What is the best way to establish clear goals and expectations with your mentor during a career transition?

1 Identify your transition goals

Before you seek a mentor, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve in your career transition. What are your motivations, interests, and values? What are your strengths, skills, and gaps? What are your short-term and long-term objectives? Having a clear vision of your desired outcome will help you find a mentor who can support you in achieving it.

2 Find a suitable mentor

Once you have defined your transition goals, you need to look for a mentor who can help you reach them. Ideally, you want to find someone who has experience or expertise in the field, industry, or role you are aiming for. You also want to find someone who has a compatible personality, communication style, and availability. You can use various sources to find a mentor, such as your network, professional associations, online platforms, or mentoring programs.

3 Establish a mentoring agreement

After you have found a potential mentor, you need to establish a mentoring agreement with them. This document should provide clarity on the purpose, scope, and expectations of your mentoring relationship. It should include the goals and outcomes you want to achieve in your career transition, the roles and responsibilities of both parties, the frequency, duration, and format of your mentoring sessions, the preferred methods and channels of communication, the feedback and evaluation process, the confidentiality and ethical guidelines, as well as the termination and renewal terms. Having a mentoring agreement will help ensure that both you and your mentor have a clear understanding of what you want to accomplish and how you will work together.

5 Celebrate and appreciate your mentor

Finally, you should celebrate and appreciate your mentor for their support and guidance in your career transition. You should acknowledge and celebrate your milestones, successes, and learnings along the way. You should also express your gratitude and appreciation for your mentor's time, effort, and wisdom. You can do this by sending a thank-you note, giving a testimonial, or offering a referral. Showing appreciation will help you to strengthen your relationship with your mentor and foster a positive mentoring culture.