Questions to Ask Yourself Before Agreeing to Be a Mentor
Mentoring someone can feel like a drag, but done right, it can also help you grow along with your mentee
A good mentor can be wonderful. And research suggests they can be a life-changer: Having an adviser, sounding board, and cheerleader can lead to improved performance, more advancement, and a more favorable self-image. Over time, mentorship can help the mentee cultivate a positive outlook in work and life, which has been linked to better health, less stress, and a higher salary.
For the person on the other side of the relationship, though, mentoring can be — well, kind of a drag. A recent Saturday Night Live sketch hilariously nailed the misery of it with a fireside horror story: An unsuspecting ad agency man was roped into a coffee with, he darkly recalls, “a 22-year-old recent college grad” — pause for dramatic effect — “and aspiring filmmaker.”
Not every mentoring relationship involves inane movie ideas and endless texts to “pick your brain.” But your time, in…
