Comments on: How to: Find a Mentor

By: Going beyond six figures?

Going beyond six figures? — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 23:32:38 +0000

[...] How to: Find a Mentor | Sydney Owen on: New Media [...]

By: Ryan Stephens

Ryan Stephens — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 02:02:54 +0000

I really enjoyed how thorough this post (and most of your posts are.) This is a great resource for people looking to obtain a mentor. I don’t guess I really have one. I mean, I read a lot of blogs and learn from those blogs, but I have a lot more blogging peers than mentors.

Maybe to really take my blog to the next level I need a mentor. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about, but I think I would always toil with the fact that I wasn’t returning enough value to the relationship (after all the mentor is likely more knowledgeable, no?) Maybe I need a mentor who needs fantasy baseball advice!

Keep rockin’ hard Sydney!

By: Sydney

Sydney — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:25:46 +0000

@akhila – For me, my mentors don’t live anywhere close to where I’m currently residing. Penelope is in Madison, WI and Aaron is in Austin. So, no, I don’t think geography is a very important factor. Yes, I could go grab lunch with them on occasion if they lived closer to me, but I am getting a lot out of our relationships as they currently stand.

By: Akhila

Akhila — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 05:46:02 +0000

Sydney, thanks so much for answering my question on Twitter with a full, informative blog post! Sorry it’s taken me a while to respond.

I think it’s great that you went out of your comfort zone and approached people you admire and asked them to be your mentor. I really hope I can implement this as well. I do have one mentor, but she doesn’t provide *all* the information I could need and want, so I am going to be on the lookout for another one, and will definitely be putting some of your advice into action in my search. Actually, I have encountered a bunch of people online who I really admire, and have exchanged emails with them or asked them advice via Twitter. I have found so much value in these people’s opinions and life experiences and it’s definitely helped me get a better idea of what I want to do. Still, I’m not sure how to “develop” further the online relationship, especially if I’m not able to meet them in person anytime soon. What do you think? Would you only recommend asking someone to be your mentor if they live in the same area and can meet more often?

By: Alyssa Carter

Alyssa Carter — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:25:02 +0000

So here’s my question: is a mentor someone whom you consider your mentor, do they know they are your mentor? Do you approach these people with the “I’m looking for a mentor” verbiage, or do you simply interact with them as a ‘mentee’ (for lack of a better word) would and grow that relationship?

By: Breathe! « Mike Diliberto

Breathe! « Mike Diliberto — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 05:39:25 +0000

[...] I recently read a great blog post by one of my fellow Brazen Careerist bloggers, Sydney Owen, on how to find a mentor. The basic premise is you need to identify the right person and be assertive with them, offer [...]