What to Look For in a Mentor

This past February, Forbes published an article online by Paramita Bhattacharya, the chief marketing officer at a book-making platform called Blurb, about the importance of having a good mentor. 

In the article, Bhattacharya talks about her personal experience as both a mentee and a mentor, and also discusses what to look for in a mentor and how to find one. These same topics were discussed earlier this year at Biotech-Nexus, a panel event focused on career development and industry trends hosted by Northwestern Engineering's Master of Biotechnology program (MBP). 

Mentorship was one of the most talked-about topics at the event, and many of the perspectives the panelists presented mirror those discussed by Bhattacharya. No matter your field, no matter your level of experience, you can always find value from a mentor. 

"When I look for a mentor, I look for somebody that I feel comfortable laying the ugly cards out on the table (for)," said Andrea Redd, senior director of regulatory affairs combination products at Fresenius Kabi. "You don’t want to have a mentor where you feel like you constantly have to brag and boast and you are nervous about sharing some of your downfalls. You want to find someone you can trust and be honest with."

Angela James, who is a director of clinical pharmacology and exploratory development for Astellas Pharma, is a firm advocate of mentors. In fact, she suggested individuals create their own personal Board of Directors — a collection of three to five individuals who can serve as sounding boards and offer advice on professional challenges and opportunities. Mentors don't have to necessarily be in the same company as you, James explained, and sometimes it's even beneficial to have them be outside your industry entirely. The important thing is that your board knows and understands who you are and what you want to accomplish. 

For that to happen, individuals first need to understand what their own goals are and what they want to accomplish. That knowledge will help dictate who to reach out to for potential mentorship opportunities. 

At Biotech-Nexus, though, the question remained: Where do you find a mentor? Beyond that, how do you foster that mentorship relationship? 

The answers varied.

Phillip Wagner, who is a senior director of manufacturing science and technology at AveXis (a Novartis company), encouraged going out to lunch with and getting to know coworkers who could become mentors. He also suggested connecting with potential mentors on LinkedIn, though he cautioned that initial connection requests should be accompanied by a personal note, rather than the standard "I'd like to join your network" message.

Ruiying Zhou (MBP '18), who is an organic synthesis chemist at Thermo Fisher Scientific, pointed out that mentors can be found all around you — either in your personal or professional network. 

Redd suggested that once you have a mentor, make sure that your conversations with that person are not exclusively about work. "Don’t talk about science all the time," she said.

"Really take the time to also get to know them as a person. You can sometimes learn more from that type of mentorship."

Beyond suggesting the personal board of directors, James explained the subtle intricacies between a mentor and an advocate. Both are important, she said, and it is essential to understand who in your network can fill each of those roles. 

"There is a difference between a mentor and an advocate," James said. "The mentor gives you advice, but an advocate will actually kick the doors open for you."