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Meeting with a mentor tomorrow. What to ask?

5 points by hough ↗ HN
I was asked by a founder of a Silicon Valley tech company if I could meet with him and discuss mentorship.

What questions should I ask? Obviously I have some already that are specific to what I'm working on and stuff like 'what would you do if you were me?' but I'd like to hear the point of view of people who are most likely more experienced.

15 comments

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DamonHD
Ask him what he thinks you need to hear (after talking to you for a while). The things you don't know that you don't know are hard!
hough
Thanks! I'll add that to the list.
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onion2k
Ask what you can do to help him.
hough
I read that when I Googled questions earlier :).

I'm not sure how it would work though? I feel like I can't do anything to help. Maybe that's the point of asking the question though...

mapster
you have a fresh perspective to problems and can maybe help him on something. part of a mentee is being an intern
rman666
Often, mentors prefer you come to them with specific problems. So, start with why you asked to meet with him. What problem do you need help solving?
hough
The thing is, I didn't ask to meet with him.

That is still helpful though. Thanks.

cristianocd
Be prepared, and ask specific questions. When know your mentor, your goals, and your problems, it's easier to figure out how they might help you. Also, take notes and follow up.
jabv
"What one practice, if removed from your day/week, would hurt you the most?" (be ready with a follow up question if he just says "eat" or "sleep" or whatever - "do you approach that in an intentional way? have you had to tune how you do that?")

"Is there anything I should be asking, but I'm not?" - has occasionally yielded interesting responses for me.

mmanulis
I'm curious, did he tell you how he would be helping/mentoring you? What does he bring to the table that would make it valuable to you?

Since he's the one offering a mentorship relationship, how is it going to work? What is he getting out of it?

hough
No he didn't tell me. I spoke to him very shortly in person before he asked me to meet him later.

I have since gone to the meeting and will answer these questions from my current perspective now that I have gone.

Basically, he liked my idea and wants to help me with it. Considering, he is a pretty successful tech founder, I would say that I can get a lot out of it. He helped me with the business strategy and coding. Unfortunately, I don't know what to expect from these situations since I've never done it before. So I'm not much help and have no idea what he's getting out of it.

This isn't in Silicon Valley by the way. The guy is from Silicon Valley.

rajeshp1986
How did you get acquainted with him and how did you approach for mentorship? please provide some comments so that others can benefit here as well.
hough
I went to an event where you get advice from successful people in certain areas. The event wasn't that great, but it lead somewhere.

My advice for others would be to go to events that might scare you, or that you have never done before. It pays off. Getting out and about every so often is good.

muzani
Normally I like to ask where their lowest point in life was. People who reach great heights often have great lows too.

Also ask if they do whatever the trend is - meditation, what time they wake up, habits like that. Most people don't realize what routine they follow and it's often best to work close with them and observe.