Mentoring for the First Time? Top 5 Tips To Start Off on the Right Foot

As a first time Mentor, you may find yourself feeling daunted by the work ahead. After all, you may have spent years working in your job role but does that mean you’re really qualified to teach somebody else?

Here at Career Navig8r, we passionately believe that the answer to that question is yes. Anyone can be a Mentor so long as they have the experience. That being said, it’s normal to have worries which is why we’ve put together this list of five tips to start you off on the right foot.

Master Your Mindset

When starting out any major project, be it a work of art, training for a marathon, or your new Career as an online Mentor, the first step is always about finding the right headspace. You need to understand the scope of your project, which areas are likely to challenge you the most, and what you might do to overcome those challenges.

With that being said, as a first time Mentor you may find yourself worrying about problems you can’t solve in advance.

What if you and your Mentee’s personalities aren’t a good match? What if the standard expectations for your job role have changed significantly since you were hired?

These are understandable concerns but a part of having the right mindset is knowing which problems to tackle upfront and which problems are better handled as and when they arise. Remember not to catastrophize and to accept that these kinds of worries are almost never as bad as they might seem.

2. Set Expectations at the Beginning

Your first meeting with a Mentee is possibly the most significant meeting you’ll have with them. It’s your chance to present yourself and what you can do for them as well as to establish clear expectations about how the two of you will work together.

It’s also your chance to ask questions of your Mentee, helping to set your expectations as well as theirs. Find out why they’re interested in your job role, what draws them there, and what their future ambitions might be. It can also help to break the ice and find out a little more about them outside of their career – their hobbies and their interests.

All of this information is useful because it will help you to plan ahead and set out your Mentees goals/roadmap. That way it’ll be far easier to keep them focused and on track.

3. Help With The Little Things

Seeking out a Mentor is the sign of a professional in the making. It shows that your Mentee is more serious than most about their chosen career path and is willing to work hard to get there.

That’s good because they probably will have to work hard. No matter the role, no matter the field, getting your dream job means going above and beyond to prove that you can do it, learning a lot along the way. To put it another way, if your Mentee is truly committed then they’ve got a lot of work on their plate.

That’s why it’s always good to take any opportunity you can to lighten their load. Find places where you can help them by solving smaller problems – be that putting them in contact with the right people or directing them towards the best possible learning resources. Any time you can save your Mentee will directly translate into getting them closer towards their goals.

4. Stop Judging Yourself

It’s not unusual for first time Mentors to experience imposter syndrome. It’s easy to start doubting your achievements or even your skill level. Did you really get where you are through hard work and effort? Didn’t luck play some role?

If you find yourself thinking this way then the best thing you can do is stop, take a breath, and remember that everyone feels like an imposter from time to time. Try to ground yourself in the facts and remember that, independently of how you feel, your Mentee chose you for a reason.

This kind of problem is particularly common when giving constructive criticism to others. As you pick apart someone else’s work and their methods, it’s normal to ask yourself whether you’re really in a position to judge them. It’s natural to feel this way but at the end of the day you have to remember that you’re the one with experience and that it’s okay to have confidence in your decisions.

5. Remember That Mentoring is a Two-Way Street

It’s one of the simplest rules in life that the more you teach, the more you learn. Mentoring will encourage you to revisit the fundamentals of your job role, now able to view them through the lens of your years of experience, but it will also teach you to be a better Mentor yourself. The more you work with Mentees, the more you’ll develop your mentoring skills, building up your confidence along the way.

If you’d like to become a Mentor today, then sign up for free with CareerNavig8r.com. No matter the job role, no matter the industry, we believe that there’s a Mentee out there waiting for you!