The Power of Mentorships!

Mentorship is one of the best ways to get career advice and insight. As an undergraduate, I have been involved in several mentorship programs as a mentee. Some have been with upper-year students and professors focused on academic programs, while some are more career and industry based. SwM is one of them! These experiences have been helpful in providing me with guidance to navigate potential careers and student life in general.

Here are some tips on how to find a mentor outside of SOAR:

1. Use campus resources - Chances are, your university has a career guidance centre and campus clubs have career-specific mentorship programs. Those are convenient ways to get involved in mentorship. Professors might also be able to connect you with mentors and industry professionals. Sign up for mentorship programs, networking sessions, and career talks to meet potential mentors.
2. Network - platforms like LinkedIn are helpful to meet potential mentors. Sometimes, users might post that they are looking for students to mentor, and if your interests align, you should reach out to them and see if a mentorship would be possible! Your peers are also potential contacts - do they know alumni who may be interested in mentoring? This is also reciprocal - if you know folks who may be good mentors for your friends, then talk to them individually and if they are up to it, connect them! 
3. Know your goals - what are you seeking out of a mentorship? Career insight and guidance? What are you passionate about? It’s okay if your mentor is not from the exact field you are interested in, if their experiences are interesting and you believe that you have something to learn from them, you should reach out. It is important to know what you want to gain at the end of a mentorship.

Here are some tips on how to be a great mentee:

1. Plan questions ahead - make good use of your mentor’s time. That means knowing what you want to ask and how much time you want to allocate discussing a certain topic.
2. Do your homework - know your mentor’s background and get a sense of their expertise, so you know how to ask good questions that you can learn from.
3. Stay in touch - Even after the mentorship is formally over, you should stay in with your mentor and reach out to them if you have any questions.
4. Be respectful - that means being punctual for meetings, asking good questions, and respecting your mentor’s time!

Hope that these tips are helpful for students seeking mentorships. Let us know what you think and if you have any other tips for the SwM community!