Five Powerful Tricks to Make You A Master Mentor

For many, becoming a mentor is an incredibly rewarding experience but it does come with some challenges. Here at Career Navig8r, we firmly believe that anyone with experience in a job role is fully qualified to mentor that role but the best of the best often go further.

Today we’d like to talk about five approaches the very best mentors take to ensure that their mentees are able to learn effectively. We’ll be discussing how you can build a better mentee/mentor rapport and what you can do to make sure that your style is a great fit for your mentee.

1. Teach From Experience

It might sound simple, but it’s important to always remember why your mentee chose you specifically. They came to you because you’re the one with experience in this field. They came to you because you’ve been there before.

Put simply, they want to hear about you – about what it was like to start in the industry and about the lessons you’ve picked up along the way. While there may be some difficult topics to communicate, you should never be afraid to fall back on that first-hand knowledge.

Your biggest strength as a mentor is your experiences. It’s the knowledge and memories you have of how it felt to be a beginner and what you had to do to get where you are today. Learn to harness those experiences and you’ll be a first rate mentor.

2. Always Ask Questions

Many students struggle with asking questions but so do many teachers. It might not seem obvious but a teacher often has just as much need to ask questions as a student and the answers to those questions can be illuminating.

For example, if your student has a misconception about something, asking the right questions can help to reveal it. If your student is struggling to learn a new concept then, once again, it helps to ask them what it is that’s not clicking.

Furthermore, you should ask questions about your students themselves – how they like to learn and what works best for them. By asking the right questions at the right times you can sidestep problems and get straight to the meat of the issue, making you a more effective teacher and helping your mentees to feel that all important sense of progress.

3. Find A Flexible Style

Speaking of what works best for your student, it’s important to always keep in mind that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all teaching style. Every student is different and you’ll want to find ways that you can match your teaching style to their requirements.

Often the first few sessions of any mentoring partnership are just that – finding ways that you can work together that will be great for both of you. It can take time to ensure that you’re both on the same page but once you do, the benefits will be incredible in the long run.

4. Understand Your Mentee

Empathy is important in any relationship, but particularly an educational one. It’s not just about understanding your mentee’s learning style but also about understanding what they’re seeking to get out of this.

Are they looking for that dream job role? Have they already found it but need help becoming a master of what they do?

Understanding your mentee’s specific goals can be really helpful for teaching. It allows you to focus on what they’re looking for and teach them lessons they’ll be truly motivated towards learning.

5. Have Fun

This last one might sound like an unorthodox tip but the truth is that if you can make mentoring fun, then your mentees will love you for it.

Learning new things is always challenging but a great rapport can go a long way towards improving that experience. You and your mentee don’t have to be social friends but a friendly relationship, as with any professional relationship, will help your mentee to enjoy their learning which will motivate them to keep going.

At the end of the day, it can feel like a long road to career success, so anything you can do to make that journey a little less of a slog may have a powerful impact on someone else’s life. By following these five basic principles, you’ll be able to become a master of mentoring and anyone who wants to learn your skills will be eager to learn them from you!

Do you have experience in a job role that you’d like to share? Would you like to earn money by teaching? Become a mentor today with Career Navig8r and you could start a second career, helping people to find their dream job role.