Tag Archives: finding a mentor

Finding a Mentor

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Clip art taken from http://smgworld.bu.edu/srmentor/

Clip art taken from http://smgworld.bu.edu/srmentor/

I’ve always envisioned a mentor as someone I would meet with on a regular basis; discuss what was going on in my academic and personal life. They would offer me their experience, serve as a sounding board and help me accomplish my goals. Sound a little too perfect? Maybe…maybe not. My experience has been that one person cannot always accomplish all of the above.

Finding the right mentor(s) can be an amazing asset as you navigate the complex world of graduate school; but what exactly should a mentor do for you, and how and where do you get one? While the following advice is not extensive, it will hopefully get you thinking about how to proceed.
First, what is a mentor? A mentor is someone who will be available to work with you to develop your potential, inspire and challenge you. Because you will need different people for different things, a mentor is not always a one-size-fits all. Finding multiple mentors for the various parts of your career or personal life is important; the key is asking yourself:

  • What can I learn from this person?
  • How can they help me maximize on my graduate school experience?
  • Does their mentoring style fit me?
  • Where to find one?

Mentors can be found in faculty, staff, and other graduate students. Again, the fit will depend on your interest and goals in maximizing your graduate school experience. Be aware of the different mentoring styles, and that some mentors will want to keep their communication strictly professional and not personal.

In short, create a network of mentors that fit your needs and goals, along with clear and realistic expectations.
For more on mentorship, check out the following presentation from Dr. Patrick Dickerson, “How to get the Mentoring You Need?” PLD GLASS 2013 Mentoring

Finding a mentor

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Finding a mentor may initially seem like a difficult task. Approaching someone you don’t know, someone you imagine is very busy, someone you view as a professional while you perceive yourself to be a novice–seems daunting. I offer you this suggestion, approach finding a mentor the same way you do finding someone to follow on Twitter.
I’m pursuing someone currently to be my mentor and possibly a member of my dissertation committee, so I can expound on my process, or better yet, let me give you a checklist:

*Identify someone who is relevant in the field/discipline you’re pursuing, and has characteristics with quick you may be able to connect.
*Begin reading some of this person’s work: conference presentation transcripts, published articles, books/book chapters, stories on this person in the periodicals and websites
*Now that you’ve gotten to know this person on paper, you may begin looking for their social media presence–is this person on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, WordPress, have their own personal or professional website? If so, friend them, follow them, subscribe to their website(s) and YouTube channel(s).
*At this point you should either be reaffirmed that you want this person to be your mentor, or you have let this person go from your possibly mentors list and gone back to bullet one of this checklist.

*If you are reaffirmed you want this person as your mentor, you are more than likely so familiar with their work that you can send them an email informing them that you’ve read some of their work, that the _____ argument/topic/theme really spoke to you, and then ask an informed question about that topic/theme.

*If the person responds, reply back soon with signs of gratification and another question.  If they respond to your second email.

*Then ask if there is a time you all can meet or speak more over the phone.

*If you get the “call back”, you are basically being interviewed at that point to be that person’s mentor. You have read all a lot of their work at this point, and you should have some idea of the things your are interested in (it does not have to be a dissertation or thesis topic, just simply state what you’re interested in at this point in your matriculation or career) that you can share with this perspective mentor.

*From there it is history, butter, a slice of cake, and you have yourself a bonafide mentor.

 

Faculty mentors are critical to success in grad school

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Mentorship is important to being successful in all that we do.  It is no different in graduate school.  It is important to find good and compatible faculty mentors to help you succeed and progress through graduate school.  I have been very fortunate.  Both of my mentors have been very involved in my academic work and development to enter the professoriate.  I have been able to collaborate on scholarly research with my professors, and I have been introduced to academic and scholarly conferences through them also.  While attending a conference where I presented, my professor was very gracious to introduce me to other colleagues, get me involved in the association’s activities, and she helped me feel welcome. These activities and opportunities have helped me get closer to the professoriate, and I attribute it to my faculty mentors!

Undergraduate mentoring

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Now that I’m out of class I have started to do some mentoring and tutoring. Helping others is important to me and sometimes it gets pushed to the side burner when I get bogged down with things. However, I have a good handle on my lab work and I don’t have to worry about classes, so I asked for and received an undergraduate student to mentor in lab. My student is a sophomore bio. major who is interested in graduate school and its my job to not only teach her how to perform experiments but to shape her thinking to that of an independent scientist. I look forward to seeing her grow over these next few years. My other undergraduate mentee was appointed to me through a mentoring program. The focus of this program is to pair undergraduates with graduate students so that they can help them get into graduate school. The approach is one on one and should be very effective. I look forward to seeing how that young lady will advance in her academic career. Finally I began tutoring high school AP biology for some spare cash on the side. I really like it, Ive never tutored before but it’s very interesting. My student seems to be benefiting from our sessions so I can’t wait to see how he does on his upcoming final. This post isn’t really about getting into graduate school, its my personal post to say:  “Never forget where you came from. No matter how self reliant you are, at some point someone helped you. As you grow it is your duty to help those behind you. Reach as you climb.”

Choosing an advisor

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How important is choosing an advisor? “In 2009, the US Council of Graduate Schools in Washington DC reported survey results showing that 65% of the 1,856 doctoral students who responded identified mentoring or advising as a main factor in PhD completion”, refer to Kearns and Gardiner for further details (link below). Viridiana stated on her post, “Choosing an advisor is like choosing a partner” and I strongly agree with her. In my case, I first identified several potential advisors that shared my research interests. Next, I talked to some current grad students in order to get some feedback. Then, I took a course or independent study with each one of them such that we could get to know each other in an academic setting. Finally, once I narrowed the candidates list to a few, I scheduled one-to-one meetings in order to make my goals and adviser expectations known, as well as get to know their plans and advisee expectations. For instance, I expected my advisor to 1) get the equipment/resources I need, 2) meet with me, face-to-face, at least four times a month to talk about my project/thesis. (Ideally, they would be regularly scheduled meetings but that rarely happens), and 3) provide the type of feedback that I need. In summary, as expressed by Kearns and Gardiner, “If you’re not getting feedback, clear direction or the necessary resources, then you must do something about it.”

I strongly recommend readers to check out Hugh Kearns and Maria Gardiner column: “The care and maintenance of your advisor”. Here is the link:
http://www.mendeley.com/research/careers-column-care-maintenance-advisor/

Finding a Mentor – A Master’s Student Perspective

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My perspective on finding an advisor may be slightly different than the rest of the Emissaries since I’m in a Master’s degree program. I did not select my advisor, however, she was pre-assigned to help guide me on the right track during my time at IU. Although my advisor selection process is different, I was still able to find the right mentor.

My field really stresses having a mentor during your time in student affairs. Before entering the HESA program, I did not have a mentor. It wasn’t until last year when I started to develop relationships with other faculty and staff through my job, school, and other activities. I think the best way to find a mentor is to use your resources and network. Networking is a great opportunity to meet other professionals in your field. I approached my mentor one day and asked if we could get coffee. Sometimes your mentors choose you, but in my case, I choose mine. There are people everywhere who are willing to help you out, but finding the right mentor can be challenging. There are a few different attributes I look for in a mentor.

First, I looked for a connection. Without being comfortable with your mentor, there is no way honest communication can exist for you to be able to ask the awkward, uncomfortable questions. Second, I looked for someone who had my best professional interests in mind and could provide sound career advice. I found it extremely helpful to bounce off different ideas about career possibilities and how to get where I want to be from my mentor. Lastly, I looked for someone who had enough professional experience in the field to be able to give me the right advice.

My mentor and I get together about once a month. We have developed a strong relationship over the last year and without her, I navigating my field would be much more difficult and confusing. Mentors are helpful in any area that you want to pursue, so if you have any additional questions about finding a mentor, please do not hesitate to contact me!

Faculty Mentor(s).

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An honest approach to seeking out a faculty mentor is to consider the impact of having several faculty mentors. I am currently in the process of forming my dissertation committee and so I see how this can be applied in a practical manner. My advisor recently alluded to this in that accessing critical feedback and understanding its worth will enhance my training as a future faculty member. Keep in mind a critical key to developing into a well-rounded scholar and a professional is actively engaging in opportunities to form meaningful connections with your colleagues and faculty alike.

For a great follow-up and a little bit of inspiration you should check out the featured articles on the concept of having confidence in your individual abilities and their relation to accessing invaluable support in graduate school. Enjoy!

 

Article Source: http://sacnas.org/about/stories/sacnas-news

Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science

 


 

Possibly your second most important decision…

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So, clearly, the biggest question in going to graduate school is: “how is it that Indiana University is the best fit — for me AND for everyone else?!?” Really, though, figuring out which university to attend may actually be the second most important question because knowing who you want to work with is arguably a bigger deal. Why?

Here’s how I think of it: first, your department is more important to your graduate training than your university. Second, in most cases your mentor will be more important to your training (and almost always more important for your career) than your department. So you want to take the time to make sure the stars are aligned for a smooth run…

Claire already offered three crucial considerations, so instead of rehashing them I’ll throw in a couple more with a handful of associated gut-check questions that are great to answer as early as you can:

4. Try to develop a clear understanding for what you need and expect in a mentor…

So what does this mean? I’d suggest you try to figure out whether you and your mentor have similar approaches to: (a) communication (e.g. do you both check email neurotically, sometimes, never?). Also, do you prefer//can you stomach direct communication (e.g. “this paper is far from your best effort// this paper was so bad my dog vomited repeatedly while I read it out loud”)? (b) forging a personal relationship (e.g. are you both invested in setting up a strictly professional relationship or would you like to share personal narratives with one another?) (c) are they “possessive” mentors? (i.e. do they want their students to only work with them? Or a few other, specific faculty?)

5. Try to make sure you and your would-be mentor share a vision about what kind of career you’d like and whether this is plausible:

So, in this regard I’d suggest you consider: (a) your career goals (e.g. academic/non-academic? R-1 or liberal arts college?); (b) their placement record (e.g. my mentor’s former students now serve tables// are the UN Secretary General?); (c) department politics (yeah, sorry, but this is a reality at most places: does your mentor work with everyone? If not, why? Is that okay with you?); (d) their training and your intellectual needs (e.g. do they hate stats and do you need stats?); (e) whether and how they support their students during their graduate careers (e.g. do they have access to grant money? Do they co-author with students? Write strong letters of rec?)

Of course, if you find that you and your mentor aren’t on the same page it isn’t the end of the world, not by any stretch… First, plenty of folks have good graduate experiences with subpar mentoring and, second, you can definitely find a replacement if your relationship becomes unworkable… That said, here’s hoping you and your mentor are a match made in (cream and crimson) heaven!