• Communication

When choosing a mentor, ensure that person is easy to talk to. Your relationship with them is a give and take. The one mistake that you can make is to expect to learn from them and not give them something to learn from you. Take notice of how this person communicates with others and ask yourself if you would get along with them. These are important factors that will strengthen your relationship with them and help you to be a better communicator as well.

• Have similar values with your potential mentor

To have a better relationship with your mentor your values must align. If you are family focussed, it would not make sense to work with someone who is a workaholic and does not believe in putting family first. This is something that would make you uncomfortable and unhappy throughout the mentoring.

• Get to know them

Two people can get mentored by the same person, but the difference would be their expectations from that mentorship. The best way to see if you will get what you want from a mentor is to get to know them better. Let them know about what you would like to get out of the relationship

Consider having lunch or coffee with them. Ask them a few questions and see which part of their journey they are willing to open up about. This will help you decide if that is the right person you want to learn from.

Mentorships are a learning experience, however, do not forget to enjoy yourself.