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Hi guys,
Recently a colleague of mine pointed out how I've had a bit of success finding interesting mentors without any previous connections. I've wanted to contribute to the forum for awhile, so here are a few of my reflections that might give you guys some pointers on how to do it for yourselves.
How does someone actually become a mentor?
Firstly, I've never asked someone to mentor me. The relationship becomes a mentor-mentee relationship overtime simply by first positioning yourself as someone worth guiding first following up.
Afterall, a mentor is just an experienced person, interested in your success, who can give you actionable feedback on where you're trying to go. This can be done without even asking someone to 'mentor you'.
I've jumped ahead of myself but it is worth keeping this in mind before the actual step by steps.
First, think about who you would like to mentor you.
Pick someone you want to become and emulate. Not necessarily somebody famous, they're probably getting garbage email all the time.
For example, think your local real estate developer and not Donald Trump.
Another factor to keep in mind is whether they already teach or guide others in some way. Volunteering for a business related charity or group is a good example.
However, try to avoid people who offer a 'coaching course' of some kind on the topic:
Finding these people
Google search and LinkedIn are your best friends here. You will need to trawl through articles mentioning this people to find them - so after trying the most obvious keyword strings, use strings that will bring up the articles where they are mentioned.
Example:
"startup marketing expert australia" - obvious
Now try keywords geared towards articles about them.
"award winning freelance digital marketer australia" example results below:
The added bonus of doing this is that you can honestly mention how you found this person when you contact them. Perosnally, I would be quite happy if people mentioned they saw me in the press and reached out for a little feedback.
Finding their email
Straightforward. Check for personal sites, company about us pages, or reverse engineer their email from the company email format:
steve.jobs@apple.com to ideal.mentor@apple.com
If all fails, try their public facing social media
Twitter is usually a cool way to reach out publically if you can managed to get them to follow you back. LinkedIn mail will also work.
OK, what to say in your email?
I usually write my messages along these lines:
- Hi my name is X currently doing 1. I've been wanting to do ABC.
- [IMPORTANT] I have done ABC, but I am not sure if I am on the right track.
- Honestly, I don't really know that many people in the industry [note: only say this if it is the truth]. I saw your name come up in SOURCE and are an expert in this area so I thought I'd reach out.
- Is there any chance I may be able to ask you a few quick questions about your experience in X industry and how I might be able to move in a similar direction?
- thanks and sign off
Show this person what effort you have made yourself before reaching out
It is generally well appreciated and I believe this distinguishes you from the spam, writing in asking for the same.
From here, you can usually enter into a light to and fro about your situation and how to get where you're going.
You might have to be creative. If you haven't done that much (boo), at least list the effort you have gone into. For example.
- asked family and friends
- taken courses on the subject
- read x books
- applied to X companies
- etc etc
All together, even these simple things can show somebody important that you've done some basic legwork and are not just wasting their time. It will also improve the quality of the responses too.
What's next? Actually do what they suggest and keep following up!
This is the bit that turns your 'email for advice' into the mentoring relationship. Show them you have actually taken on board what they suggest to you and that you are proactive!
By taking their advice on board and taking action you become worthy of their investment of their precious time and care.
From this:
To this:
--
I hope this helps give you guys some ideas on how to find mentors in your own fields. Feel free to ask any questions.
Cheers
Recently a colleague of mine pointed out how I've had a bit of success finding interesting mentors without any previous connections. I've wanted to contribute to the forum for awhile, so here are a few of my reflections that might give you guys some pointers on how to do it for yourselves.
How does someone actually become a mentor?
Firstly, I've never asked someone to mentor me. The relationship becomes a mentor-mentee relationship overtime simply by first positioning yourself as someone worth guiding first following up.
Afterall, a mentor is just an experienced person, interested in your success, who can give you actionable feedback on where you're trying to go. This can be done without even asking someone to 'mentor you'.
I've jumped ahead of myself but it is worth keeping this in mind before the actual step by steps.
First, think about who you would like to mentor you.
Pick someone you want to become and emulate. Not necessarily somebody famous, they're probably getting garbage email all the time.
For example, think your local real estate developer and not Donald Trump.
Another factor to keep in mind is whether they already teach or guide others in some way. Volunteering for a business related charity or group is a good example.
However, try to avoid people who offer a 'coaching course' of some kind on the topic:
Finding these people
Google search and LinkedIn are your best friends here. You will need to trawl through articles mentioning this people to find them - so after trying the most obvious keyword strings, use strings that will bring up the articles where they are mentioned.
Example:
"startup marketing expert australia" - obvious
Now try keywords geared towards articles about them.
"award winning freelance digital marketer australia" example results below:
The added bonus of doing this is that you can honestly mention how you found this person when you contact them. Perosnally, I would be quite happy if people mentioned they saw me in the press and reached out for a little feedback.
Finding their email
Straightforward. Check for personal sites, company about us pages, or reverse engineer their email from the company email format:
steve.jobs@apple.com to ideal.mentor@apple.com
If all fails, try their public facing social media
Twitter is usually a cool way to reach out publically if you can managed to get them to follow you back. LinkedIn mail will also work.
OK, what to say in your email?
I usually write my messages along these lines:
- Hi my name is X currently doing 1. I've been wanting to do ABC.
- [IMPORTANT] I have done ABC, but I am not sure if I am on the right track.
- Honestly, I don't really know that many people in the industry [note: only say this if it is the truth]. I saw your name come up in SOURCE and are an expert in this area so I thought I'd reach out.
- Is there any chance I may be able to ask you a few quick questions about your experience in X industry and how I might be able to move in a similar direction?
- thanks and sign off
Show this person what effort you have made yourself before reaching out
It is generally well appreciated and I believe this distinguishes you from the spam, writing in asking for the same.
From here, you can usually enter into a light to and fro about your situation and how to get where you're going.
You might have to be creative. If you haven't done that much (boo), at least list the effort you have gone into. For example.
- asked family and friends
- taken courses on the subject
- read x books
- applied to X companies
- etc etc
All together, even these simple things can show somebody important that you've done some basic legwork and are not just wasting their time. It will also improve the quality of the responses too.
What's next? Actually do what they suggest and keep following up!
This is the bit that turns your 'email for advice' into the mentoring relationship. Show them you have actually taken on board what they suggest to you and that you are proactive!
By taking their advice on board and taking action you become worthy of their investment of their precious time and care.
From this:
To this:
--
I hope this helps give you guys some ideas on how to find mentors in your own fields. Feel free to ask any questions.
Cheers
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