When starting a career or business, finding a mentor will provide you with a lot of benefits. A mentor will fast track you career, helping you to avoid some of the mistakes that might prove costly to your UX career.

However, getting a mentor might seem difficult, imagine meeting a person you don’t know and asking him/her to be your mentor. Actually, it is easier than you think, and this article will show you how.

• What Should you Look for When Finding a UX Mentor?
• How can you Find and Develop Mentorship Relationships?
• Where can I Find a UX Mentor?
• How do I Become a Good UX Mentor?
• How do you Attract Mentors?
• What are Some Qualities of a Good Mentor?

What Should you Look for When Finding a UX Mentor?

Time commitment

When asked about the ideal mentor, many interviewees responded with rosy pictures of someone who’s a guiding, nurturing figure willing to spend time grooming their protege.

Read Also: How Much Money can a UX/UI Designer Make?

But the reality is that the majority of mentors are busy professionals with their own lives. That doesn’t mean mentorship can’t happen organically over time. 

• Low time commitment: one-time learning and mentorship experiences like conferences, workshops, hackathons
• High time commitment: organized, consistent meetings that grow the relationship over time.

Most mentorships will fall somewhere in the middle of those two. Many beginning UX designers expect too much for the time they put in. 

Aligning your effort to expectations is important on the journey of finding a good mentor.

Formality

Mentorships range from friendly to formal. This can mean the difference between someone you’d get a beer with, and a specified time to formally mentor you.

Whereas formal arrangements can feel more transactional, informal mentorships can feel more fluid, making it easier to share thoughts and feelings.

Mentorships can take on more forms than you might imagine.

Pro tip: Consider peer mentoring, which calls somewhere in the middle of this spectrum. Get to know someone else on the same UX career path as you, then meet regularly to try to help each other / give feedback on each others’ work.

Some people operate better on a casual basis, and others with a rigid, formal structure. Decide what suits you.

Location

Determine whether you are okay with remote mentorship (emails, calls, Skype), face-to-face, or a mix of both. Mentors can be busy so don’t be bummed if meeting in person is not feasible.

You can potentially have mentors from all around the world. Pretty useful if you’re looking for a job in another city.

Experience gap

The gap in experience between you and a mentor could define many aspects of the relationship, such as the formality and type of advice you’re seeking.

Are you okay with a peer mentor close to your age? Or are you looking for someone more senior in age and experience? Smart co-workers are also make great mentors.

It is helpful to adopt an a-la-carte method to mentorship and getting advice. Different people can help with different things. Don’t expect a mentor to be the one-stop shop for all knowledge. This brings us to the next variable

Desired knowledge

What stage of your career are you in, and what do you want help with?Knowing this is a shortcut to finding a mentor who’s a good fit.

Perhaps you’re keen on improving technical skills first, so you might seek guidance on which prototyping software to learn first. Another mentee might seek domain knowledge, like how to become a better user researcher.

The more experienced the mentor, the more appropriate it is to ask strategic questions vs technical questions (which can be Googled).

Make use of these experienced mentors by asking for career guidance, how to sell UX within an organization, and how to deal with people & politics.

So now that you know what to look at for when considering, you already have an idea of what to expect. For you to find the right mentor for your UX career, effort is needed on your part. Here are some things you need to do.

How can you Find and Develop Mentorship Relationships?

The next following 5 tips will help you find and develop real mentorship relationships. 

1. Do your homework

Get yourself to a baseline level of knowledge so that you can get guidance on things that actually matter.

They say there’s no such thing as a dumb question, but that might not be true. There’s plenty of dumb questions, and you might have asked many of them before.

Some beginners can ask senior UX designers how to use Sketch. It’s like saying “I’m not resourceful enough to figure it out for myself, so can you expend energy figuring it out for me?”

Ask your classmate why she uses InDesign in her workflow, while you should ask a VP of Design what skills she foresees as being essential in UX in the next 5 years.

Knowing your variables well, like experience gap and desired knowledge, makes you better equipped to ask people the right questions.

2. Work your network

UX Meetups

Finding a good mentor requires hustle. For anyone living in a city that has a UX Meetup (UXPA, IXDA, IA Institute), that’s the first place to start. Some organizations even have mentorship programs.

Hanging out in these spaces can often lead to informal mentorships or even career opportunities. 

UX Classes

Taking a class is a great way to create an “instant network” in the UX community. People from all walks of life take UX classes, and it’s not uncommon to be sitting next to Art Directors, programmers, product managers and senior designers.

Perhaps fellow students might not be in the UX field yet, but don’t be surprised in 3 – 5 years time when they become a Senior UX Designer and ask if you’re interested in a  job 🙂

These people can potentially be your support network that lasts throughout your career, if you’re a student willing to invest a little more effort to make a connection.

Online connections

Bloggers, even the big ones, are just people too. If their message resonates with you, just hit “reply” on the emails and leave a nice message. Some will even say yes to a free cup of coffee if you’re local and have good questions to ask.

3. Ask engaging questions

Now that you know who you’re going to reach out to, you need to think about how to ask engaging questions. You’ll have more luck connecting with people when you consider how your questions will be received.

To ask questions they’ll be interested in answering, ask questions that are:

Reflective of their expertise

Your questions shouldn’t be too far out of their area of focus — you should probably avoid asking someone with the title of UX Director about Sketch.

Talking about Sketch won’t likely be an intellectually-stimulating conversation for that person. Given they aren’t spending every day working in the app (if ever), they wouldn’t be the best person to talk about it either.

Likewise, you might avoid asking a very new UX designer about product strategy. If they don’t feel equipped to answer your question, they’re less likely to respond.

Like the UX Director with Sketch, the very new UX designer probably wouldn’t be the best person to talk to about product strategy. Knowing something about a topic and having the confidence to speak to it are two different things.

Relevant to their interests

Engaging questions are relevant to the recipient’s interests — look for common threads in their writing, tweets, etc. If they haven’t written anything, look at their experience. Be considerate and ask questions they’ll be interested in answering.

Something that hasn’t already been answered

Don’t ask someone a question they’ve already directly answered in some public space. Be familiar with the thoughts they’ve shared to avoid asking them to repeat themselves.

In the same vein, some topics are so thoroughly covered; you should consider seeking alternative sources of information unless you have a strong reason to ask someone about it, specifically.

Again, take learning Sketch as an example. Unless someone has written about some particular Sketch workflows and shows an interest in it — look to the many videos, Medium posts, and other sources to learn about it.

4. Mentees drive the relationship

This gem came up over and over in interviews: the more motivated a mentee is, the more fruitful the mentorship. Those who show initiative and follow up gain the respect of their mentors. This sentiment from a top programmer says it all:

If you claim to be “very passionate about X” but have never done anything concrete in X it is difficult to take you seriously.

People who are really passionate about anything don’t wait for “leaders” or “mentors” before doing *concrete* work in the area of their passion, however limited.

Here are some ideas on how to take more initiative in your mentorships:

5. Do something

Don’t wait for mentor in order to grow or learn. Do something. Do a project and ask/tell people about it. Jennifer Dewalt did 180 websites in 180 days.

By demonstrating that she’s not afraid of learning and has done her homework, Jennifer Dewalt will have no trouble reaching out to top programmers and asking them for help.

“Hey, I did the project called 180 websites in 180 days. I’m having a little bit of trouble with Javascript that I couldn’t find the answer to online. Can I pick your brain for a second?” Boom, done.

When you have a project, it almost becomes an asset that speaks for you, and opens people up to mentoring you.

6. Follow up using the “drip” approach

Sometimes, the most obvious thing to do is the hardest thing. Following up is one of these things.

It’s easy to get caught up not sending that email by believing that you have to ask the greatest question ever or have done something amazing in order to email a mentor. False. Instead of stressin’, you can just use what I’d like to call the drip approach.

Borrow this approach when reaching out to potential UX design mentors: 

• be succinct
• lightly flatter the mentor (“I took your advice, did X, got this good Y result”)
• don’t require a response

Everybody loves fan mail. This is like sending your mentor fan mail. Here’s an example:

“Hey John, I read that article you wrote about animations in design. It’s super useful for the app I’m working on!

No need to respond, but it’d be great to hear how you’re doing.”

Sometimes if you want to maintain a connection with a mentor, it’s enough to remind them that you exist, instead of barraging them for advice and requests all the time.

Where can I Find a UX Mentor?

Here are a few resources to get you started on the path to finding a mentor:

MicroMentor. Free online mentor service that connects small business owners with business mentors. You can find a mentor or volunteer to be one. Their mission statement: “To help small businesses grow faster, generate more revenue, and employ more people.”

SCORE Mentoring. Provides access to volunteer business counselors. SCORE is focused on helping grow small businesses and provides “Volunteer mentors who share their expertise across 62 industries.”

ACE Mentor Program. Introduces high school students to job opportunities in the architecture, construction and engineering industries.

TiE Global. Founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. Helps new entrepreneurs find mentors. Membership fee required.

Mamas (Mother Attorneys Mentoring Association). Many associations also provide mentoring help to members. This program empowers attorney mothers and encourages them to succeed while celebrating their roles as attorneys and mothers.

How do I Become a Good UX Mentor?

To become a great UX mentor, you must have certain qualities that make your job easier for you and effective for your mentees.

A list of such qualities is mentioned below.

1. Ask About Interest

If you are going to mentor someone outside of your work environment, the first thing is to ask about their interest.

If you are a UX mentor within your organization, it is obvious that UX designers are hired based on their interest. However, if you feel that your mentee is not much passionate about UX design, then raise the point at your earliest.

2. Explain Your Process

Most of the organizations follow the standard design process to deliver product design. However, there can be customization in the process based on particular requirements.

Tell them about your customers and their problems.

3. Explain Guidelines and Trends

Each organization follows a set of UX guidelines and standards while designing their products.

Provide your guidelines to junior members, and explain them the importance of consistent experience throughout your products. Ask them to follow the guidelines while working on design tasks.

4. Develop Research Interest

Research is very important for growth of your mentees.

Looking around and taking inspiration from multiple sources will enhance their key skills including critical thinking, problem solving and creativity.

5. Don’t Give Solution

Discuss design problems with your mentees, but never give them a solution.

Do brainstorming sessions with them. Share your own experiences and ask them to come up with different ideas.

6. Be Available

When you have given some tasks to team members, make sure to remain available for them.

Be there when they need you, this will help you gain their trust and loyalty. Believe me, they will perform beyond their specific duties if they feel valued and supported.

7. Develop Patience

Designing is an iterative process and it requires patience. Most of the time you will have to ask them to go and refine their work.

It is not possible to design something impressive just in one go. They have to design again and again. Help them in increasing their patience level.

8. Give Ownership

Let them take the ownership of their work. Ask them to present their work to relevant stakeholders and defend their ideas.

This will give them a feeling of responsibility. And they will try hard to provide best possible solution to the given problem.

9. Share Knowledge

It is correct that you don’t have to spoon feed them, but you should be open to help them in response to their queries and confusions.

Do knowledge sharing sessions with them.

10. Give Appreciation

It is the key to keep your mentees motivated. Show genuine appreciation to your mentees.

11. Be Patient

A mentor should remain patient while working with junior members. You may have to describe things again and again.

12. Evaluate

It is a common practice to evaluate the work of team members. Always try to do it in a positive way.

Identify their shortcomings politely. Do not judge them or discourage them. Respect their opinions and ideas.

13. Learn From Mentees

That’s true. There is much more for you to learn from your mentees. UX is a very subjective field. Anyone can give you a new insight of things.

14. Connect With Other Mentors

As a mentor you need to connect with other experts of the field. Share your experience and exchange useful resources with them.

Collaborating with your peers and taking help from them is a great example for your mentees.

UX mentorship is essential for junior UX designers to help them succeed in their career. Being a UX mentor, you have a huge responsibility to deliver your knowledge and advice to next generation, and give your time to listen to their issues and resolve them.

How do you Attract Mentors?

When it comes to attracting a mentor, there are a few things you can do to stand out and get the attention of someone that matters. 

A mentor can be any person that has skill, experience, or expertise in an area that could help your career. Usually, it’s information you can’t learn in books or online, so it’s vital that you pick his or her brain to get that “intel.”

However, in order to actually find that mentor, you have to ask. You have to put yourself out there, show your interest to learn, and built a rapport that builds a sound relationship. 

You’ll be surprised how responsive successful people can be–when they see a younger version of themselves hustling to make their dreams a reality. You’ll find many people are flattered that you are asking for their advice, so they will help you.

And that’s what you need if you’re going to make it in the real world–help, from a lot of people.

That said, it’s important not to rely on just one person, no matter how smart they are. Having different mentors for different things is what gives you a more well-rounded view of both the world and your ambitions. 

1. Focus on Educating Yourself First

Don’t wait for the answer to come to you. Don’t wait for someone pull you aside and say, “I’m going to teach you how things get done.” Don’t wait for anyone else’s approval. 

Go out there and find it yourself. That level of hunger, curiosity, and persistence will speak volumes about the type of person you are, and more than enough people will present themselves as potential mentors willing to help.

They were once just like you.

2. Look for the mentor that can teach you what you want to know

Not all mentors are created equal.

Finding the right mentor is all about understanding what it is you want to learn. You already know what you want to do with your business, right?

So look at the marketplace, and target some players in your business area that you aspire to be like. Is there someone in your network who’s doing what you want to be doing one day? If so, reach out to them.

You don’t have to walk up and say, “Will you be my mentor?”–just establish a relationship and ask for advice.

This is what most people misunderstand about mentorship. It almost always starts with a single question, and then grows organically from there.

It’s not about someone pulling you aside and saying, “I want to mentor you.” It’s about you asking the right questions, at the right times, and proving that you’re willing to learn–over and over again.

If you’re lucky, the person you’re asking will continue to provide you with answers.

3. Be willing to be wrong

One of the most valuable kinds of mentors you can attract is the one that will tell you when your idea needs improving, or you should reassess the likelihood of your business meeting your goals. 

However, in order to find people you can learn from who are going to tell it to you like it is, you have to be open to hearing that sort of feedback. You have to be willing to be wrong, and that’s okay.

4. When someone presents themselves as your mentor, trust them

Finding a mentor is a fortunate thing. It’s something you should never take for granted.

What drives mentors to teach is seeing their principles passed along to the next person. They get fulfillment out of seeing things put into practice.

Nothing encourages a mentor to teach more than a student that takes what they learn, applies it, and then comes back for more.

It is always apparent who takes advantage of those resources and who didn’t. You want to be the type of person who devours knowledge and makes the most of every opportunity to learn. That’s what makes you stand out, and that’s what makes a mentor figure take notice.

5. Stay humble

What’s that old saying? “There’s a thin line between love and hate?” Well, there’s a thin line between thinking too big and thinking too small. You have to thread that needle.

To do that, you want to aim high but stay grounded. Believe in yourself, but talk to people further along than you. Have confidants who will shoot straight with you!

And whatever you do, don’t drive blind, because we all know where a wing-and-a-prayer strategy will get you in the business world, into bankruptcy court.

Even the most successful people have mentors, and people they turn to for advice and insight. When you make it big, find a mentor for dealing with success.

Always keep yourself open to continuing to learn. The journey never ends.

What are Some Qualities of a Good Mentor?

Good mentors are enthusiastic people, enjoying the role they play in helping others achieve their goals.

There are many qualities of a good mentor. While considering a mentor, look for someone who is enthusiastic, a good fit, respectful of others and a respected expert in their field. This will help you get the results you want and hopefully create a beneficial relationship for both you and your chosen mentor.

Mentors Should Be Enthusiastic About the Role

When you are looking for a mentor, you should key in on one very important aspect of the possible mentor’s personality. They need to be enthusiastic—almost to the point of being too enthusiastic. 

You should feel their sincerity in the way they present their desire to help you. Good mentors are passionate about their yearning to help others and receive their rewards not in the form of materialistic items or money, but in seeing the people they have helped become successful.

A Mentor Should Fit You

You may have many people to choose from when you are shopping for a mentor. This can be similar to shopping for a shirt. If you find a style you like, the one that fits might be at the middle of the pile or be the last one you look at. 

Many people will try to manipulate you over your life and career, trying to become an influencer and develop you in the way that worked for them, or that they think is best.

A good mentor will create a strategy that fits your needs, talents, skills, and desires and push you towards a better you—not towards a clone of themselves.

Mentors Value Learning

Good mentors are life-long learners and should want to pass that desire on to everyone they come in contact with. They should realize that while they are experts, they cannot possibly know everything. 

A valuable trait in a mentor (and to be frank, in everyone else) is the understanding that it is ok to be an expert and not know something. A mentor that can answer a question with, “I don’t know, but I will find you an answer” is someone worth spending time with.

 Good mentors will be excited to share their knowledge with you and be willing to explore the possibility that you may have answers that they do not. A mentor that will learn from their mentee is indeed worthy of your respect and time.

Mentors Encourage You To Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

 All people have a zone in which they operate and live in. They are comfortable and able to excel in this zone. This is called a comfort zone.

To grow, you’ll need to need to step outside of your comfort zone to be able to have new experiences and learn. A good mentor is capable of identifying your comfort zone and developing steps and activities within your goals that will force you to become comfortable outside of your zone.

They Are Active Listeners

A mentor needs to be able to listen to what you are saying. They should be involved in the conversation, prompting you for clarity or more information. 

They shouldn’t be distracted when you are talking to them. A person that is always allowing themselves to be interrupted by phones, emails, or people walking by when in a session with you is not actively listening. 

A good mentor will not have any distractions when you are talking with them, focusing on you and taking part in the conversation. They will ask questions, reflect on your answers and even give you some silence when you need to think.

Mentors Know How to Provide Feedback

Everyone can benefit from feedback. Even the most skilled and knowledgeable person is a beginner at something, requiring feedback to continue to grow in their new skills.

Feedback is essential to improvement. A mentor should create long-term objectives and short-term goals with you to help you become the expert you want to be.

Feedback should be provided during each session with your mentor. It should not be degrading, but should simply inform you of a shortcoming, and identify corrective actions you can take to be more successful the next time.

They Treat Others Respectfully

Respect for others is not limited to mentors, but it should be on your list of requirements for yours. 

Mentors should know how to be tactful in their conversations, and be emotionally intelligent.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to be aware of emotions in others and oneself, and be able to make decisions and influence others while controlling emotions and feeling empathy for those they are dealing with.

Mentors shouldn’t be judgemental of others, voice their opinions of people, or talk down to you about others. “Don’t do this like John does, he’s not very good at this.” This is not helpful to you or John, and violates the privacy expected from a mentor. 

They Are Experts In Their Field

Mentors are not just respectful, enthusiastic people. They should be considered an expert in their field, and be in the same field you are hoping to become an expert in.

Read Also: How to Get Gigs as a Freelance Graphic Designer

It is possible for a mentor to not be in an expert in the field you work in and provide excellent guidance, but you generally should stick with an expert in your field.

Your choice of a mentor should be respected by their peers, and yours. If you choose a mentor that is not well-known in the industry, you may not get the results you desire.

Many people use mentors not only as guides to develop themselves but to associate themselves with the name of that mentor. 

If your field is archeology, and your mentor is Dr. Jones (the respected and well-known professor and archeologist), you’ll have the benefit of being the doctor’s protege. This gives you much-needed credibility while ensuring that you have been instructed and guided correctly.

However, if Dr. Jones (the archeologist who discovered a 10-year-old basket of plastic eggs behind a bush in his backyard) is your mentor, you might not find yourself receiving the guidance or experience you were hoping for.

Conclusion

Choosing a mentor for your UX career does not need to be as stressful or complicated as it seems. Find one that fits you, and work to make it a rewarding experience.

You’ll not only find the best version of yourself, but you will have gained a life-long friend and supporter in the process.