Are you having no luck with finding a mentor? It is one thing to pluck up the courage to start proactively reaching out to people, but when you notice you are struggling to get the mentorship you need it can be pretty discouraging 🙄⁠⁠

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As our Soundboard community grows and we speak to more people about their experiences in finding a mentor, we have noticed a few common barriers that crop up time and time again that are getting in the way of you and mentorship which we have outlined below: ⁠⁠

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Asking someone to be your mentor upfront.

You wouldn’t go on a date and ask someone to get into a relationship right away. Mentorship is the exact same as any other relationship. Asking upfront is a lot of pressure, try building up a good relationship instead.

Only looking for a mentor when you need something.

Start building your relationships today. Have a think – who do you know that is doing something cool and you would love to hear more about how?

Not being clear on why you want a mentor.

Before you go looking for a mentor, think about the things you would like to know more about. What are your goals? What would you like to learn? What do you want to improve on? Make a list and use this to steer your search for mentorship.

Thinking you don’t know where to find a mentor.

Spoiler – everyone can be a mentor. You likely already have someone in your existing network that you admire who you could strike up a conversation with. Treat it like any normal relationship and reach out to ask them how they achieved what they did.

Fear of rejection.

Not everyone is going to have time or be open to supporting you as a mentor, and that’s ok. It’s not personal. Start to get more comfortable with people rejecting you - it loses its power over time.

We run regular workshops that take you through a series of exercises designed to help you find the mentors you need. Sign up to our mailing list to hear when we will be holding our next workshop!