Your assigned mentor has agreed to be available to support you in your career development. Developing the relationship is up to both of you. This guide will help you establish parameters.
Getting Started In the first few weeks of your pairing assignment, meet by Zoom, Teams, phone or in person with your mentor to create the basic framework for your relationship. Don't wait for your mentor to reach out to you first. Proactively reach out to your mentor to find a time that works best.
Set Goals Think about where you are in your career and how your mentor can help you. Do you need advice about what to ask when you receive a new assignment? How certain partners prefer work to be submitted? How to get certain kinds of work, business development or industry knowledge? How to build a network? Or something else? Before you meet with your mentor, consider what you would like input on to help focus the conversation in the direction you want it to take.
Make a Plan. How often will you meet, where and how? For junior and lateral attorneys, it is suggested that for the first six months you meet once every two weeks and monthly after that for your first two years at Holland & Knight. Use the Outlook invitation feature to schedule recurring meetings. Refer to your career and mentoring goals in planning for meetings with your mentor.
Get Personal. Apart from being top-notch lawyers who are responsive and consistently working hard on behalf of our clients, we are in a profession where the personal connections among us and our clients are important. The most successful rainmakers excel at building positive relationships. Maintaining and expanding client relationships, working well on teams, and enjoying your work and your colleagues can turn on whether you can build a relationship with others. The same is true for an effective mentoring relationship, and it is a wonderful way to practice developing a relationship with someone you do not know well.
Get to know your mentor – as a person and as a professional – so you can connect more meaningfully. Ask questions For example, do you know how many children/dogs/prized boxwoods your mentor has? Did they play a sport in college? Where did they take their last vacation? What was their first job? Why did they go into law? What are their key commitments and priorities outside of work? What do they enjoy and find challenging about their practice? Then share your answers, too.
Don't Be Discouraged if Your Meeting Is Rescheduled, but Also Be Persistent
Send your mentor your Self-Evaluation and ask for input – with sufficient time for turnaround. Call, email or stop by your mentor's office and ask to meet for coffee or lunch. Send a restaurant review and add a lunch invitation.
Stop by. You cannot beat an in-person meeting, especially if you arrive bearing coffee, sandwiches, a bagel or something else you think your mentor might like. These regular touchpoints are beneficial.
Ask your mentor to brainstorm with you about how you can develop business, pursue a client or get an opportunity to work on a particular type of transaction.
Email a link to a website with an article that a client might be interested in.
Offer to help your mentor with a blog post, article or presentation.
Keep It Going
Networking. The career network of associates often starts with classmates in similar positions. You will be surprised how many of them you will be glad you stayed in touch with in 10 years. But how can you tap into a network of powerful people who can help your career right now? As your relationship develops, ask your mentor who else they suggest you get to know based on similar interests, aligned practices, etc., both within the firm and externally. Ask your mentor if they can facilitate introductions.
Ask to Be Included. Let your mentor know what kind of networking you are trying to do, and ask to accompany them to a court appearance, client meeting, closing, lunch meeting, CLE program, or charitable or civic event, if appropriate. This will provide an opportunity for additional introductions to the mentor's network. "But I wasn't invited" is no reason to miss a learning opportunity if you haven't expressed interest in participating. If true, let your mentor know that you are interested in participating even if the time isn't billable.
Use Your Mentor to Help You T hink About Potential W orkstreams If you have been trying to get a certain kind of assignment or type of work but have not succeeded by simply asking, discuss it with your mentor. Your mentor may have insight regarding who or how to ask for particular work or may be able to put in a good word for you.
Prepare for Your Evaluation Meeting. Your primary mentor will sit in on your evaluation meeting. Ask them to help you prepare ahead of time. Give your mentor a copy of your self-evaluation. Tell your mentor what questions you plan to ask during your evaluation conference to get early feedback and direction; ask if they have suggestions or questions. After the meeting, schedule a debrief on the feedback you received to get your mentor's input on your plan and goals going forward.
Experienced Advice. Sometimes, the most useful information comes from the experience of others. For example, your mentor might know
• that a nonmandatory event in the office would be beneficial to attend
• that it is best to give a particular partner a half-hour in the morning before asking questions to allow them to organize their day or
• that a partner prefers anything needing to be scheduled to be emailed to their practice assistant
Take advantage of their wisdom and experience.
Know Your Mentor's Career Path. The next time you meet, ask your mentor questions about their own career so you can better understand the career advice they give you.
Value Your Mentor's T ime. Express gratitude for their contributions. Letting a mentor know that you appreciate their time and that their advice has been helpful to you is respectful.
Evolving
Reenergize a Mentoring Relationship. Sometimes, mentoring relationships become stale. If you have not seen your mentor in a while, ask if you can put 15 minutes on their calendar and send a calendar invitation to create a placeholder They can always propose a different time and date. See if you can reenergize the relationship.
Changing Mentors Is your mentor pairing still working for you? If not, or if you would like a second (or third) mentor, reach out to Cindy Lindsley, one of our career coaches, or your local Mentor Liaison. They can find you a new mentor, including a peer or affinity mentor. A peer mentor is an associate or junior partner two to three years ahead of you who has a recent view of where you are in your career. An affinity mentor is someone you identify with on any level you choose: age, gender, race, veteran status, undergraduate school, judicial clerkship experience, being a new parent, where you grew up, or any other affinity that makes you comfortable and inspired.