As a trusted advisor, your mentor is the one who is helping guide your career development. The right mentorship helps outline a clear career path and helps you set professional goals. As you begin to develop your mentor-mentee relationship, it’s important to ask questions. These questions should create value for both of you, so you are not creating a one-sided relationship. The following are just a few critical questions to ask your mentor!

What is an obstacle you’ve encountered during your career? How did you handle it?

Everyone will encounter some obstacles at some point in their career. It’s essential to your success. Having a mentor in your field means that they have likely faced similar challenges and obstacles and can help you anticipate these issues and help prepare you for your response. One of the biggest things you can learn from your mentor is their successes or ways to handle a situation differently.

What accomplishments in your career are you most proud of?

Career accomplishments can be something as small as accomplishing a little task or as large as earning a promotion. Your achievements deserve to be celebrated, and asking your mentor this question can help establish your own career goals. A mentor’s perspective on career accomplishments will help encourage you to value and measure your successes. 

In what areas can I improve?

It’s important to seek your mentor’s guidance on career-related skills that you need to improve upon. The only way to advance in your career is to know where you need to develop more because we often struggle to see our weaknesses. Your mentor will be able to point you towards resources like continuing education, attending additional training, or developing through practice opportunities. Do not think of their resources as just suggestions. Take them seriously!

What are my strengths?

Knowing where you excel in your career is a great strength to have. It can help you identify the professional opportunities best suited for your talents and career advancement. A mentor can help assess your strengths while providing you skills that you can mention on your resume or use in a job search. Your mentor’s assessment of your strengths can also be used during an interview to help you give examples that demonstrate how you use your strengths to achieve goals and complete tasks.