Talent Tips

Talent Tip #134: 10 Tips for Pivoting into a Career That Advances Liberty

May 18, 2021

Nothing makes me happier than hearing from someone who wants to move into a career that advances the principles of economic freedom, free enterprise, and limited government.

I made that transition myself many moons ago and it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made (along with rescuing a dog and not going to law school…no offense to cat lovers and lawyers).

But making the transition wasn’t easy for me because of a few misconceptions that I had.

With that in mind, here are the 10 things I wish I knew back then, as it would have made the transition a lot easier.

The free-market nonprofit sector is not a talent wasteland. There is a misconception that the nonprofit sector is desperate for talent, and that when we find someone with strong private sector experience, we trip over ourselves to hire the person. This isn’t quite how it works. The free-market universe is filled with amazingly talented and smart people. Now, to be sure, we’re always looking for more people to join the fun! But most of the searches we work on have stiff competition; so, put your game face on and be ready to compete!
You may need to adjust your salary expectations. I took a pay cut to come into the free-market universe because I valued fulfillment and advancing change more than I valued the additional income. Had I not been flexible on the salary front, I’d probably still be searching for a liberty-oriented job!
Especially if you’re well into a lucrative career in, say, big law, corporate lobbying, or even the federal government, chances are slim and none that you’ll find a job in the free-market nonprofit world at your current salary (and Slim just left town). (Speaking of, do not go into a nonprofit interview process and reference your GS payscale! “Um, yeah, I’m a GS-15” will likely be greeted with confusion, eyerolls, or both!)On the bright side, salaries aren’t stagnant. You might have to take a financial step back when you make the transition, but you can make up for lost ground over time. In fact, you can make a fine living in the free-market space! White-shoe firm money? Nope. But you won’t have to work 120 hours a week, bill your time in six-minute increments, and I suspect you’ll actually like your job.
A lateral move may not be possible. Unless your skills translate perfectly for a role in the free-market nonprofit space, you may need to take a less senior role in which you can learn the ropes and gain an expertise relevant to the nonprofit space. If you are unwilling to do this, you may find making the transition very challenging.
Apply for jobs for which your skills and experience are a strong match. Changing sectors is hard enough, but trying to change sectors and land a completely different type of job is REALLY tough. For instance, if your background is in sales, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to land a policy analyst position in the liberty movement. But an entry level fundraising or marketing role might be more accessible. If your background is in private sector project management, it’s going to be an uphill battle to secure a communications role with a free-market nonprofit. However, an operations job might be within reach. Aim for jobs that require the skillset you already have; not the skillset you hope to one day develop. (Pro tip: READ the job description. If your skills and experience don’t line up at all, it’s best to keep looking!)
It may not happen overnight. Don’t give up. Shortly after Talent Market launched in 2009, I got connected to a very talented businessman who wanted to pivot into the free-market movement. We explored multiple opportunities together, and I’m happy to say Talent Market eventually helped place him in a great role…seven years later. Yep. Seven years. I wish it hadn’t taken that long, but finding the right opportunity wasn’t easy for someone with his unique background — just like it wasn’t easy for me, and it may not be for you. Now, to be clear, I don’t necessarily think it will take you seven years, but you probably won’t land the first liberty-advancing job for which you apply. Be patient and keep trying!
Think twice before getting that graduate degree. If you’re planning to get a graduate degree in order to help you transition into the liberty movement, slow your roll. I did that and ended up with a diploma that catches dust and an education I don’t use. Moreover, I scared potential employers who didn’t want to pay a premium for an advanced degree that wasn’t going to be useful for the job they had open. Make sure an advanced degree is necessary before going that route. When in doubt, opt for experience over education.
Show us you are passionate about liberty. Those of us in the liberty movement are passionate about what we do, and we want to hire people who share that passion. So, a job applicant who has zero demonstrated interest in advancing liberty may not get traction with the hiring manager — especially if the candidate is competing with other candidates who have proven they care about the cause.
If you haven’t previously worked in the liberty movement, make sure your application package includes everything you have done that speaks to your interest in liberty. Are you a member of America’s Future or Federalist Society? Did you attend an Institute for Humane Studies seminar? Were you active with Young America’s Foundation or Students for Liberty in college? Are you active with other liberty-oriented organizations or causes? Did you intern in the liberty movement a decade ago? Put it on your resume! Never been formally active in the liberty world but grew up reading Hayek and protesting teachers unions? Tell us in your cover letter! Speaking of cover letters…
Tell us you are passionate about liberty. In addition to a resume that illustrates your interest in liberty, be sure your cover letter makes a compelling case for your interest in making a move into the free-market nonprofit sector (and, of course, the job for which you are applying).
I cannot tell you how many candidates we see who attempt to make the transition into the liberty movement using generic cover letters that could easily be used for a customer service associate opening at TJ Maxx. Not once in my career have I seen a candidate with a generic cover letter land a job in the liberty movement.
If you’re having trouble “breaking in”, go back and review the cover letters you have written. Were they compelling? Did they clearly articulate why you want to be a part of advancing each organization’s mission? Or were you just phoning it in with “Get the max for the minimum” cover letters? If you really care about making the leap, put your heart and soul into the cover letter.
The longer you wait to make the transition, the more challenging it will be. If you spend a few years in another career and then pivot toward the free-market movement, you can probably make that change happen. But if you spend 20 or 30 years in another career, the transition could be very difficult.Once you have been working for 20-30 years, not only will you have developed a skill set that may not align with the nonprofit space, you’ll also likely be trapped in the golden handcuffs and command a higher salary than nonprofits are unable to afford. Regardless of timing, you can still make the transition; you just might have to be more flexible and open-minded about salary, geography, level of role, etc.
Own your pivot. You are attempting to transition to a new sector, one that is likely very different from your previous work. Neglecting to mention this in your application might underscore to the hiring manager that you aren’t really passionate about making the change or that you don’t understand how different this world might be. So, OWN IT! Acknowledge in your cover letter that you want to make a big transition and explain why (see #7 and #8). Help the hiring manager understand how your skills and experience translate to the job for which you are applying; do not assume that they know the acronyms and jargon used in your previous lines of work. Finally, acknowledge that you have a lot to learn and tell them how excited you are to do so.

Talent Tip #133 1/2: 10 Reasons Your Cover Letter is Terrible (Part 2)

April 20, 2021

(This month’s newsletter article is the second of a two-part series written by Katelynn Barbosa, who is now on maternity leave.)

As you may recall, last month I provided the first five of ten super honest tips about a vital component of every job application – the cover letter. This month I’m giving you the second five.

And if my advice seems anything but delicate, it’s because I am 37 weeks pregnant and not in the mood to mince words!

It’s filled with errors. Your cover letter needs to be a perfect document with no errors. Why? For most positions, it is the only writing sample the organization has for you and is a testament to your attention-to-detail, focus, and how much you care. Yet I constantly see cover letters loaded with errors. They vary from relatively harmless such as the errant word, a missing letter, or a single misspelling to the egregious: an application package with track changes on, displaying 15 different things someone thought the applicant should change about their resume and cover letter, the wrong organization referenced multiple times, multiple run-on sentences, and so many egregiously incorrect uses of the English language that I suspect the writer wrote it whilst drunk.Your cover letter should always be perfect no matter what, but it’s especially vital when you are applying for a position that requires attention-to-detail or God help you, a literal Editor role. What is an error-laden cover letter supposed to tell me about your ability to edit, the very thing you are applying to get paid to do? What is a cover letter riddled with grammatical sins supposed to make me think if you’re applying to be an attorney, a job that demands so much attention-to-detail that they have a whole book devoted to minutiae like whether to italicize a comma? (True story. It’s called The Bluebook. I highly recommend it if you have insomnia or are trapped on a deserted island with a Supreme Court Justice.)
You miss the opportunity to answer obvious questions your resume screams. Do you have large gaps in your resume? Are you looking to make the switch from a policy career to a development career? Are you missing critical experience that the job description is asking for? Your cover letter is your one and only chance to address these issues head on, so do it. Tell me what those gaps were about, tell me why you want to leave policy for development, tell me why I shouldn’t freak out that you’re missing experience the job description states as a requirement. If you don’t, I am left to assume the worst.
You come across like an overconfident windbag. If your qualifications make you a really great fit for the opening, I’ll be able to tell. You don’t need to say “I am indisputably the best candidate for this job,” “no one will be able to match my skills and expertise,” or “my MBA from Ivy U makes me a prestigious candidate.” All that does is convince me it’s a good day to get started on that construction project in my house because I just found a tool.
You failed to edit. Did I accidentally pick up my copy of Anna Karenina when I meant to get started with my work day? Nope! You subjected me to two rambling pages at a 10 point font and I hadn’t had my morning coffee so I mistook it for Russian literature.Here’s an easy rule for you: don’t submit a cover letter, resume, or anything else with a font size smaller than 12 point font. It’s like when my husband comes up to me apropos of nothing and starts massaging my neck – I know what you are trying to do. I mean, this is how I found myself in this condition. If you make your font so small that you feel morally obligated to ship me a microscope, it’s just a sign you need to edit and cut content. Never mess with formatting to fit your cover letter on one page.On that note, you should try and make your cover letter as close to one or two pages as possible. It’s OK if it spills on to a second page because you’re going into detail about how your background meets the job description. But when a cover letter spills on to page numero tres, it is almost always because you didn’t take the time to carefully edit.
It’s shorter than that Mother’s Day card you wrote last year. If your cover letter is two short paragraphs, there is zero chance you are covering everything you need to. Getting your cover letter down to an appropriate length should take a lot of time and editing prowess because you should be working to cover why you are interested in the specific opening you’re applying for, why you are interested in the specific organization, and showing why your background matches up well with the position. You simply cannot do that in two paragraphs.

The third trimester stinks but not as much as reading 10 point font general cover letters that don’t follow basic instructions. If you avoid these ten pitfalls, your cover letters will become instantly better. I promise.

-Katelynn

Talent Tip #133: 10 Reasons Your Cover Letter is Terrible (Part 1)

March 16, 2021

(This month’s newsletter article is the first of a two-part series written by Katelynn Barbosa, who just went on maternity leave.)

I’m feeling extra grumpy and salty because I am 37 weeks pregnant, sick of waddling everywhere, and dying for a stiff cocktail. The good news for you is that my current state has put me in the mood to drop some VERY honest advice about a vital component of every job application – the cover letter.

Your cover letter is not something you should be annoyed you have to write. Instead, it is a gift, an opportunity to explain why you genuinely want the job you’re applying for, why you are passionate about the organization’s mission, and why your background aligns well with the opening. Yet so many candidates take this gift and squander it. Oh, let me count the ways…

You don’t address your cover letter to a specific person. Every cover letter should be addressed to a specific individual, like an actual person with a heartbeat, a mother, and a social security number. Why? I’ll make an analogy to online dating. Imagine getting a message addressed to “brown-haired girl in my zip code.” I may very well fall within that category of person but I’d like to be addressed as an individual, you know? And when I get a message like that, it tells me the person just copied and pasted his message to tons of brown-haired girls in his zip code and couldn’t be bothered to put any effort into his message to me.

So with cover letters, avoid the “To the Hiring Committee” (who says there is a committee? This isn’t NASA), “To whom it may concern” (anyone who says “whom” in conversation is the kind of person I avoid at parties), or my personal (least) favorite, “Dear sir or madam” (do I look like I have a robust book of corrupt congressmen?). If you can’t find the appropriate hiring person online (I bet you can if you try for just five minutes), address your cover letter to the President of the organization. Hell, address it to an intern. Just don’t address it to the brown-haired girl in your zip code, which is what you are doing when you address it to anyone other than a specific person..
You could take the cover letter you submitted and send it over to Red Lobster for their open hostess role and it wouldn’t require a single change. Read the cover letter you are thinking of submitting right now. Could you take that cover letter, submit it to Red Lobster for that open hostess role, and it would make total sense? Then, your cover letter stinks worse than my incoming newborn’s diaper. You get why, right? If you can submit your cover letter to Red Lobster, it means you didn’t address your interest in the role or organization you’re applying for and made no effort to explain how your background is relevant to the particular position. Although, if you do get the Rod Lobster job, can you hook me up with some of those Cheddar Bay biscuits?
You didn’t follow basic instructions. Writing a good cover letter is hard. Following basic instructions shouldn’t be. And yet! Here is an actual line specifying what we are looking for in a cover letter from a job description we currently have on our website: “Cover Letter detailing your interest in the position and the mission of [organization name] and your salary requirements.”

So if your cover letter doesn’t discuss why you are interested in the mission of this specific organization (Red Lobster’s is “to be where the world goes for seafood, now and for generations” in case you were curious), why you are interested in this specific position (not the Red Lobster hostess job!), and an actual number that states what your salary requirements are (“negotiable” is useless!), then you have failed to follow basic instructions.

Please just follow the instructions. This is the bare minimum, folks. And can you please apply this to regular life too? Stand on the right side of the moving walkway only, wait until it’s your turn to get up before getting your bag out of the overhead bin, and use your blinker when you’re changing lanes. It’s not that hard.
You just repeat your resume in paragraph form. When writing your cover letter, it is vital to remember that I already have your resume. If I just wanted you to re-state in your cover letter what already appears in your resume, I wouldn’t ask for a cover letter at all because I don’t love wasting my own time unless it involves investing hours in a Facebook argument over whether it’s ever appropriate to go without an oxford comma. (It isn’t.)
A job description typically lists several qualifications, and your cover letter is your one chance to show that you meet those qualifications. Yet I can’t tell you how many candidates waste vital cover letter space just repeating what I already know from their resume. “Prior to working as a leprechaun at O Danny Boy’s, I was a professional Easter Bunny at Spring Time All the Time.” Oh you mean the O Danny Boy’s and Spring Time All the Time that appear a mere two mouse scrolls below in your resume? Did you think I wasn’t going to see that? Just. Don’t. Instead, tell me WHY your experience working as fictional creatures makes you a good fit for this opening.
You don’t even reference the organization you’re applying for. This goes to my Red Lobster point above. At Talent Market, every role we are filling is with an organization that has a specific mission and cares that the new hire be invested in that mission. If you can’t be bothered to even reference the name of the organization you’re applying for, I don’t have a lot of confidence that you are passionate about their mission or even know what that mission is. And for Pete’s sake, don’t reference your interest in “the company” in any cover letter for Talent Market. We recruit exclusively for nonprofit organizations so when you say “company,” I know you aren’t paying attention.
The sad truth is that by just stating the mission of the organization in your cover letter, you are taking it out of the bottom 10% of cover letters I read because I know you at least went to their website and did some base level of research.

Did I mention I’m very pregnant? All of this writing is making me tired. I need a nap. I’ll give you the last 5 reasons in next month’s newsletter.

-Katelynn Barbosa

Talent Tip #132: Seven Things Our Data Tell Us About Hiring in the Liberty Movement

February 17, 2021

This will shock no one to hear, but I’m a bit of a dork – A data dork, if you want to get specific. Give me a glass of red wine and a database and I could be happy for hours. Yes, I am the most fun at parties.

I love digging into the numbers, creating reports, and discovering new things. Specifically, I dork out on understanding what the numbers in Talent Market’s database are telling us and how we can use this data to help our clients and candidates.

So, at the end of last year, I reviewed dozens of reports about our searches, candidates, and clients from our humble beginnings to 2009 all the way through the Great Dumpster Fire of 2020.

What I learned is useful not only for nonprofit organizations, but also for individuals seeking their dream job in the liberty movement.

Here are the seven things our data tell us about hiring in the free-market space that might be useful to you!

1. Fundraising jobs win AGAIN. If I asked you what you thought our most common talent need was, you might have guessed policy. After all, we work in the public policy sphere! Yet, policy jobs account for only 12% of our placements. As much as we love a good policy job, you know what really keeps us up at night? It’s finding fundraising talent for the bazillion development openings we have! In fact, nearly a third of our placements are in fundraising, followed by about a fifth in communications and media. This is good for nonprofits to know, as it explains why it’s always tough to find a good fundraiser. And this is also useful for job seekers, especially recent graduates contemplating their future career paths. If you aren’t sure what field to go into and you want to be madly employable, might I suggest fundraising?

2. The majority (roughly 66%) of the candidates we place hail from outside the free-market nonprofit sector. Wow, right? Lest anyone think we’re just shuffling talent from one free-market nonprofit to another, the numbers tell us otherwise! And this is fantastic news for those of you toiling away in the private sector hoping to land your dream job in the free-market world. It can happen and the data illustrate that point!

3. The pandemic dramatically increased our clients’ willingness to hire virtually. You probably don’t need to see our data to know this is true; you can just look at the dining room table you converted to a desk back in March of 2020 and your insurmountable list of downloaded podcast episodes you used to consume during your daily commute. But the data are fascinating nonetheless. Pre-pandemic, only 36% of our searches allowed for virtual work. In 2020 it jumped to 60%!!! And right now nearly 70% of our current openings have a virtual option! This is a great sign for those of you who can’t relocate or want to work virtually. We’ll see if this trend holds!

4. Hiring virtually means doubling your candidate pool! On average, our virtual opportunities attract twice the number of candidates that our in-office opportunities attract. Amazing!! So, if your nonprofit is struggling to find talent, going virtual is a good first step to expanding the talent pool. The bar chart says it all!

5. More than a third of the candidates we’ve placed have participated in a liberty-oriented program (such as an internship) or engaged with a liberty-oriented networking organization. It’s hard to know exactly what this represents. Does this mean our clients are drawn to those who have a demonstrated passion for liberty? Does this represent candidates’ dedication to the cause? Or does it mean something else entirely? In any case, I suspect it can’t hurt to get involved in the liberty world early and often!

6. Personal referrals, along with Talent Market’s recruiting efforts, are our biggest source of top talent. Stated another way, while we love job boards, LinkedIn, and even Instagram, 73% of the placements we make come to us via our recruiting efforts and word of mouth. This is why we are so very grateful every time we receive a personal referral. Please keep them coming!

7. Throughout our 12 year history, 44% of our placements were located outside the Beltway (and nearly 30% were virtual!). That’s great news for those of you who want to advance liberty but don’t want to or can’t live in our nation’s capital

Talent Tip #131: Six Things the Pandemic Taught Free-Market Nonprofits

December 15, 2020

I don’t know about you, but I won’t be sad to say goodbye to this year when it ends. Much like your in-laws after a week-long visit, 2020 has overstayed its welcome.

It’s a been a grueling year on multiple fronts, and I think we’re all ready for a fresh start.

But despite its glaring flaws, 2020 did teach free-market nonprofits a few valuable lessons:

Virtual work actually works! – Over the years we’ve given more hype to remote work than Limp Bizkit received back in the day. And with good reason: our virtual searches attract far more talent than in-office searches! Oddly, our begging and pleading with clients to consider virtual hiring didn’t carry quite the weight of a global pandemic, and it was only in the last nine months that many of our clients finally decided to hire virtually. Case in point: only 40% of our searches had a virtual option in 2019, but that percentage jumped to more than 60% this year.
And the resounding feedback from our clients was that despite their reservations, virtual work is working out just fine! Is it perfect? No. But neither is a long commute, interoffice gossip, and that 220 grit sandpaper in the restroom that the building management calls toilet paper.
Our clients were excited to learn that staff members can work remotely and still create value for the organization. As a result, many who previously were unwilling to consider remote work as an option at all have told us they won’t return to regular office work or will have a hybrid office/remote set-up from now on.
Virtual work isn’t ideal for every role/organization – Wait…what? I thought I just said virtual work works!? I did. And it does! But that doesn’t mean it’s right for every role and every organization.
Many of our clients transitioned quite smoothly to a remote environment, but they soon realized that the nature of some work calls for regular in-person interaction. And while video calls are a great stop-gap measure (as long as Jeffrey Toobin isn’t on your staff, of course), they don’t make up for the free exchange of ideas and bonding you get in an office setting.
As a result, some of our clients have indicated they plan to or have already returned to office work.
Virtual interviewing might be all you need – Needless to say, the pandemic made in-person interviewing very challenging. And as you might expect, most of our clients quickly pivoted to video interviewing. While this was initially looked at as a second-best strategy, some of our clients (especially those that were already operating virtually), ultimately decided that video interviews would replace in-person interviews in most scenarios for the foreseeable future.
As one client said, “We have been operating as a virtual organization for many years now. We rely on Zoom interviews and phone conversations, and to compensate in part for the lack of an ability to meet in-person during the interview process given our geographic dispersion, we tend to have a range of staff within the organization talk to candidates to ensure that we’re getting a well rounded perspective on their capabilities and potential fit.” Another client simply put it: “I doubt we will go back to requiring in person interviews.”
A Zoom meeting might be a better option than flying across the country – Before the pandemic, there was an assumption that most important meetings should be held in-person. And for things like conferences, seminars, and programs that focus on networking, that assumption holds. But the pandemic made our clients realize that some meetings could be held virtually (for significantly less time and money) and still be effective.
As one nonprofit employee shared, “Right before the pandemic I flew across the country for a presentation to a handful of people. Looking back, it should have been a webinar. We would have gotten almost the same amount of value from it and the organizations involved would have saved thousands of dollars each.”
Some donors like virtual meetings – This year many donor meetings that had previously been held in-person were moved to Zoom. No doubt we’ll see a return to in-person meetings in the coming months, but some donors (and weary gift officers!) will welcome the continued use of Zoom, at least on occasion. In fact, one nonprofit leader told me that virtual donor meetings have gone well this year and generally exceeded expectations.
But he cautioned that it’s incredibly difficult to build lasting relationships when you are solely relying on virtual interactions. So, the key will be utilizing a combination of methods to reach donors. He summarized by saying, “Overall, I think Zoom will continue to be an important tool in the bag for fundraising professionals.”
The liberty movement is tough as nails – When the pandemic struck, I worried we would hit a brick wall and the hiring would stop overnight. That never happened. Sure, things slowed down a bit, but Talent Market has remained incredibly busy throughout the pandemic because free-market organizations never stopped working to advance their missions.
Our nonprofit clients learned they can (and must) power through even the toughest of times. After all, as we have all learned by watching our governors tell us what we can and cannot do on any given day, a pandemic doesn’t slow the growth of government. And I’m pleased to tell you that a pandemic is no match for the organizations fighting to advance freedom. This year, as trying as it has been, is a testament to the fortitude and resolve of the liberty movement. All of us at Talent Market are proud to be a part of something so amazing!

Talent Tip #130: 7 Keys To Finding a Mentor

November 17, 2020

By Katy Gambella

How do I find a mentor? How do I ask that person to be my mentor? How do I get the most out of a mentoring relationship?

I hear these questions from young professionals all the time. And I can relate because I struggled with all of these things myself.

Striking up a relationship with a potential mentor might seem really awkward, but it doesn’t need to be! Here are 7 keys to finding a mentor I learned from personal experience. Hopefully they can help those of you looking for one yourself!

Identify a potential mentor.
First, come up with a short list of people you admire and would like to learn from. From there, narrow it down to someone who is of most interest to you.Years ago, I sat down to contemplate mentor options. Immediately one person came to mind, and you just might know her name: Claire Kittle Dixon.

Claire first popped up on my radar when I was participating in the Koch Associate Program and she spoke to our class. It had been about a year since her session, but she had made an impression on me. If you have heard Claire talk, you know she has a gift for public speaking. She is the right blend of entertaining and informative (with maybe a few curse words tossed in…) and I distinctly remember walking away from her session thinking, “damn, I really want to be her when I grow up.”

But at the time, she didn’t even know who I was. How the heck could I convince someone who didn’t know me to be my mentor? Well, it’s easier than you think!
Start a conversation.
Beginning a relationship with your mentor shouldn’t feel like an awkward date invitation: “Um, I’m not sure what you’re doing on Saturday night, but will you be my mentor?”No need to do that! Instead, just reach out to your (future) mentor and ask if you can have a conversation. Tell them you’ve followed their career and admire them, and then ask if they would be willing to connect for 30 minutes.

Here’s how I approached Claire: I kept an eye out for Claire through four days of State Policy Network’s 2016 Annual Meeting. I was naively hoping I’d get her alone for one minute to talk to her. If you’ve ever been to SPNAM, you’re laughing at me thinking I’d be able to accomplish this task. Not only is Claire never alone, but she is also always surrounded by a lot of “higher ups.” But I didn’t want to totally miss my chance! So, on the last evening of SPNAM in a Nashville bar, I approached her (and the large group of fans screaming, taking selfies, and asking for her autograph). I kept it simple! “Hi! My name is Katy. You spoke to my KAP class awhile back and I’d love to connect with you. Could I have your email?” She happily obliged and I quickly backed out of the conversation. I reached out about two weeks later, asking for a phone call. The rest is history!
Be prepared.
Make sure you have an agenda for the conversation. Know what you want to say, what you want to ask, and in what order. Most importantly, do ample homework in advance so you can spend your time wisely.With Claire, I made sure to read her bio and LinkedIn page and familiarize myself with her career path. I even pored over the countless pages of advice she had provided on the Talent Market website. I knew that the worst way to make an impression was to waste her time.
Do more listening than talking.
If your goal to is learn from your mentor, you’ll need to get them talking so you can get busy listening. And in order to do that, you’ll want to come up with the right questions.Now, I was lucky with Claire because she happened to specialize in career change questions, which I had a lot of. But many of you will be looking for something quite different. Your questions might include: How did you wind up specializing in XXX? ? When did you realize that XXX was the career for you? How did you go from managing a team of 2 to a team of 10? What advice would you give someone in my shoes if my ultimate career goal is X?

Also, don’t immediately demand they help you. Avoid starting with questions like, “Will you give me feedback on my resume?” and “Do you think I’m on the right career path?” These conversations are better left to when you have an established relationship. Not only will a mentor be in a better position to address these questions (as they will know you better), but they will also be happy to help answer them!
Don’t worry about labeling your relationship.
Hopefully, one conversation with your mentor will lead to another…and another…and another. But at no point along the way do you need to label your relationship.Indeed, Claire did not even know that I considered her my mentor for several years until she hired me and I referenced her being my mentor. Her response, “I’m your mentor? I had no idea!” So, cast aside trepidation you have about whether a person will “be your mentor.” Instead, focus on starting a conversation with that person and see where it leads.
Remember this is a two way street.
Your mentor wants to get something out of the relationship too. Because your mentor will almost certainly be more experienced than you, it might be difficult to see how they could possibly derive value from the relationship.However, don’t underestimate the impact you can have as a mentee. Mentors want to give back. They were once in your shoes and they want to help people get where they are now. Seeing a mentee accomplish the goals you helped them with can be hugely satisfying for a mentor, too.
Follow-up and show gratitude.
It goes without saying that you should thank your mentor for each and every conversation you have. But you should also show gratitude in the long-run. Let your mentor know the positive impact they are having in your life. And keep them posted on the big decisions that relate to the conversations you’ve had.Before I wound up working full-time for Claire, she helped me with many things in my career. I always followed up with a thank you email, called her to let her know how things worked out, and just kept in regular contact over the years. That made all of the difference in the world. And, you just never know when you might be able to work with your mentor someday even if it doesn’t necessarily involve getting a job. I invited Claire to speak to a seminar I was planning, and it was great that I was in a position to just call her up and ask her to participate!

So, go forth and find yourself a mentor! While I can’t promise you’ll get your dream job from your mentor (thanks, Claire!), you can make huge strides in your career with your mentor’s help!