How do you reach out to someone for mentorship? There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to communicating with people and different relationships. At the end of the day, every situation and relationship will be different.
Here is a quick informational graphic to help guide you in the conversation to find your next mentor. Step one, introduce yourself. Introducing yourself is and should be as simple as that. Who are you? What should they call you? (name) and Where do you work? Giving them an idea of your career allows them to piece together ideas of how that can help once you insert your ask. Step two, how did you find them? This should be a complete and concise story of how you know them. They may wonder how you got their name? This gets ahead of that curiosity so they can focus on your ask for them to be your mentor. Step three, communicate why you picked them. Similar to step two, communicating this up front takes away the curiosity and allows the person to piece together the entire picture. Answering this may allow the person to develop a personal stake in wanting to help you. Step four, ask for mentorship.
Now, let’s put these four steps in action. Here is an example of using those four steps in an email.
EMAIL EXAMPLE:
SUBJECT: Mentor-Mentee Relationship
Hello INSERT NAME,
Introduction of yourself & career: My name is Helly Torres, and I am a Software Engineer working at <company name>. I find myself ready to learn all I can in social presence and take my career to the next level.
How you found them or know them. What made you reach out?: I came across your profile today on Linkedin and was was very impressed by your achievements and interests. Not only do I see an incredible experience, but I find we align in many personal interests as well. After being blown away with your presence and accomplishments I knew I had to reach out.
Insert your ask: Would you consider taking me in as a mentee? I would be absolutely interested in having a mentorship with you and would be grateful to have you as a mentor.
Expectations of this relationship: If accepted, ideally we could meet once every two weeks with topics I would like your insights on. This can be virtual or at a nearby coffee shop. I'm open to hear your schedule.
Insert your goal: I would like to learn more about your success in the online social media world. Ultimately with your guidance developing a plan to help me get to 1000 followers.
Closing: If you'd like to speak in person about your thoughts on this ask, I can set up some time. Until then, I will wait hopefully and patiently for your direction. If you have any questions, comments or concerns please reach back out. I'd love to answer them .
Thank you,
INSERT YOUR NAME
CONTACT INFO
PHONE
As you can see we walked through all four steps to complete our ask for mentorship. We hope this helped and you are ready to ask someone to be your mentor. Give this approach a try. Remember to be genuine, kind, and respectful when choosing the form of method for communication.
Always,
The women in your corner.