Finding a mentor, or several
Finding a mentor involves deciding the guidance needed, identifying people whose experience fits those needs, and approaching them through existing contacts, professional communities or mentoring programmes.
Goals and fit
Career goals should be listed in SMART form—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-based—and obstacles identified before choosing whom to approach. A mentor with expertise in the mentee’s current field may offer little help if the goal is to change fields. A mentor need not be an expert in the role the mentee holds or wants.
Before choosing, mentees should clarify the personal, professional or other skills they want to develop, their expectations, short- and long-term goals, and preferences about age, race, gender, personality, emotional needs and teaching style. Informational interviews can establish whether a potential mentor’s experience, skills, interests, network, work style and values fit the mentee’s needs; the prospective mentor should make an analogous assessment of the mentee. Mentees should look for someone with whom they can discuss potentially uncomfortable topics in a supported and respectful way. Desirable mentor qualities include communication skills, openness about past experiences, the ability to give feedback and vulnerability.
Different career stages may call for different mentors, so mentees should be prepared to build a network rather than rely on one person. A freelancer may need guidance on writing, accounting, quoting, website development, marketing and legal matters, which can require several mentors. One biotechnology entrepreneur’s mentors formed a personal advisory board covering areas such as sales, finance and professional reflection. Seeking several mentors also offers different qualities to emulate and practise.
Existing contacts and introductions
Potential mentors include senior colleagues inside or outside the mentee’s workplace, peers, family members, conference contacts and people introduced by others. Where no workplace programme exists, a mentee may need to identify a mentor and cultivate the relationship independently.
One freelance writer found business mentors in her family: her parents had run a business and advised on self-employment and written agreements, while her brother and husband, both contractors with companies, helped with business plans, tax, contracts and client interactions. Her academic mentors continued supporting her freelance career through paid editing work, client recommendations and psychosocial advice. An academic colleague introduced her to a friend’s mother who ran a European writing company and provided paid work and guidance in unfamiliar areas such as regulatory writing. Another academic friend introduced her to a former bench scientist freelancing locally; after connecting on LinkedIn and meeting for coffee, the two could exchange ideas without feeling intimidated.
In the early 2000s, a technical writer and editor began medical-editing mentoring with an AMWA member, which helped her build a successful freelance medical-editing practice. Past and current connections may also serve as unofficial mentors even without working together on the current challenges.
Professional communities
Joining a local professional-association chapter, meeting other writers and continuing to attend conferences can build a network of potential friends and mentors. Experienced professionals can serve as mentors to newcomers; asking questions and starting conversations helps establish contact. Questions can concern major employers, ways to become involved in the field and areas for improvement in a CV.
The freelance writer with family and academic mentors also met senior writers and local mentors through joining EMWA and the Australasian Medical Writers Association, serving on a conference organising committee and organising local networking events. An experienced medical editor found that professional role models she met through AMWA were approachable and became people she could telephone for help. A PhD student found her first medical-writing mentors by posting and interacting in the Cheeky Scientist Association’s private group for PhDs moving from academia to industry.
LinkedIn mentoring groups span professions, and specialist groups can provide career guidance through networking even when mentoring is not their focus. In 2012, examples included the Professional and Amateur Mentoring Group, Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Alliance, International Mentoring Association and Medical Publishers and Editors Group.
Mentoring programmes
A university programme can help identify candidates: at Aarhus University, one postdoc received three profiles of people who had moved from academia to industry in their forties and chose the person known for mindsets and soft skills because her questions included emotional as well as technical concerns. Another writer found a mentoring programme through her doctoral programme and later joined a second external scheme, Elemed’s mentoring academy.
Structured mentoring options in 2021 included the following programmes.
| Programme | Focus |
|---|---|
| Azur Medical Writing, Mentor Me | One-to-one support for career transitions and medical-writing training for PhDs and postdocs |
| Cheeky Scientist Association | Industry career transitions for PhDs, including medical writing |
| Medical Writing Organisation | Medical-writing career transitions for PhDs through a specialised Cheeky Scientist programme |
| Health Writer Hub, Build Your Portfolio Masterclass | One-to-one health-web-writing coaching and communication skills, including for freelancers |
| Elemed | Seven-month mentoring for mid-career regulatory affairs, quality assurance and clinical professionals in medical technology, in vitro devices and pharmaceuticals |
| Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association | Nine-month one-to-one mentoring for diverse career goals and women’s advancement, open to men |
| Australasian Medical Writers Association | Career-transition mentoring free to members |
| American Society for Cell Biology, Mentor Match | Career-goal mentoring for international members |
| OpEd Project | Mentor-editor support from experienced journalists for younger professionals entering journalism |
| Council of Science Editors | Networking, education and best practices for editorial professionals |
| Publishers Association | Schemes for a range of career stages |
The Australasian Medical Writers Association’s programme was also described in 2021 as approximately three months of general writing, editing and career advice from nine volunteer writers and editors. AMWA’s Conference Coach Connection was described in 2012 as help for first-time attendees navigating the annual conference; the commitment covered the conference itself, with any later relationship a bonus.
EMWA conference newcomers have been advised to email the head office with the conference they plan to attend and request a buddy or mentor; the office or public-relations officer may be able to make an introduction. Mentoring opportunities have been described during EMWA conferences, with uncertainty about opportunities afterwards and advice to ask other attendees.
Approaching someone
When approaching a potential mentor, mentees should explain why they chose that person and show that they understand their needs and have mapped out their goals. A formal scheme is not essential: a mentee who already has a particular person in mind can ask them directly.
The biotechnology entrepreneur met an investment manager at a public fundraising seminar, arranged coffee and brought her concerns for advice; although he declined the mentor label, he continued answering emails and meeting a couple of times a year. She found another mentor through her start-up incubator’s list of local businesspeople interested in mentoring, asked the retired co-founder of an IT university spin-out for coffee, and accepted his offer of mentoring. After corresponding with an entrepreneurship educator about a presentation, she asked him for help developing her entrepreneurial mindset.
To grow her network, the entrepreneur aimed to meet at least one new person a week, although she did not always meet that target. As an introvert she found meeting new people took conscious effort and energy, but became easier with practice; her advice after an unsuccessful first attempt is to keep trying.