practices and Common Mistakes to Avoid

The value of having a mentor is obvious, but how do you find one?

Whether you're looking to strengthen your leadership skills or simply invest in your own personal development, a mentor is an ideal way to take your career to the next level. Mentoring provides new opportunities, chances for growth, access to resources and much more. If you're looking to step out of your comfort zone to enhance your career growth, look no further than finding a mentor.

What is a sponsor?

The role of a mentor is to help inspire and nurture the chosen mentee by providing life experience, career advice, knowledge, motivation, and more.

Many companies use mentoring software to facilitate their own internal mentoring programs. These tools include features for recruiting, enrolling and matching mentors/mentees and tracking performance metrics throughout the process.

There are many approaches you can take to find a mentor, which is why some people may be overwhelmed at first. Learn some best practices for finding a mentor that meets your needs and some mistakes to avoid along the way.

Best practices for finding the right mentor

The first step to finding a mentor is to understand the process of finding them. There's no right or wrong way to find a mentor, but there are some sure-fire tips you can follow to get started. Here are a few to get the process started:

Don't approach a stranger

This does not mean that you can only be mentored by someone you currently know, but rather that you should have already established a relationship with your mentor. The person you ask to be your mentor should not be surprised by your request, nor wonder who you are in the process. Focus on building a relationship before asking someone to guide you to increase your chances of success.

Look outside your business

While your current workplace is a great place to start your search, it shouldn't end there. There are many places where you can broaden your search for mentorship, which will give you more options and a better chance of success.

Additionally, finding a mentor outside of work will give you the opportunity to work with someone who isn't biased by your shared workplace. An outside perspective can be very beneficial for your growth.

Look for mentors who are not superior to you

Too many people are caught up in finding mentors who are above them, and they lack peer-level mentors who are right in front of them. Just because someone has the same title as you doesn't mean they can't be an effective mentor.

Try to search among your immediate team and colleagues for someone you admire. What qualities do you admire in them? What can you learn from them? Keep these things in mind. That's the most important thing in a mentor, not the title they carry.

Be patient

The sad truth of mentoring is that it will probably take a lot of trial and error. The first person you ask to be your mentor may not be interested or may be too busy. Don't let this discourage you from the process. Be patient and keep working hard to build relationships.

Invest in more than one mentor

It may be the only time in your life when it's okay to be greedy. If you have the time and ability to invest in more than one mentor, you should definitely do so. Not only will this increase the skills you learn, but building strong connections is never a bad thing.

Find someone with skills you don't have

Mentoring is about growth. While it may be tempting to target someone who reminds you of yourself, you might be better off looking for someone who has different strengths to yours. This will give them the opportunity to learn from you, as well as a chance for you to improve on things you are not good at. Learning new skills can be just as valuable, if not more so, than honing the skills you already have.

Where to find a mentor

Now that you know some tips for finding your mentor, it's time to learn where to look. There are countless places where you can find a professional mentor outside of your own workplace. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Online mentoring networks

If you're looking for a direct path to finding your ideal mentor, there are dozens of websites designed specifically for that. Online platforms like SCORE and Million Women Mentors are great places to start your mentorship search.

Many online mentoring networks have a cost associated with them. However...