How To Ask Someone To Be Your Mentor Without The Awkwardness ...

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Mentorship 7 min read How to Ask Someone to be Your Mentor Without the Awkwardness (Free Templates) Here are a few free templates for asking someone to be your mentor which are tailored to different situations.

By Foti Panagiotakopoulos

Founder at GrowthMentor
08 Dec 2019
7 min

Mentorship Table of Content

Finding a mentor can be one of the most rewarding decisions you’ll make in your career, and this applies across every single industry under the sun, from professional basketball to web development and firefighting.

The problem is that it isn’t always easy to approach someone and to ask them to be your mentor.

That’s because the people who are most in-demand as mentors are generally those who are the most successful – and the people who are the most successful tend to be the busiest.

It’s a classic catch-22.

The good news is that mentorship is almost always a good idea. Let’s take a look at why you might want to find yourself a mentor in the first place.

Want to find a mentor without having to send a super awkward outreach email?

Browse +340 vetted startup and marketing mentors. Hop on 1:1 mentorship calls with them on-demand. Browse Mentors

Why you need a mentor

Mentorship programs are now so popular that 70% of Fortune 500 companies have some form of mentorship program. There are quite a few good reasons for that.

In fact, when compared to non-mentored employees, mentored employees:

Get paid more
Receive more promotions
Feel more satisfied and committed to their career
Feel more positive about their organisation and senior management
Feel informed about the future of the organisation

The problem is that it’s not always easy to find someone who’s willing to act as your mentor. Successful people tend to be busy people, and you’re also effectively asking them to share their wisdom with you for no tangible return. You can offer to pay them for their time, of course, but that can often become expensive, especially if you’re paying consultancy rates.

It helps if you’re able to offer them something in return, but if you approach mentorship with a transactional approach, you’ll be building your relationship on a weak foundation.

So what should you talk about instead? Well, it really depends on who you’re talking to, what your previous interactions with them have been and whether you’re talking to them face-to-face, via email or through LinkedIn.

Here are a few free templates for asking someone to be your mentor which are tailored to different situations.

Templates to ask someone to be your mentor

Emailing someone you already know:

Hi Susan,

As you know, I have a huge amount of respect for you and I’ve learned a lot from you already. I just wanted to drop you a quick email to ask you for a favour. I’m at a stage in my life and my career in which I feel I could benefit from a little mentoring and guidance.

You’ve already had such a profound influence on my career that you were the first person who came to mind. I was wondering whether we could meet up for a coffee (or even hop on a call if you’re busy, as I’m sure you are!) so that we can talk about this a little further?

Thanks, [YOUR NAME]

Emailing someone you’ve been referred to

Hi Susan,

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I was given your contact details by [YOUR CONTACT].

I’m currently working as [YOUR ROLE] at [YOUR COMPANY], a position I’ve held for [YOUR TENURE]. I’ve been following your career for a while now, and I have a huge amount of respect for the work you’ve been doing. I was wondering whether you’d have a few minutes to hop on a phone call or perhaps even to meet up for a coffee?

The reason I ask is that I’m currently exploring potential mentorship opportunities and I think that there’s a lot that I could learn from you. I’d love to be able to work more closely with you over a longer period of time if your availability permits, but in the meantime, I’d love to ask you a few questions about your career if you’re available. Please let me know!

Thanks, [YOUR NAME]

Speaking to a contact at an event

[CONTACT NAME],

I really love what you’ve been doing at [COMPANY NAME]. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the conversation we had about [TOPIC] when we last met at [EVENT NAME].

I was wondering if you’d be interested in meeting up so that we can chat a little further? I’m actually looking for a mentor at the moment and I think you’d be perfect if you’d be interested. The drinks are on me!

Thanks, [YOUR NAME]

Speaking to a contact over the phone

So anyway, [NAME], it’s been great to talk to you. I’ll be honest, I haven’t had a conversation this educational/inspiring for a while now. We should hop on a call more often! I’m actually looking for a little mentorship at the moment and I think you’d be the perfect person, I don’t suppose that’s something you’d be interested in? It doesn’t have to be too formal, just a phone call here and there to pick your brains would be fantastic.

How to ask someone to be your mentor on LinkedIn

Hey [CONTACT NAME],

I love your work. I’ve been following you for a little while now, and I particularly enjoyed [PIECE OF CONTENT]. I just wanted to reach out to you because I’m a huge admirer of the work you’ve been doing and I’m currently looking for someone to mentor me on the topic of [SUBJECT MATTER].

It’d be great to hop on a call or to drop you an email (whichever you prefer) to talk about this some more, is that something you’d be interested in? Please let me know, and keep up the good work! Thanks.

An easier way of finding a mentor

Even with the templates that we’ve shared today, asking someone to be your mentor isn’t easy. After all, you’re effectively asking them to bet on your success, and while they might not be investing their money, they’re certainly investing their time.

We know that asking someone to be your mentor can be difficult, and that’s why we built GrowthMentor in the first place. We were sick of the old-fashioned approach to mentorship and wanted to bring it into the 21st century, adding value to both mentors and mentees at the same time.

So if you’re sick to death of doing it the hard way, sign up to GrowthMentor today. We help you to take care of those messy introductions and you can find yourself a mentor with just a few clicks.

Find a mentor instantly

The easy way to find a mentor online Learn more

Foti Panagiotakopoulos Founder at GrowthMentor

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